Whether they’re supporting education and mental health causes, investing, or helping care for their grandchildren, Liz and Kent Dauten offer a compelling model for how values can guide every aspect of life and work. As recipients of the Big Shoulders Fund’s 2025 Humanitarian Award, they exemplify what it looks like to lead with purpose — and to align that purpose with action.
“The overriding value is trying to do good in the world. A corollary to that is do no bad in the world,” Kent Dauten says.
Every decision — from philanthropic to financial — is grounded in this ethic.
A big part of that attitude is couched in the couple’s Christian faith. Another factor, Kent acknowledges, is that both he and Liz were raised by parents who valued philanthropy and education.
Liz explains their altruistic lives in a similarly straightforward, poignant way: “We have been blessed with more than we can personally use, and we want to help others.”
Focus Where You Can Make a Difference
By honing in on education and mental health — areas where they can make a meaningful, lasting impact — the Dautens ensure their giving is both strategic and personal.
The Dautens support as many as 20 charitable causes, but they have two primary focus areas: education, mainly through the Big Shoulders Fund, which Kent co-chairs, and mental health and brain health, particularly in the area of bipolar disorder. By honing in on these two areas of passion, the Dautens ensure their giving is both strategic and personal.
Serving 20,000 students and 72 schools in the Chicago region, the Big Shoulders Fund’s mission is to shore up Catholic schools in neighborhoods that depend on them.
“We believe education is the great equalizer in the world, for individuals who come from more disadvantaged backgrounds,” Kent says. “These schools are so critical to the youth in those neighborhoods. Furthermore, they’re pillars of the neighborhood in terms of providing community and economic support.”
The couple also supports organizations helping people with bipolar disorder, both in terms of funding critical research toward future treatments and enabling people with bipolar disorder to live better lives. They were early philanthropic investors in BD², an organization dedicated to accelerating the application of research for the benefit of people with bipolar disorder. They also helped establish the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital.
While they’ve often viewed their support for education and bipolar disorder as distinct efforts, Kent notes that the two have the potential to intersect — especially as mental health becomes increasingly essential to student success. “We’re very interested in the social, emotional counseling piece of Big Shoulders Fund’s work,” he says.
Stay Close to the Work
Liz and Kent don’t just write checks — they take a hands-on approach to giving back, engaging directly with the communities they support.
Since stepping away from a career in advertising to raise their four children, Liz has immersed herself in community service. She’s volunteered in her children’s classrooms and on their sports teams, served on the board of the NorthShore University HealthSystem Auxiliary, and as co-chair of the American Craft Exposition.
Together, Liz and Kent have volunteered across Chicago, often working with Big Shoulders. Recently, they distributed food at St. Francis de Sales High School, a Big Shoulders school located in a food desert. Kent also serves as co-chair of the Big Shoulders Fund board, helping to guide the organization’s strategic direction and long-term impact.
Align Capital With Conviction
As co-founder and chairman of private equity Keystone Capital, Kent also has the opportunity to follow his values while delivering the best returns for investors.
“There are certain industries that we would not invest in,” he says. “Things like gambling, alcohol, and cigarettes don’t align with our family’s value system.”
Operating with social good in mind has also led Keystone to run an internship program for first-generation college students. Working with the nonprofit organization CareerSpring, Kent says, “We’ve hired eight or 10 first-generation college students to be interns, either here at Keystone or across our portfolio companies.”
Kent has introduced other firms to the program as well, creating even more opportunities for first-generation students.
Keystone also fosters volunteerism among its employees, having recently partnered with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to deliver food to neighbors in need and collaborated with Camden’s Comfort to create blankets for infants in neonatal intensive care units.
Recognize — and Model — Purposeful Leadership
Whether they are engaging in philanthropy, investing, or volunteering, the Dautens are driven by a faith-infused perspective on their place in the world. They both see themselves as stewards of the resources they’ve been blessed with.
“We want to try to use those resources as effectively and efficiently as we possibly can to promote good in the world,” Kent says. “If you start there, it’s pretty easy to make the calls along the way as to what is a good allocation or use of resources, or a good investment decision. Whether it’s a personal investment decision or a philanthropic one, it comes out of the same place.”
Celebrating a Legacy of Impact
On Thursday, May 15, 2025, the Big Shoulders Fund will honor Liz and Kent Dauten with the 2025 JCB Humanitarian Award at the biennial Humanitarian Award Dinner.
Since its inception in 2008, this signature event has raised more than $62 million to support scholarships, academic and enrichment programs, instructional equipment, facility improvements, and much more for schools and students across Chicago.
The Dautens’ bold, strategic philanthropy is the embodiment of the award’s spirit. Their leadership continues to shape the future of education and mental health support in their communities and beyond, and their recognition at this year’s dinner celebrates not just what they’ve given, but the values that drive them.
How to Help
Big Shoulders Fund was founded by a group of business and civic leaders to support Catholic schools in providing high-quality education to those in need. All funds donated to Big Shoulders Fund support scholarships, enrichment programs, operational improvements, academic initiatives, and leadership development.
Carrie Kirby spends a lot of time asking people about something they think about but rarely talk about: money. Her work on personal finance, business and technology has appeared in San Francisco Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, Wise Bread and more publications. She lives on an island (Alameda) with her husband and three kids, and blogs about family travel and mileage rewards at The Miles Mom.
