Illinois · Grantmakers

Foundations That Fund Recreation & Sports in Illinois

Imperigo has identified 687 funders that made 3,408 grants totaling $1.2B to 342 recreation & sports organizations in Illinois, with a median grant of $25K. Every figure below is drawn from IRS Form 990 filings through 2025.

Recreation & Sports Funding in Illinois

Total granted $1.2B
Funders 687
Grants 3,408
Organizations funded 342

Top Funders — page 1 of 4

1. Northwestern Memorial HealthCare
5 grants to 1 organization · largest $49.8M · through 2023 · 98.4% of their giving
$208.4M
2. The Big Ten Conference Inc
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $77.5M · through 2024 · 6.9% of their giving
$363.3M
3. Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group
15 grants to 8 organizations · largest $18.3M · through 2023 · 56.5% of their giving
$75.1M
4. Underwriters Laboratories Inc
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $2.6M · through 2024 · 25.1% of their giving
$5.9M
5. Digestive Health Foundation
4 grants to 1 organization · largest $2.2M · through 2023 · 30.7% of their giving
$5.1M
6. Neurodegenerative Disease ResearchInc
2 grants to 1 organization · largest $1.9M · through 2022 · 40.6% of their giving
$3.4M
7. The H Foundation
4 grants to 1 organization · largest $500K · through 2025 · 100.0% of their giving
$1.5M
8. Harold E Eisenberg Foundation
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $300K · through 2024 · 98.7% of their giving
$1.5M
9. Russell Westbrook Why Not Foundation Inc
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $795K · through 2023 · 23.3% of their giving
$1.2M
10. The Chicago Community Trust
127 grants to 37 organizations · largest $7.0M · through 2023
$39.7M
11. Gust K Newberg Charitable Trust
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $211K · through 2024 · 40.0% of their giving
$966K
12. William Howard Charitable Trust
7 grants to 1 organization · largest $241K · through 2025 · 25.9% of their giving
$715K
13. Pipe Fitters Association Local 597 Charities Inc
4 grants to 1 organization · largest $140K · through 2024 · 94.6% of their giving
$525K
14. Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Inc
2 grants to 1 organization · largest $2.8M · through 2024 · 2.6% of their giving
$3.8M
15. Cptc Nfp
7 grants to 2 organizations · largest $214K · through 2024 · 93.1% of their giving
$405K
16. Bill Winston Ministries
2 grants to 1 organization · largest $507K · through 2020 · 8.1% of their giving
$958K
17. The American Academy of Allergy Asthma
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $150K · through 2024 · 18.1% of their giving
$375K
18. Robert R McCormick Foundation
12 grants to 3 organizations · largest $2.6M · through 2024 · 1.4% of their giving
$4.7M
19. Helping Hands Network Inc
6 grants to 2 organizations · largest $63K · through 2024 · 31.5% of their giving
$281K
20. Lsst Inc
10 grants to 1 organization · largest $180K · through 2023 · 11.9% of their giving
$441K
21. American Hearing Research Foundation
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $75K · through 2024 · 16.3% of their giving
$316K
22. Chicago Curling Club
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $107K · through 2023 · 100.0% of their giving
$237K
23. The Clara Lionel Foundation
1 grant to 1 organization · largest $1.4M · through 2020 · 2.9% of their giving
$1.4M
24. Cancer Research Foundation
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $200K · through 2024 · 9.3% of their giving
$400K
25. Persimmon Foundation
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $75K · through 2024 · 12.3% of their giving
$225K

Funders are ordered by how much of their overall giving goes to recreation & sports 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. 17 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 recreation & sports 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 recreation & sports funding in Illinois, not every dollar that reached the sector. Figures are a floor, not a ceiling.

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