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The Eleanor Foundation

  /    /  The Eleanor Foundation

The Eleanor Foundation was a public grant-making fund focusing on helping female-headed households achieve economic self-sufficiency. After 110 years of existence, in 2012 the Eleanor Foundation merged into the Chicago Foundation for Women.

PROJECTS & MEDIA COVERAGE

In 2007, Thinkinc. made a set of recommendations that the Eleanor Foundation develop research to be released at a set of policy forums that would effectively frame the issues of single working mother heads of households and could be used as part of a national and local effort to raise the profile of these women in an effort to impact public policy discussions. Over the subsequent two years, the firm recommended a number of researchers and assisted Eleanor Foundation leadership in securing two researchers and strategizing the release of national data from Dr. Gary Orfield, Co-Director of the University California in Los Angeles Civil Rights Project, and Chicago regional data from Dr. Malcolm Bush, a Research Fellow at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Thinkinc. worked to assist the Foundation’s leadership in conceptualizing, shaping, and providing various consulting services to support the project with Orfield and Bush, as well as developing the key messages and strategizing potential opportunities for release of the report.

The result of our work together was a set of research papers entitled “Valuing Working Mothers: The Future of our Communities–An Analysis of Working Single Mothers in the Nation’s Ten Largest Metropolitan Areas–A national Report with a Chicago Regional Focus”. Thinkinc. developed a series of concepts for release of the reports that included both a strategy for outreach to specific funders as well as other targeted audiences and forged a relationship between the Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust resulting in a grant award, as well as co-sponsorship of an advance program for funders and a general release program in May 2009 which generated significant media coverage.

In addition:

  • PR Newswire | May 13, 2009: Press Release appeared via newswire in Alpha Trade Finance, Arizona Republic, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Austin Business Journal, Baltimore Business Journal, Birmingham Business Journal, Bolsamania Internacional, Boston Business Journal, Business First of Buffalo, Business First of Columbus, Business First of Louisville, Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee, Business Journal of the Greater Triad (AR), Business Review (Albany NY), Charlotte Business Journal, Cincinnati Business Courier, Dallas Business Journal, Dayton Business Journal, Denver Business Journal, East Bay Business Times, Forbes.com, Fort Wayne News Sentinel, Globe Investor/Toronto Globe and Mail, Houston Business Journal, Human Rights Today, Jacksonville Business Journal, Kansas City Business Journal, Los Angeles Business, Memphis Business Journal, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Nashville Business Journal, New Mexico Business Weekly, Orlando Business Journal, Pacific Business News, Philadelphia Business Journal, Pittsburgh Business Times, Portland Business Journal, Puget Sound Business Journal, Reuters, Sacramento Business Journal, San Antonio Business Journal, San Francisco Business Times, San Jose Business Journal, South Florida Business Journal, St. Louis Business Journal, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Triangle Business Journal, Washington Business Journal, Wichita Business Journal, Yahoo! Finance News, and Yahoo! Canada Business News.