The 16 Most Generous Illinois Philanthropists in 2014

Two Rockford-area institutions are on the receiving end of gifts from individuals on the list of the 16 most generous Illinois philanthropists of 2014.

Reboot Illinois recently gathered the data and posted it on their website, where you can view the donor’s source of wealth, his or her background, and some information about the gift, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The website explains that in order to be on the list, donors must live in Illinois and have given a minimum $1 million donation to an organization or institution within the state. Some of the gifts are bequests from individuals who have passed away. Here are the two Rockford-related entries:

9. Pat and Lou Bachrodt
Source of wealth: Retail
Cause: Education
Recipient: Boylan Catholic High School (Rockford, Ill.)
Gift value (challenge): $1 million

*Pat and Lou Bachrodt run a chain of family-owned car dealerships in Rockford. The $1 million gift was part of Boylan Catholic High School’s “Imagine Campaign,” which hopes to raise $10 million for school funds. Pat and Lou’s father spearheaded the effort to raise $3.5 million for the initial construction of Boylan in 1960, according to the Rockford Register Star.
12. Janet Kjellstrom
Source of wealth: Investments
Cause: Social services
Recipient: United Way of Rock River Valley (Rockford, Ill.)
Gift value: $1 million

*For United Way of Rock River Valley’s endowment.

You can check out the full list of generous Illinois residents at Reboot Illinois. This is one list on which I'd love to make an appearance, but that seems unlikely, at least in the near future. If you had the means, do you have a "dream list" of charities or organizations that you might support?