2,603 private foundations reported grants to Illinois recipients on their IRS Form 990-PF filings for tax years 2022–2025. Historical giving records — not an open application portal.
Compiled from public IRS Form 990-PF Part XV filings. UseGrants is an independent aggregator, not affiliated with any foundation listed. Grants paid directly to named individuals are excluded from recipient counts and tables.
Across tax years 2022–2025, 2,603 private foundations reported 11,360 grants totaling $994,176,737 to 6,382 organizations in Illinois. The most-funded purposes were education (620 grants) and health & medical (552 grants). Gates Foundation gave the most by reported dollars — $164,706,255 across 45 grants. The median reported grant was $10,000.
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The Illinois communities receiving the most reported foundation grants, of 57 with a meaningful reported volume. Recipient city is the address the filing foundation reported.
Purpose text from each foundation’s own Part XV filing, bucketed into plain-English themes.
| Foundation | Grants | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Gates Foundation | 45 | $164,706,255 |
| Caterpillar Foundation | 1 | $43,185,533 |
| Steans Family Foundation | 2 | $41,294,252 |
| SUE Ling GIN Foundation Trust | 18 | $34,008,086 |
| Pritzker Foundation | 1 | $32,134,133 |
| John and Kathleen Schreiber Foundation D/B/A Schreiber Philanthropy | 57 | $29,256,087 |
| AbbVie Foundation | 47 | $25,351,000 |
| Stamps Family Charitable Foundation Inc | 1 | $17,488,165 |
| Clara Abbott Foundation | 2 | $12,539,190 |
| Freedom Together Foundation | 19 | $12,040,000 |
| Chicago Cred Inc | 41 | $11,787,237 |
| Field Foundation of Illinois | 288 | $10,393,223 |
| The Arthur M Blank Family Foundation | 7 | $10,360,000 |
| Druckenmiller Foundation | 1 | $10,000,000 |
| ST James Farm Endowment Fund | 2 | $9,137,575 |
Totals across every reported grant in the filings above. Individuals are excluded.
| Recipient | City | Grants | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotary Foundation of Rotary International the | Evanston | 2 | $126,000,000 |
| Northwestern University | Chicago | 115 | $26,919,293 |
| Grants- SEE Attached List | Various | 1 | $21,919,908 |
| Nlis Fillmore Center | Various | 1 | $19,374,344 |
| Chicago Community Trust | Chicago | 11 | $18,542,982 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago | 76 | $17,669,336 |
| The University of Chicago Medicine | Chicago | 1 | $15,000,000 |
| The Chicago Community Foundation | Chicago | 15 | $11,054,688 |
| Feeding America | Chicago | 88 | $10,315,031 |
| Commercial Club Foundation | Chicago | 3 | $10,250,000 |
| Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research | Chicago | 2 | $10,050,000 |
| The University of Chicago | Chicago | 20 | $10,045,903 |
| United States Soccer Federation Inc | Chicago | 3 | $10,030,000 |
| Dupage Community Foundation | Downers Grove | 1 | $8,399,308 |
| Financial AID and Educational Seminars SEE Statement 15 | Abbott Park | 1 | $8,085,652 |
| Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois | Champaign | 3 | $8,011,255 |
| The Barack Obama Foundation | Chicago | 14 | $7,553,958 |
| Chicago Cred Inc | Chicago | 3 | $7,036,500 |
| Barack Obama Foundation the | Chicago | 2 | $7,000,000 |
| Sibel Health Inc | Chicago | 1 | $5,700,000 |
2,603 private foundations reported grants to recipients in Illinois on their IRS Form 990-PF filings, totaling $994,176,737 across 11,360 grants. The largest by reported dollars were Gates Foundation, Caterpillar Foundation, Steans Family Foundation. These are historical filings, not open application portals — contact each foundation for current guidelines.
Reported purposes in Illinois concentrate in education (620), health & medical (552), scholarships & financial aid (358). Purpose text comes from Part XV of each foundation's own 990-PF filing, bucketed into plain-English themes.
The median reported grant to a Illinois recipient was $10,000, and the largest single reported grant was $120,500,000. Amounts are as reported by the filing foundation and reflect a historical tax year.
Recipients in Chicago, Evanston, Northbrook, Rockford, Wheaton received the most reported foundation grants in Illinois. UseGrants publishes a page for each Illinois city with enough distinct funders and recipients to report on.
Foundation filings are historical. The UseGrants feed tracks federal and state opportunities that are open today, with the eligibility explained in plain English.
Source: public IRS Form 990-PF Part XV filings (tax years 2022–2025). Amounts are as reported by each filing foundation and reflect historical giving, not a current application opportunity. Recipient location is the address the foundation reported, which may differ from where a program operates. UseGrants is an independent aggregator — always confirm details with the funder before applying.
