Rice Foundation

Rice Foundation

The Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation, established in 1947, is a philanthropic foundation that carries forward Dan and Ada’s commitment to charitable giving. For decades the Rice Foundation has been a significant benefactor to a wide array of institutions, especially in the Chicago area. Here is an overview of the foundation’s history and impact:

• History and Endowment: Dan Rice created the foundation in 1947, initially funding it with contributions from his personal fortune. Over the next 40+ years, the foundation disbursed approximately $12.4 million via 1,257 grants, supporting causes the Rices cared deeply about. By 1988, prudent investments had grown the foundation’s corpus to over $60 million. This growth meant the foundation could continue giving long after the Rices’ lifetimes. Indeed, it is still active today; recent financial data indicates the Rice Foundation had ~$66.9 million in assets in 2023 and annual grant expenditures around $4–5 million. The foundation’s longevity is a testament to good stewardship and the sizable wealth Dan and Ada left to it (note: in their wills, they left the bulk of their estate to the foundation, including proceeds from selling assets like their Florida home and art collections).
• Mission Areas: The Rice Foundation’s giving reflects Dan and Ada’s personal passions. Major areas of focus include:
  • Education and Youth: The foundation has funded scholarships and educational programs. A notable early act was Dan leaving a portion of his estate to establish scholarships for needy students at five medical schools. The foundation continues to support youth initiatives; for example, it is a major sponsor of the Illinois Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant program, which funds school wildlife gardens statewide. (Nearly $360,000 has been provided for these habitat projects since inception, much of it via the Rice Foundation). The foundation also provided challenge grants to educational institutions like Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, IL.
  • Preventing Child Abuse and Social Services: Ada, especially, was concerned with child welfare. The Rice Foundation supports organizations that protect children and help families. For instance, it has long funded the Children’s Home + Aid Society of Illinois, where the “Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Child + Family Center” in Evanston provides residential care and services for vulnerable youth.
  • Medical Research and Healthcare: The foundation has given to hospitals and research centers. Dan and Ada made large gifts in their lives to institutions like the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now Shirley Ryan AbilityLab), where a patient treatment center was named for them. The foundation’s grants have advanced research into rare diseases (fulfilling Ada’s interest in medical advancement). They also funded the building of facilities, such as a wing at Rush University Medical Center and labs at other hospitals (some of these are not publicized, but appear in annual reports).
  • Plant and Wildlife Conservation: A unique interest of the Rices was conservation of plants and animals. The foundation funded the Morton Arboretum’s elm tree research, resulting in a hybrid elm named “Danada Charm” in their honor. The foundation also gave a transformative $8 million challenge grant to the Chicago Botanic Garden for its plant science center, which opened in 2009 as the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center. In the zoological realm, the foundation supported the Brookfield Zoo, leading to the creation of the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Conservation and Biology Research Center – a facility with genetics labs for species conservation. They’ve also aided the Lincoln Park Zoo and other wildlife initiatives.
  • Arts and Culture: The Rices loved the arts, and the foundation mirrors that. They donated $10 million to the Art Institute of Chicago, which named the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Building after them (part of the museum complex). At the Chicago History Museum, the entire Clark Street entrance pavilion is named the Rice Pavilion thanks to a major gift. The foundation also helped fund the Lyric Opera of Chicago – the grand foyer of the Lyric Opera House was named the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Grand Foyer after a 1994 donation that restored its chandeliers and decor. The Rices were significant supporters of the performing arts center in Skokie, IL, partnering with the village to build the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in 1996. Other cultural beneficiaries include the Adler Planetarium (which once had the Rice Solarium and café), and the Field Museum of Natural History, which in addition to receiving collections support named an exhibition gallery the Dan and Ada Rice Gallery. The foundation has also quietly supported smaller museums and initiatives (for example, recent news shows a $5,000 education program grant to the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in 2023).

Collectively, the Rice Foundation’s impact can be seen across the Chicago region. As a brief list, places named in honor of Dan and Ada Rice or funded by their foundation include:

• Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
• Rice Pavilion at the Chicago History Museum (exterior façade on Clark St.).
• Rice Building at the Art Institute of Chicago.
• Rice Child + Family Center in Evanston (Children’s Home & Aid Society).
• Rice Conservation & Biology Research Center at Brookfield Zoo (housing genetic labs).
• Dan and Ada Rice Gallery at the Field Museum (for rotating exhibits).
• Rice Patient Treatment Center at the Rehab Institute of Chicago (now part of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab).
• Rice Pool, Amphitheater, and Underwater Viewing Gallery at Shedd Aquarium (major components of the Oceanarium, named in 1991 after a $3 million gift).
• Rice Solarium (formerly at Adler Planetarium).
• North Shore Center for Performing Arts in Skokie (constructed with Rice Foundation partnership).
  
• Dan and Ada Rice Grand Foyer at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago.
• Dan and Ada Rice Center at Benedictine University (sports complex, opened 1977).
  
• Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Campus of Illinois Institute of Technology in Wheaton (IIT’s suburban graduate campus, on land the Rices donated).
• Wheaton Park District Community Center and Rice Pool & Water Park (13 acres donated by the Rices for these facilities).
• Danada Forest Preserve itself, indirectly, since the foundation sold the land at a fair price to the county and the Friends of Danada carry on much of the programming.

This list underscores how the Rice Foundation has memorialized the Rices’ name in bricks and mortar – from gardens to galleries to pools – all in service of public enrichment.

• Recent Developments: The Rice Foundation remains active. In 2022, for instance, it was listed as a top donor (“$1,000,000 or more”) to the Field Museum, likely in support of the new Rice Native Gardens project. The Rice Native Gardens at the Field Museum, completed in 2021, transformed the museum’s grounds with sustainable native plant landscaping, and were explicitly made possible by the Rice Foundation’s generosity. This project not only beautifies the lakefront museum campus but also provides urban habitat and educational opportunities, aligning with the Rices’ interest in conservation and education. Another contemporary initiative is the foundation’s sponsorship (along with the Jadel Family) of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Schoolyard Habitat Grant Program, as mentioned earlier, showing the foundation’s continued commitment to environmental education for youth.

The Rice Foundation operates from Skokie, Illinois (historically the Rices had an office there, and the foundation’s correspondence still uses a Skokie address). It typically does not seek publicity, but its impact is widely felt. Even as of the mid-2020s, grants are made annually to dozens of organizations, often quietly listed in annual reports or donor walls under “Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation.”

In summary, the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation serves as a perpetual philanthropic legacy of the Rices. By funding scientific research, helping the less fortunate, supporting the arts, and conserving nature, it reflects the broad interests and big hearts of Dan and Ada. Their foresight in endowing the foundation means that, well into the 21st century, causes they believed in continue to flourish. As the Chicago Tribune once dubbed them ,the Rices were “patrons par excellence”, and through their foundation, they still are.