Through his philanthropic Zell Family Foundation, which he headed along with his wife Helen, Zell donated millions annually to nonprofits, schools and organizations throughout the Chicago area, revealing a strong philanthropic commitment to the city’s arts scene and education, including large donations to Jewish schools.
“The impact of the Zell Family Foundation on Chicago’s arts and culture landscape is profound,” said Brooke Flanagan, executive director for Steppenwolf Theatre. She added that the organization is “deeply saddened by the loss.”
According to 2020 tax filings, the most recent publicly available records for the Zell Family Foundation, the nonprofit donated more than $55 million to Chicago organizations and causes that year, including committing over $20 million to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and over a million each to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Helen Zell serves on the board of trustees for each of those cultural organizations.
In addition to endowing the CSO music director position, the Zell Family Foundation has provided ongoing support for additional Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association activities, including concert sponsorships, artistic programs, tour sponsorship and commissioning new music, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association told Crain’s.
In 2012, Zell’s foundation gave a $10 million gift to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, which museum head Madeleine Grynsztejn described as a “game changer” at the time.
The foundation’s records also reveal a dedication to educational organizations, inducing early childhood education in the city.
“Sam and Helen have had an incredibly powerful impact on children and families in Chicago,” said Jane McCarthy, managing director of Start Early, an early-childhood development nonprofit that she said has received more than $25 million in donations and gifts from the Zell Family Foundation since 1996. “It’s a legacy that will evolve way beyond his lifetime.”
McCarthy describes a man concerned about the future of Chicago’s youth with a willingness to listen to an organization’s needs. He was a businessman, she said, so he knew “the best return on investment was starting young and giving children the best chance to succeed.”
The foundation has also donated heavily to Jewish schools and nonprofits in the city. Two Jewish schools bear the name of his late parents.
Rochelle Zell Jewish High School, named for his late mother Rochelle Zell, received a gift in excess of $10 million in 2015, which has helped the school secure its finances, said Tony Frank, head of the school in Deerfield.
“We were looking at significant debts that we were struggling to pay down, and the gift of his family foundation was transformative for us,” he said. Frank added that some of Zell’s grandchildren attended the school.
“He was a force in business, and just as equally he was a force in philanthropy,” Frank said.
Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School in Lakeview, named for his late father Bernard Zell, received more than $25 million in a bequest from the foundation in 2015, in addition to yearly contributions.
He wanted to “ensure excellence in Jewish education” and to be able to provide an education that “was accessible to all,” said Gary Weisserman, head of school at Bernard. A portrait of Bernard Zell hangs in the school.
“It’s a place that ensures both Jewish continuity and the ability for students to be able to live meaningful Jewish lives,” he said.
The Zell family has also given to the University of Chicago and funds the Zell Fellows Program for entrepreneurship at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
The Zell Family Foundation did not respond to a request for comment. The foundation does not have a website but is listed at 2 N. Riverside Plaza in tax filings. According to the most recent filing, Helen Zell is listed as executive director and Sam Zell as president. His three children — Kellie, Matthew and JoAnn Zell — are listed as vice presidents of the foundation.
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