Cuneo Foundation will continue its work despite donation

With a $50 million gift to Loyola University Chicago, the Cuneo Foundation is divesting itself of a valuable asset but its work will continue.

"It's not being dissolved," explained John Coffee, an attorney representing the foundation formed in the late 1940s by publishing magnate John Cuneo.

The Cuneo Museum and Gardens, which includes the Venetian-style family home and nearly 100 acres of surrounding property is being given as a gift by the foundation to Loyola.

"It's sort of a shift, a splitting of the foundation," Coffee said. John Cuneo Jr., is president of the foundation and his wife, Herta, a board member.

The $50 million donation, accepted by the Loyola board on Friday, includes the value of the mansion, its extensive collections, the property and cash.

In a recent interview, John Cuneo Jr. said the foundation would retain about $6.5 million to distribute for scholarships for college, high school and some grade school students.

"They are grants to schools, which in turn subsidize students. Primarily in the Chicago area, primarily Catholic," Coffee said.

About $953,000, or more than half of the foundation's charitable activities in 2007, involved the operation of the Cuneo Museum and Gardens in Vernon Hills.

The foundation that year also made about $922,000 in direct donations to more than 100 charitable organizations, according to federal records.

The estate, designed for Commonwealth Edison founder Samuel Insull, was acquired by John Cuneo in the late 1930s.

When John Cuneo died in 1977, the home and some adjoining land was given to the foundation, with the stipulation his wife, Julia, could live there until her death.

"Separately, the foundation from the time it was formed was doing the other things, making grants, primarily to educational institutions," Coffee said.

When Julia Cuneo died, the rest of the estate property went to the foundation, according to Coffee. The family home was opened as a public museum in 1991.

"It's one of the things in the area lot of people haven't seen because they don't realize how beautiful it is," John Cuneo Jr., said recently.

The gift came with the condition Loyola operate and maintain the museum and gardens for 20 years, although school officials have said they expect to exceed that tenure.

Loyola plans to increase the use of the mansion for weddings, special occasions and corporate events and is considering developing the northern part of the property.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=342143">$50 million Cuneo mansion a gift to Loyola University <span class="date">[12/07/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>