Illinois · Grantmakers

Foundations That Fund Recreation & Sports in Illinois

Imperigo has identified 705 funders that made 3,577 grants totaling $1.3B to 353 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 $1.3B
Funders 705
Grants 3,577
Organizations funded 353

Top Funders — page 2 of 4

26. Womans Educational Aid Association CO Renanah Lehner
1 grant to 1 organization · largest $166K · through 2024 · 100.0% of their giving
$166K
27. Queen B Foundation
2 grants to 1 organization · largest $100K · through 2025 · 65.1% of their giving
$155K
28. The LAM Foundation
5 grants to 1 organization · largest $60K · through 2025 · 10.9% of their giving
$255K
29. Persimmon Foundation
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $75K · through 2024 · 12.3% of their giving
$225K
30. Real Estate Investment Association
5 grants to 1 organization · largest $35K · through 2024 · 92.7% of their giving
$128K
31. Mammoth Amateur Hockey Association
3 grants to 2 organizations · largest $74K · through 2021 · 100.0% of their giving
$127K
32. Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
54 grants to 13 organizations · largest $795K · through 2024
$4.7M
33. Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $27K · through 2025 · 21.0% of their giving
$112K
34. The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia Inc
2 grants to 1 organization · largest $675K · through 2024 · 2.3% of their giving
$888K
35. Adam Don Foundation
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $25K · through 2024 · 38.5% of their giving
$100K
36. Chicago Yacht Club
2 grants to 1 organization · largest $57K · through 2023 · 37.9% of their giving
$99K
39. American Council of Learned Societies
5 grants to 1 organization · largest $330K · through 2024 · 1.4% of their giving
$1.2M
49. Howard Hughes Medical Institute
5 grants to 1 organization · largest $751K · through 2022
$1.7M
55. Endeavor Health Clinical Operations
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $785K · through 2023
$1.9M
61. The Bessemer Giving Fund C/O Bessemer Trust Company Trustee
6 grants to 3 organizations · largest $1.4M · through 2024
$1.9M
78. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
19 grants to 1 organization · largest $166K · through 2023
$1.8M
82. Greater Washington Community Foundation
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $525K · through 2023
$1.4M
88. Charities Aid Foundation America
73 grants to 33 organizations · largest $672K · through 2024
$2.4M
92. The Ayco Charitable Foundation
8 grants to 3 organizations · largest $719K · through 2025
$2.5M
100. The Blackbaud Giving Fund
25 grants to 18 organizations · largest $499K · through 2025
$2.1M
102. St Louis Community Foundation Inc
4 grants to 1 organization · largest $544K · through 2023
$888K
112. The Pew Charitable Trusts
7 grants to 1 organization · largest $235K · through 2024
$1.1M
119. Marin Community Foundation
7 grants to 2 organizations · largest $431K · through 2024
$1.2M
136. Silicon Valley Community Foundation
8 grants to 3 organizations · largest $1.6M · through 2024
$3.4M
149. Jewish Communal Fund
11 grants to 2 organizations · largest $460K · through 2024
$1.6M

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