Joe Mansueto and the folks at T. Rowe Price [profile] both broke out their checkbooks this week to support local causes.

Joe Mansueto T. Rowe Price Chief Executive Officer

The University of Chicago confirms that Chicago-based Morningstar's billionaire founder, Joe Mansueto, and his wife, Rika Mansueto, pledged a $35-million gift to create the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation. The local ABC affiliate, Bloomberg, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and DNAinfo all reported on the couple's gift.

"The dramatic rise in large cities over the past 50 years has created some of society's most difficult problems and most promising opportunities," Mansueto states. "Rika and I want to put some of our resources towards addressing these issues."

Both Joe and Rika Mansueto are alumni of the University of Chicago. And this is not their first big donation to the university; eight years ago they contributed $25 million to support building the school's Joe and Rika Mansueto Library.

Meanwhile, Rick Seltzer of the Baltimore Business Journal reports that today the T. Rowe Price Foundation will pledge $1.3 million in grants to support leadership, families' finances, and fresh produce access in West Baltimore.

"The pledge represents the single-largest commitment in the 35-year history of the foundation," the paper reports.

John Brothers, president of the foundation, tells the paper that they chose to support West Baltimore in light of community feedback after the unrest in the city in April 2015.

$575,000 of the T. Rowe donations will go to a joint school principal leadership development effort between the Maryland Association of Nonprofits and Baltimore Corps. New Leaders. $480,000 will go to financial education by Baltimore Cash, Junior Achievement, and Maryland Cash. And $200,000 will support growing and distributing fresh produce in West Baltimore. And T. Rowe will be working with the involved non-profits to get T. Rowe staff in on the action as volunteers.

The foundation has made more than $92 million in grants since Baltimore-based T. Rowe launched it in 1981. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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