Big Shoulders Fund

Inspired by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Big Shoulders Fund was founded in 1986 by business and civic leaders to provide support to Catholic schools in Chicago with demonstrated need.

For nearly forty years, Big Shoulders Fund has helped Chicago’s children achieve their dreams through access to a quality, values-based education.

We accomplish this by investing more than $20 million annually in scholarship support and academic enrichment for students, operational improvements for schools, leadership development programs for the next generation of school leaders, and academic programs and professional development for teachers.

For fourteen years in a row, we have earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for operating efficiently and transparently, a status held by just one percent of charities.