FundersIllinois

The William and Mary Davis Foundation

Wheaton, IL · EIN 20-5937655. Reported 104 grants totalling $812,953 to 62 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$2,750median grant
$812,953granted, 2021-2024
62organizations funded
45%of grantees funded again the next year
$467,447assets, 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. The William and Mary Davis 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 $2,750. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $250 and the largest $143,379. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
16 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
44 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
27 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
9 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
2 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
5 grants
$100,000 and Up
1 grant

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
Tuskeegee Next FoundationWheaton, IL$330,079442024
Emerald Youth FoundationKnoxville, TN$100,000222022
Haymarket CenterChicago, IL$53,750442024
Northwestern Memorial FoundationChicago, IL$40,000442024
Go Chi LifeChicago, IL$25,000112024
Chicago Foundation for WomenChicago, IL$24,500442024
Progressive Baptist ChurchChicago, IL$20,000332024
St Sabina ChurchChicago, IL$17,000332024
Metropolitan Family ServicesChicago, IL$15,104332023
New City Church MinistriesNaperville, IL$15,000332024
East Tennessee Freedom SchoolJefferson City, TN$11,000332023
Firehouse Community Arts CenterChicago, IL$10,000112023
Southside Memorial Day ParadeChicago, IL$10,000222024
The Dusable Museum of African American HistoryChicago, IL$10,000112022
Timothy Christian SchoolElmhurst, IL$10,000222024
Fox Valley Christian ActionSt Charles, IL$8,500442024
North Lawndale Eagle Youth ProgramChicago, IL$7,500332024
Veteran's Foundation of IllinoisSpringfield, IL$7,500112023
Garfield Park Conservatory AllianceChicago, IL$5,800222024
Academy for Systems ChangeBulington, VT$5,500222022
Do SomethingorgNew York, NY$5,500222024
Elderday Center IncBatavia, IL$5,500222024
Beck Cultural CenterKnoxville, TN$5,000112024
East Tennessee Community Design CenterKnoxville, TN$5,000112024
Leadership Greater ChicagoChicago, IL$5,000112024
St John Luthern PreschoolWheaton, IL$5,000112021
The Lincoln Academy of IllinoisChampaign, IL$5,000112022
True ChicagoChicago, IL$5,000332024
Young LivesColorado Springs, CO$3,500222023
NAMI DupageWheaton, IL$3,100222024
Calculated GeniusChicago, IL$3,000222023
Helen Ross Mcnabb FoundationKnoxville, TN$3,000112024
Chicago Urban LeagueChicago, IL$2,500112023
Foolproof FoundationCocoa, FL$2,500112024
Knoxville Branch of the NAACPKnoxville, TN$2,500112023
Resurrection House Mb ChurchGary, IN$2,500222024
Daystar USBloomington, MN$2,000112021
Tim Krahenbuhl Education FundNorth Aurora, IL$2,000222023
County Lineellenwood Community DayEllenwood, GA$1,500112024
Dupage PadsWheaton, IL$1,500112021
The Answer IncHillside, IL$1,500112024
Legends of Tennessee CampMaryville, TN$1,100112024
Cosley ZooWheaton, IL$1,000112023
Cypher FoundationFlossmoor, IL$1,000112024
Dupage Health CoaliationCarol Stream, IL$1,000222024
Girl Talk IncKnoxville, TN$1,000112022
Hopewins FoundationWheaton, IL$1,000112023
Pj Parkinson's SupportKnoxville, TN$1,000112023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, TN$1,000112023
Whats Your Forte FoundationChicago, IL$1,000112024
Building on CollaborationSouth Elgin, IL$500112021
Elgin Youth Football and Cheer LeagueElgin, IL$500112022
Family Shelter ServicesWheaton, IL$500112022
Golden Apple FoundationChicago, IL$500112024
Haywood Community CollegeClyde, NC$500112021
Mission 318Wildwood, MO$500112021
Shoebox FoundationLong Island City, NY$500112022
The Perfect Cadence FoundationChicago, IL$500112024
WindowChicago, IL$500112022
North Lawndale Amichi Mentoring ProgramChicago, IL$400112024
Cpd District 10 Community OutreachChicago, IL$370112022
Dupage FoundationDowners Grove, IL$250112024

25 of 62 (40%) 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 45%, 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 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 43 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Human Services
13 grants
Education
6 grants
Arts & Culture
6 grants
Youth Development
4 grants
Religion
3 grants
Environment
2 grants
Employment
2 grants
Diseases & Disorders
1 grant

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202122$258,129$3,125
202220$184,870$2,500
202329$177,854$2,500
202433$192,100$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. 81% 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
$658K
Tennessee
$131K
New York
$6K
Vermont
$6K
Colorado
$4K
Indiana
$2K
Florida
$2K
Minnesota
$2K

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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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund22 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc18 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc17 shared recipientsThe Chicago Community Trust17 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust14 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program13 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $2,750. 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, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The William and Mary Davis 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: 401 S Carlton Ave, Wheaton, IL, 60187. 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 20-5937655 · 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.