FundersIllinois

Francis Beidler Foundation

Chicago, IL · EIN 36-4260449. Reported 382 grants totalling $3,552,500 to 116 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$3,500median grant
$3,552,500granted, 2021-2024
116organizations funded
92%of grantees funded again the next year
$22.4Massets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Francis Beidler Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $3,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,000 and $6,500; the smallest was $500 and the largest $266,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
8 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
230 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
72 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
42 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
21 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
5 grants
$100,000 and Up
4 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Voter Participation CenterWashington, DC$929,000442024
Chicago Youth CentersChicago, IL$299,000442024
Planned ParenthoodChicago, IL$165,000442024
Chicago Childrens MuseumChicago, IL$160,000442024
Giant Steps IlBurr Ridge, IL$120,000442024
Public Interest Law InitiativeChicago, IL$111,500442024
National Audubon SocietyHarleyville, SC$100,000442024
Better Government AssocChicago, IL$93,000442024
Project on Government OversightWashington, DC$91,000442024
Wbez Chicago Public RadioChicago, IL$60,000442024
Girls Play SportsEvanston, IL$56,000442024
Evanston Township High School Health CenterEvanston, IL$55,500442024
Erie Family Health CenterEvanston, IL$54,000442024
Start EarlyChicago, IL$51,500442024
Chapin Hall Center for ChildrenChicago, IL$47,000442024
Chicago Public Schools - J Beidler Elementary SchoolChicago, IL$39,000332024
Evanston YWCAEvanston, IL$38,000442024
All Our Childrens Advocacy CenterJustice, IL$36,000442024
Greater Chicago Food DepositoryChicago, IL$36,000442024
Nwestern Univ Law SchoolChicago, IL$36,000442024
Chicago Volunteer Legal ServChicago, IL$35,500442024
Everytown for Gun Safety SupportNew York, NY$27,500442024
Rush Presbytst Lukes HospitalChicago, IL$27,000442024
Shriver National Center of Poverty LawChicago, IL$27,000442024
Moran Cntr for Youth AdvocacyEvanston, IL$26,000442024
Howard Brown Health Broadway CenterChicago, IL$24,000442024
National Alliancementally IllArlington, VA$24,000442024
Urban Education InitiativeChicago, IL$24,000442024
Wttw Channel 11 Chicago Educational Tv AssocChicago, IL$23,000442024
Family InstituteEvanston, IL$22,000442024
Gateway FoundationChicago, IL$22,000442024
Lake Forest CollegeLake Forest, IL$20,000442024
Catholics for a Free ChoiceWashington, DC$19,500222022
Family FocusChicago, IL$18,000442024
Global Giving - JuconiWashington, DC$18,000442024
National Immigrant Justice CenterChicago, IL$18,000442024
ThresholdsChicago, IL$18,000442024
Kuumba EvanstonEvanston, IL$17,000222024
Legal Aid ChicagoChicago, IL$17,000442024
ACLU-Roger Baldwin FoundationChicago, IL$16,000442024
Center for Domestic PeaceChicago, IL$16,000442024
Learning BridgeEvanston, IL$16,000442024
NamifloridaTallahassee, FL$16,000442024
Namipalm Beach CountyLake Worth, FL$16,000442024
Nwestern Univ Law-Entrepreneurship ProgramChicago, IL$16,000442024
YMCA of EvanstonEvanston, IL$16,000222022
Ploughshares FundSan Francisco, CA$14,000442024
The Hill FundPottstown, PA$14,000442024
Jacob Beidler Elementary SchoolChicago, IL$13,000112021
Cabrini Green Legal Aid FundChicago, IL$12,500442024
International African American MuseumCharleston, SC$12,500442024
Chicago Botanic GardenGlencoe, IL$12,000442024
Chicago Foundation for WomenChicago, IL$12,000442024
Curt's CafeEvanston, IL$12,000442024
Lgbt Fund of Chicago Comm TrustChicago, IL$12,000442024
Bens Education FundWashington, DC$11,000442024
Evanston School Childrns Clothing AssnEvanston, IL$10,500332023
Hanover CharitiesSt Helena Island, SC$10,500332023
ACLU FoundationNew York, NY$10,000442024
CASA CentralChicago, IL$10,000442024
Chicago Advocates for ChangeChicago, IL$10,000222022
Chicago Legal ClinicChicago, IL$10,000222022
Children Advocates for ChangeChicago, IL$10,000222024
Deerfield Academy Scholarship FundDeerfield, IL$10,000442024
Lincoln Park Zoological SocietyChicago, IL$10,000442024
ShorefrontEvanston, IL$10,000442024
Youth Organizations UmbrellaEvanston, IL$10,000442024
Glessner House MuseumChicago, IL$9,000442024
Association House of ChicagoChicago, IL$8,000442024
Center on HalstedChicago, IL$8,000442024
Childcare Network-EvanstonEvanston, IL$8,000442024
Cradle theEvanston, IL$8,000442024
Foundation 65Evanston, IL$8,000442024
Night MinistryChicago, IL$8,000442024
Youth GuidanceChicago, IL$8,000442024
Youth Job Center of EvanstonEvanston, IL$8,000442024
Eths District FoundationEvanston, IL$7,500442024
Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre-EvanstonEvanston, IL$6,000442024
Landmarks IllinoisChicago, IL$6,000332024
Evanston HospitalEvanston, IL$5,000222022
Metro SquashChicago, IL$5,000112021
Musc Foundation Childrens HospitalCharleston, SC$5,000222022
Northshore Foundation -Evanston HospitalEvanston, IL$4,500222024
Chicago Architecture CenterChicago, IL$4,000442024
Congaree Land TrustColumbia, SC$4,000442024
Evanston History CenterEvanston, IL$4,000442024
Girl Scouts of ChicagoChicago, IL$4,000442024
Hadley School for the BlindWinnetka, IL$4,000442024
Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA$4,000442024
Impact Behavioral Health PartnersEvanston, IL$4,000442024
Lake Forest HospitalLake Forest, IL$4,000442024
Partners for Sacred PlacesChicago, IL$4,000222022
South Carolina Nature ConservancyColumbia, SC$4,000442024
Evanston School Childrens Clothing AssnEvanston, IL$3,500112024
Books and BreakfastEvanston, IL$3,000442024
Evanston Park FoundationEvanston, IL$3,000112021
Greater Chicago Legal ClinicChicago, IL$3,000222024
Eths Booster ClubEvanston, IL$2,000222024
Evanston GrowsEvanston, IL$2,000222024
Evanston ScholarsEvanston, IL$2,000222024
Franciscan Health Found - Dr John Lanman ClinicCrown Point, IN$2,000112022
Hammond Education FundHammond, IN$2,000222022
Hines Fisher House-Va HospitalHines, IL$2,000222022
Insight Center-CommeducdevelOakland, CA$2,000222022
Landmarks Preservation CouncilChicago, IL$2,000112021
Legacy Foundation - Lake County in Veterans TreatmentMerrillville, IN$2,000222022
Literature for All of USEvanston, IL$2,000112021
Operation GratitudeEncino, CA$2,000112021
Ptrsp for Public ServiceWashington, DC$2,000442024
Results Education FundWashington, DC$2,000222022
St Margaret Mercy - Mcauley ClinicHammond, IN$2,000112021
The Trade CollectiveEvanston, IL$2,000112024
Girl ForwardChicago, IL$1,500222024
Meals on Wheels Ne IlEvanston, IL$1,500222024
Chicago Metro Battered Women's NetworkChicago, IL$1,000112021
The Justin Wynn FoundationEvanston, IL$1,000112023

104 of 116 (90%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 92%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 134 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Human Services
31 grants
Arts & Culture
24 grants
Crime & Legal
20 grants
Education
18 grants
Mental Health
8 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
7 grants
Youth Development
6 grants
Environment
4 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
2021101$781,500$4,000
202296$983,000$4,000
202393$892,000$3,500
202492$896,000$3,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Where its money goes

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 62% of this one's giving went to organizations in Illinois. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

Illinois
$2.2M
District of Columbia
$1.1M
South Carolina
$136K
New York
$38K
Florida
$32K
Virginia
$24K
California
$18K
Pennsylvania
$14K

Find more foundations like Francis Beidler Foundation

We email you newly filed foundations whose giving matches your state and cause, as the IRS publishes them. Free.

No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.

Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund37 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc37 shared recipientsThe Chicago Community Trust33 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc30 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program28 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust24 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $3,500. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Illinois.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding human services in IllinoisEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in IllinoisEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding arts & culture in District of ColumbiaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in District of ColumbiaEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Francis Beidler Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: 53 W Jackson 530, Chicago, IL, 60604. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 36-4260449 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.