In addition to his private sector and political work, Gidwitz has been involved in philanthropic and nonprofit activities.

[9] For many years, a company controlled by Gidwitz and his cousin Ralph owned the Evergreen Terrace housing project in Joliet, Illinois, a 356-unit complex of high-rise apartments where 90% of tenants were families with young African-American single mothers.

Gidwitz, in court, blamed the City of Joliet, claiming that they had repeatedly blocked attempts to secure federal financing for improvements.

[11] Mayor Harold Washington appointed Gidwitz the Chairman of the Chicago Economic Development Commission.

[6] Gidwitz was appointed chairman of the Board of City Colleges of Chicago by mayor Richard M. Daley in 1991.

[16] His tenure ended when he resigned on April 14, 1999, amid a power struggle with the new chancellor Wayne Watson.

[18] Gidwitz soon became chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education in April 1999, having been nominated by Governor George Ryan.

[26][27] Gidwitz co-endorsed and jointly campaigned with State Senator Steve Rauschenberger as his preferred choice of running mate.

[28] Lacking name recognition, his campaign spent large sums on early advertising in media markets such as Quincy.

[33] In 2008, Gidwitz and Greg Baise formed the Economic Freedom Alliance, a 527 organization, to oppose the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.

[33] In the early stages of the Republican primaries for the 2016 presidential election, Gidwitz was a supporter of the candidacy of Jeb Bush.

[35][6] In the summer of 2016, Gidwitz met with Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus to urge him to pressure Trump into being more disciplined in his messaging against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

[36][37] Gidwitz served as campaign co-chair and finance chair for Bruce Rauner's successful 2014 bid for Illinois governor.

He was Chair of the Field Museum of Natural History Board of Trustees, and the Economic Development Commission of Chicago.

Gidwitz also served on the boards of the Council for Aid to Education, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, National Board of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Science and Industry, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the founding Chair of the Chicago Chapter of Business Executives for National Security.

In 2006, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America bestowed him with the Herbert Hoover Humanitarian Award for his "extraordinary service to the organization and the nation's youth."