Pritzker Philanthropy

Following a path set by his parents, Donald and Sue Pritzker, who supported many charitable, cultural and civic organizations, J.B. Pritzker has committed himself to enriching at-risk children’s lives through early education and to advancing human and civil rights. He and his wife, M.K., support these and other endeavors through their leadership of the Pritzker Family Foundation.

J.B. Pritzker is one of the nation’s leading philanthropists in early childhood development. As the Pritzker Family Foundation’s president, he created The Children’s Initiative, which funds innovative research and programs for children in underserved communities. The Erikson Institute recognized him for this initiative with its Spirit of Erikson Institute Award. Under the leadership of Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman, Pritzker also supported the creation of the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood Development at the University of Chicago.

Along with the Gates, Buffett, Kaiser, and Harris Foundations, the Pritzker Family Foundation is a founder of the First Five Years Fund, focusing nationwide attention and resources on comprehensive, quality early care and learning programs for children from birth to age five. The foundation is also a leading supporter of Educare Centers, high quality early childhood education for at risk youth.

As chairman of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, which opened in 2009, Pritzker successfully led the campaign to build a world-class international institution in the Midwest dedicated to human and civil rights and to teaching the universal lessons of the Holocaust. Pritzker is the principal funder of the Cambodia Tribunal Monitor, the most significant online source for news and commentaries regarding the international criminal tribunal created to bring to justice the perpetrators of Pol Pot-era acts of genocide.