#9 Chesterton House  -Gianforte Family Foundation Top Ten Grantees

Written By Jan Lombardi

Ranking #9 in the top 10 Gianforte Family Foundation grantees from 2005-2020 is Chesterton House.  

What is Chesterton House?

Founded in 2000 as a cooperative effort among a number of pastors, professors and campus ministry workers, Chesterton House is a Christian Study Center designed precisely to address this challenge of sustaining Christian presence at Cornell.  The mission is "to facilitate discovery of the intellectual riches of the historic Christian faith, thereby empowering more faithful Christian living."    Source: About - Chesterton House and CHESTERTON HOUSE INC - GuideStar Profile 

Chesterton House provides events, residences for men and women, and courses, both credit and non-credit courses. Source: Courses - Chesterton House

What is the relationship with the Gianforte Family Foundation?

Source: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/306089834

Here are the Facts

  • 1981 Susan Gianforte, wife of Governor Greg Gianforte,  is a graduate of Cornell University, earning a BS in mechanical engineering.  Source: About Us - Gianforte Family Foundation

  • 2000 Cornell established a center for Christian studies, Chesterton House 

  • 2006- 2016 The Gianforte Family Foundation granted to Cornell University, beginning with $250 in 2006 for total donations of $21,850.00 through 2016.  

  • 2011 -2020   The Gianforte Family Foundation gave Chesterton House, a Christian Study Center at Cornell University,  a total of $2,094,500 from 2011 through 2020, according to the most recent IRS public record available. 

  • 2014  Susan ’81 and her husband Greg Gianforte pledged $1 million to Chesterton House for the purchase of a house and another $1 million to provide financial support to Sophia House, the women’s community that operates under the umbrella of Chesterton House.  Source: Announcing Purchase of Residential Facility! - Chesterton House  

  • 2015 Adam Gianforte, son of Greg and Susan Gianforte, is a graduate of Cornell University and was active with Chesterton House as a student. After graduation, Adam Gianforte unicycled across the country to raise money for a  nonprofit  International Justice Mission to bring awareness to human trafficking, to which the Gianforte Family Foundation donated $4,000. Sources: Campus Crusades,  One-wheeling for a cause | Daily Inter Lake    

Blog Note:  Adam Gianforte is now the Co-Founder and Community Director of  Collective Chicago an organization committed to “Disrupt Homelessness with Dignity.”  The Gianforte Family Foundation donated $40,000 in 2019 and $20,000 in 2020 to this organization  Source: Adam Gianforte - Co-Founder and Community Director - Collective Chicago | LinkedIn;  Gianforte Fam Charitable Tr - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica

  • 2019   Chesterton House Annual Report 2019  announces the inauguration of the women’s residence “made possible by a generous gift from Greg and Susan Gianforte.”

Clearly, the Gianforte family has multi-generational ties to Cornell University with Susan and Adam as alumni and their investment in Chesterton House makes sense.  However, their personal wealth and values seeking fundamental classical Christian teachings reach out beyond Cornell.  In addition to the  Gianforte Family Foundation giving of  $$2,094,500 from 2011 - 2020 to the Chesterton House,  the Gianforte Family Foundation funded more organizations that focus on college students: 

We believe that God has called us to reach every corner of every campus. Change the university. Change the world. Our vision is to see students and faculty transformed, campuses renewed, and world changers developed.

  • Fellowship of Christian Athletes: $185,000.00 from 2014 - 2020

    • Vision: To see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.

    • Mission: To lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church.

Background on Christian Study Centers

According to The Consortium of Christian Study Centers,  Christian Study Centers are communities of students and scholars animated by the ancient ideal of faith seeking understanding.  An article in Philanthropy Roundtable in 2014 points out the growth in Christian Study Centers, like Chesterton House, across the United States by “their rapid growth is fueled by enthusiastic financial backers eager to see young people include God in the formative years of their lives.  There are now 30 unique Christian Study Centers located on campuses across the U.S. and Canada.   Source: Philanthropy Magazine Fall 2014  Campus Crusades   

  • Blog Note:  The Gianforte Family Foundation funded Philanthropy Roundtable $250,000 from 2017-2020.   The Executive Director of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers is the Founder of Chesterton House at Cornell University. 


In 2014 Kenneth Clarke, senior director of Cornell United Religious Work, said: “Chesterton House, in concept and practice, is where spirit and intellect meet. The Gianfortes’ gift ensures there will be a physical space for this nexus to occur, through exploration of sacred text, the role of religion and public life and the arts as a medium of truth.”   Source:  A firm foundation for Chesterton House | Cornell Chronicle


Fast forward to now: Greg Gianforte is the governor of Montana since 2021.  As continually questioned in our blogs – where is the intersection of Greg Gianforte’s personal wealth, his religion, and his governance? We know that the Gianfortes support organizations that support conservative, Christian values. This blog highlights the investments to influence higher education with Chesterton House, a Christian Center, and organizations like InterVarsity, which want to “Change the university. Change the world.”  We also know the Gianfortes made considerable personal investments in several institutions within the Montana University System.   Just Facts MT has more work to do to uncover what’s happening across the Big Sky.

Stay tuned as we continue our Top 10 countdown of Gianforte Family Foundation grantees from 2005-2020 with #8  Stevens Institute of Technology for our next blog.  

Sources:

Gianforte Fam Charitable Tr - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica

Story - Chesterton House

Campus Crusades

A firm foundation for Chesterton House | Cornell Chronicle

https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2015/jul/29/one-wheeling-for-a-cause-6/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwgianforte

https://www.ijm.org/news/man-unicycles-across-the-country-to-combat-slavery

Campus Crusade for Christ changes name to ‘Cru’; keeps evangelical mission - The Washington Post

Gianforte Family Foundation donating $50 million to Montana State University

Jan Lombardi
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