The Dennis J Smith Legacy
Kankakee, IL · EIN 26-0334261. Reported 118 grants totalling $329,040 to 72 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
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. The Dennis J Smith Legacy did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $250. Half of everything it gave fell between $100 and $575; the smallest was $15 and the largest $88,550. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Mc Namera | Kankakee, IL | $255,800 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Les Turner Als Foundation | Skokie, IL | $16,100 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kcc Foundation | Kankakee, IL | $14,100 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Tyler Bailey Foundation | Bradley, IL | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Community Foundation of Kanakee Riv | Kankakee, IL | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Leukemia and Lymphoma Society | Chicago, IL | $3,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Luke Blanchette | Manteno, IL | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Nuscotomek Youth Baseball | Kankakee, IL | $1,900 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Still I Rise | Kankakee, IL | $1,650 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kankakee Black Chamber of Commerce | Kankakee, IL | $1,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Choice Youth Outreach | Peoria, IL | $1,250 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Martin Luther King Foundation | Kankakee, IL | $1,080 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Azzarelli Outreach Clinic | Kankakee, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Caroll University | Waukesha, WI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Catholic Education Foundation | Crest Hill, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Graham Mcgrath Memorial Scholarship | Bourbonnais, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kankakee School District | Kankakee, IL | $1,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Marlene Rittmanic Family | Bradley, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Notre Dame Law School | Notre Dame, IN | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Steve Mcmichael | Romeoville, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pleasant Grove Church | Kankakee, IL | $900 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Juneteenth | Kankakee, IL | $800 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Kankakee Area YMCA | Kankakee, IL | $750 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Hippocrates Medical Center | Kankakee, IL | $600 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| NAACP | Kankakee, IL | $560 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Eastside Kankakee Football League | Kankakee, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kankakee County States Attorney Off | Kankakee, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Matteas Joy | Bourbonnais, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pearls of Hope | Kankakee, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cherry Marshall | Kankakee, IL | $400 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Christmas Day Inc | Bourbonnais, IL | $400 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Dr Leonard Porter | Kankakee, IL | $400 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Avion Pitman | Kankakee, IL | $300 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Board Machine | Kankakee, IL | $300 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Kfl Community Service Inc | Kankakee, IL | $300 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Racheal Smith | Sun River Terrace, IL | $300 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Acting Out Theatre Co | Bradley, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bradley Elementary School | Bradley, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Duane Dean Behavioral Health Ctr | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Eastside Bulldogs Cheer Team | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Jodi Lee Memorial Fund | Grant Park, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kankakee County Hispanic Partnershi | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Leon's Legacy | Effingham, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mca Senior Adult Day Center | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United Way of Kankakee | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| St Pat's Church (hearts of Hope) | Kankakee, IL | $225 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Angel Jackson | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| B5 Star Foundation | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Helen Wheeler Center | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Maternity Bvm | Bourbonnais, IL | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Riverview Historic District | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Toya & Co LLC | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Nabvets | Pembroke Township, IL | $170 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| First Ward Back to School | Kankakee, IL | $160 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Knights of Columbus - Kankakee | Kankakee, IL | $125 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mcl Detachment 1253 | Bourbonnais, IL | $125 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Garden of Prayer | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Genesis Community Ministries | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Goldstar Gym | Bradley, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kankakee County Community Services | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kankakee County Training Ctr | Bradley, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Marycrest Association | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mia & Enzo Africano Memorial | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| New Vision Mb Church | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| River Valley Animal Rescue | Momence, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| States Attorney's Community Foundat | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| We Stand for Christ Jesus | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Women's Club of Kankakee | Bourbonnais, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Zion Gate Missionary Baptist Church | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Second Baptist Church | Kankakee, IL | $50 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Uplifted Care | Bourbonnais, IL | $30 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Illinois Attorney General Charitabl | Chicago, IL | $15 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
26 of 72 (36%) 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 47%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. 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 kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 19 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | $93,700 | $500 |
| 2022 | 30 | $114,965 | $375 |
| 2023 | 34 | $62,740 | $180 |
| 2024 | 30 | $57,635 | $225 |
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. 99% 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.
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $250. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Illinois.
- 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.
- 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
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The Dennis J Smith Legacy'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: 255 E Station St, Kankakee, IL, 60901. 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 26-0334261 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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