Jack Miller has always approached philanthropy like a business investment. It’s a strategy that’s proven effective in advancing the American values and principles he and his wife Goldie have helped support through the Bradley Impact Fund. Beginning in the 1950s, the Chicago entrepreneur and his brothers grew Quill Corporation into the nation’s largest independent direct marketer of office products. After it was acquired by Staples in 1998, Jack and his brother, Harvey, went on to found a successful real estate company.
The Millers believe deeply in their responsibility to give back, and for Jack, the lack of civic education on college campuses was a particular shortcoming he wanted to address. The Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History (JMC) started in 2004 and became a 501(c)3 in 2007. It is a non-partisan, nonprofit foundation on a mission to support the scholarship, teaching and study of the central ideas and themes of American history and the broader traditions of Western civilization. JMC partners with faculty, administrators and donors to change the way college and high school students learn about the history and principles at the heart of American political life. Today they have almost 1,000 professors on over 300 campuses nationwide and have taught over 1 million students.
Speaking as a panelist at the Bradley Impact Conference, Jack noted that donors often ask if JMC can shepherd their gifts to their alma mater. He shared JMC’s business-like strategies for protecting donor intent with university giving, which include spacing disbursements over several years, requiring annual reports on gift spend, and setting aside funds for the reporting work. “My philanthropy has been shaped by the passion Goldie and I share for getting America’s founding principles into our schools,” he says. “I’m optimistic that we can stop just complaining and get out of the bleachers and onto the playing field. Education is the key.”
“You worked hard to make the money, and you’ve got to work hard to make sure you’re investing properly in philanthropy. I think the Bradley Impact Fund can be a major help in this area.”
- Jack Miller, Disruptor, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist