Illinois · Grantmakers

Foundations That Fund Education in Illinois

Imperigo has identified 2,058 funders that made 20,161 grants totaling $5.7B to 1,511 education organizations in Illinois, with a median grant of $25K. Every figure below is drawn from IRS Form 990 filings through 2025.

Education Funding in Illinois

Total granted $5.7B
Funders 2,058
Grants 20,161
Organizations funded 1,511

Top Funders — page 4 of 4

1056. Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramDonor-advised
545 grants to 210 organizations · largest $11.2M · through 2024
$87.9M
1057. American Online Giving Foundation IncDonor-advised
1,005 grants to 351 organizations · largest $1.8M · through 2024
$40.8M
1058. Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncDonor-advised
420 grants to 159 organizations · largest $3.1M · through 2024
$26.7M
1059. American Endowment FoundationDonor-advised
357 grants to 149 organizations · largest $1.6M · through 2024
$26.5M
1060. The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift FundDonor-advised
101 grants to 27 organizations · largest $1.6M · through 2024
$11.6M
1061. Network for GoodDonor-advised
221 grants to 82 organizations · largest $667K · through 2024
$7.8M
1073. University of Illinois FoundationRegrantor
7 grants to 2 organizations · largest $306.5M · through 2024 · 99.6% of their giving
$1.5B
1074. Northwestern UniversityRegrantor
44 grants to 18 organizations · largest $13.8M · through 2022 · 14.9% of their giving
$76.9M
1075. Southern Illinois University FoundationRegrantor
11 grants to 3 organizations · largest $9.6M · through 2024 · 99.5% of their giving
$42.7M
1076. Illinois State University FoundationRegrantor
5 grants to 1 organization · largest $6.9M · through 2024 · 100.0% of their giving
$27.7M
1077. University of ChicagoRegrantor
46 grants to 11 organizations · largest $6.9M · through 2024 · 9.5% of their giving
$42.4M
1078. Sigma Chi FoundationRegrantor
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $3.6M · through 2024 · 63.7% of their giving
$16.7M
1079. Accelerate - the National Collaborative for Accelerated LearningRegrantor
3 grants to 2 organizations · largest $12.0M · through 2024 · 44.0% of their giving
$15.4M
1080. Elim Christian ServicesRegrantor
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $5.4M · through 2024 · 100.0% of their giving
$11.1M
1081. Cornell UniversityRegrantor
26 grants to 7 organizations · largest $4.1M · through 2024 · 6.0% of their giving
$36.4M
1082. A Better ChicagoRegrantor
55 grants to 18 organizations · largest $715K · through 2024 · 43.7% of their giving
$10.2M
1083. Blessing HospitalRegrantor
7 grants to 3 organizations · largest $2.3M · through 2023 · 87.6% of their giving
$10.0M
1084. Academy for Global Citizenship Charter SchoolRegrantor
2 grants to 2 organizations · largest $8.9M · through 2024 · 100.0% of their giving
$8.9M
1085. America Achieves IncRegrantor
1 grant to 1 organization · largest $8.7M · through 2021 · 36.6% of their giving
$8.7M
1086. OSF Healthcare SystemRegrantor
7 grants to 4 organizations · largest $3.6M · through 2023 · 45.2% of their giving
$8.4M
1087. ChiArts FoundationRegrantor
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $3.0M · through 2024 · 100.0% of their giving
$7.7M
1088. Elim Christian Services FoundationRegrantor
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $2.6M · through 2024 · 100.0% of their giving
$7.4M
1089. Chicago State FoundationRegrantor
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $3.9M · through 2024 · 74.4% of their giving
$7.3M
1090. Benaroya Research Institute at VirginiaRegrantor
10 grants to 3 organizations · largest $4.8M · through 2024 · 8.2% of their giving
$14.5M
1091. Loyola University of ChicagoRegrantor
23 grants to 9 organizations · largest $857K · through 2024 · 26.4% of their giving
$5.3M

Funders are ordered by how much of their overall giving goes to education work in Illinois, not by dollar totals alone — a foundation that concentrates its giving here is usually a better prospect than a larger one for which this is a rounding error. 21 of the funders counted here are donor-advised fund sponsors, which grant on behalf of individual donors and accept no applications; they are marked and ranked last.

Other Causes Funded in Illinois

About This Data

A grant appears here when a funder reported it on its IRS Form 990 and the recipient organization is classified under the NTEE group covering education work, with an address in Illinois. Grants are counted from the 2025 filing year backward.

Some 990 grant schedules list a recipient by name and address without an EIN, and those grants cannot be matched to a classification — so the totals above represent identifiable education funding in Illinois, not every dollar that reached the sector. Figures are a floor, not a ceiling.

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Research Illinois funders in depth

Full grant histories, recipient lists, officer compensation, multi-year financials, and exports for every foundation Imperigo tracks.