2025 Annual Report
Our Mission
The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of the people of Chicago faced with challenges rooted in the systems of inequity. We partner with effective nonprofit organizations that share our commitment to building a community in which all individuals and families have the opportunity to thrive. Our vision is a Chicago that offers education, opportunity, health, and hope for all.
About the Foundation
In 1933, Lloyd A. Fry founded the Lloyd A. Fry Roofing Company on the Southwest Side of Chicago. During the next five decades, the company grew to become the world’s largest manufacturer of asphalt roofing and allied products, with nearly 5,000 dedicated employees in manufacturing facilities nationwide. The company was sold to Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation in 1977. In large part, the proceeds from the sale of the company now serve as the endowment of the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. The Foundation has been addressing the needs of the Chicago community since 1983.
Data Drives Real Change
In this year’s annual report, we highlight how data helps drive real change for the individuals and communities served by our grantees.
While the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation provides grants to organizations working in arts learning, education, and employment, the ultimate impact is measured in the lives improved across Chicago.
At The People’s Music School, data informs strategies that keep young musicians engaged over many years, helping them grow artistically and personally.
In Chicago Public Schools, new tools from the University of Chicago Consortium help schools track students’ daily learning experiences and use the data to work with students on improving them.
And at Women Employed, data is a powerful tool to advance equity, shaping efforts to support Black and Latinx women in low‑wage jobs.
These stories, and the data behind them, reflect our belief that meaningful change is both measurable and human.
Our grantees’ commitment to using data ensures that their impact is deep, lasting, and growing.
Letter from the Chair
In this fast-paced environment, change has come very quickly. My two years as Chair for the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation flew by! There have been wonderful highlights I will long remember—notably our joyful celebration of the Foundation’s 40th anniversary, welcoming a new board member, Librada Killian, and talented new staff. Yet, it’s also a bittersweet moment as we prepare to say farewell to our visionary and long-serving President, Unmi Song, who retires in December. Thus, my last months as Chair focused on what the next chapter for the Foundation might look like.
I’m deeply grateful for the care and thoughtfulness that my Board colleagues brought to our discussions as we considered important program shifts, notably the difficult decision to sunset the health program. Now, as we contemplate a change in leadership, we must also consider what the next era of the venerable Fry Foundation could and should look like. It’s not hard to imagine it will be a more challenging environment for the next Fry president considering the fraught and disruptive circumstances our nation faces at this moment. The headwinds impacting Chicago’s social, educational, and arts sectors compel us to frequently return to our north star—our core values, mission, and the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion that are embedded in our work. In the face of such enormous change and uncharted paths ahead we know that Fry Foundation’s support—moral and financial—for our grantees and their work is more essential now than ever. Within our sector, we stand with our fellow philanthropic institutions to push back on egregious assaults to our democracy and to uphold our sense of civic responsibility and our commitment to the fundamental importance of truth and integrity.
Thankfully, my time as Chair wasn’t confined to addressing the troubling national climate. Led by our talented program officers, the Foundation’s investments in education, arts learning, and employment provided gratifying moments of learning about the extraordinary work of our grantees. We are increasing our investment in these areas as we continue to ponder what the present moment will require to advance our mission and civic responsibility. Clearly, neither the Foundation nor the philanthropic sector has sufficient resources to effectively address the myriad challenges resulting from the destruction of so many vital institutions, programs, and services. So, our forward strategy must be laser-focused on where and how our grantmaking can bolster and sustain essential work that meets the challenges of the moment. In this regard, I’m grateful to have had alongside me distinguished colleagues—Graham, Librada, Chip, Stephanie, and Scott—as we debated how, when, and where to respond. Working with our nonprofit partners, we hope to intuit what future needs will be and how our modest resources can advance opportunity, comfort, and care to those most in need. This harkens back to the founding principles that have always guided our work: service, partnership, and innovation. To these, I would add courage. We must be steadfast and vigilant to ensure our democracy survives as we boldly move forward with you into this new era.
— Amina Dickerson, Chair
Letter from the President
I am deeply honored and grateful to have served the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation and its grantees for what will be 22 years this coming December. It has been a privilege to work alongside colleagues who, year after year, have remained unwavering in their commitment to serving low-income families in Chicago and addressing systemic inequities.
I am enormously proud of the institution that we have built together. Our staff—past and present—are knowledgeable, smart, and most importantly, open and welcoming to prospective grantees in the city. Our grantmaking is discerning, strategic, and transparent. We strive to be responsive to the needs of grantee partners, which requires finding the right balance between being a steady, reliable funder and being willing to take the risks necessary to support innovations and experiments that don’t always work out exactly as planned—a lot like life in general!
The real skill of program staff is in listening to and learning from our grantee partners. Our work has never been about simply choosing the “best” projects or dictating what needs to be done. Instead, it’s about identifying strategies to investigate critical questions and testing new approaches. Through that process, we have helped advance important developments in the fields in which we fund. Our grantees are national leaders, recognized for their innovative practices and their determination to disrupt the cycle of historic racism. That commitment extends beyond our grantmaking to every part of our operations and investments―we are proud to have one of the most diverse sets of money managers of any Foundation we know.
The Foundation gave me immeasurable opportunities to grow and learn. Like our grantmaking, the work itself is constantly evolving and adapting to changing needs while staying focused on long-term challenges in our city. The Foundation’s dedication to understanding complex community issues, wrestling with the nuances of strategic decision-making, and taking informed risks has made this work both challenging and deeply meaningful. It has been the Foundation’s commitment to doing what is right for our grantees that has made me feel I had a home all these years.
— Unmi Song, President
