Community-Building Investments
Making a Generational Impact
Giving back is a pillar of the White Family and White Lodging.
Through White Family foundations, in-kind donations, and volunteerism, we support a wide range of local community organizations and invest in legacy-building projects that support educational, community-building, and health and wellness projects.
In the last five years, the White Family foundations have pledged more than $100 million to enhance the quality of life in the community. Much of this investment is centered in Indiana where the White Family spent the majority of their lives and where they raised their now-adult children.
This investment includes support, and the creation of, university programs, as well as local YMCAs, youth education, and community centers in diverse neighborhoods.
A selection of recent investments is summarized below and additional information can be found at https://dbwfamilyfoundation.org/.
Through White Family foundations, in-kind donations, and volunteerism, we support a wide range of local community organizations and invest in legacy-building projects that support educational, community-building, and health and wellness projects.
In the last five years, the White Family foundations have pledged more than $100 million to enhance the quality of life in the community. Much of this investment is centered in Indiana where the White Family spent the majority of their lives and where they raised their now-adult children.
This investment includes support, and the creation of, university programs, as well as local YMCAs, youth education, and community centers in diverse neighborhoods.
A selection of recent investments is summarized below and additional information can be found at https://dbwfamilyfoundation.org/.
Purdue University + White Lodging
Over the past 15 years, White Lodging and the White family have made a significant investment developing future hospitalitarians and entrepreneurs through our collaborative relationship with Purdue University. Beginning with a $5 million gift in 2009 to create the White Lodging School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University Northwest, continuing with Bruce White's support of the University as a Trustee. In recent years, approximately $100 million in gifts went to transform the Union Club Hotel, make scholarship programs, develop the LAUNCH Hospitality Immersion Program, and create the White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management; the Dean V. White Real Estate Finance Program; and the Bruce White Undergraduate Institute in the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business.
Big Shoulders
In 2019, the White Family Foundation contributed $16 million to the Big Shoulders Fund, a Chicago-based organization that supplies elementary and high school students with academic support and scholarship opportunities. This gift extended the organization's programming to Northwest Indiana and across a range of economic, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, specifically to 20 schools and 6,000 students within the Diocese of Gary.
The gift helps Big Shoulders enhance the quality of education through access to curricular resources, technology, scholarships, and enrichment programs. To supplement this positive work, in 2021 Big Shoulders launched the Northwest Indiana White Family Scholarship to help students reach their maximum potential.
The gift helps Big Shoulders enhance the quality of education through access to curricular resources, technology, scholarships, and enrichment programs. To supplement this positive work, in 2021 Big Shoulders launched the Northwest Indiana White Family Scholarship to help students reach their maximum potential.
