Crown Family Foundation
Chicago, IL · EIN 36-3330462. Reported 120 grants totalling $129.6M to 56 organizations across tax years 2020-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Crown Family Foundation, the IRS classifies it as a federated giving programme -- a United Way, Jewish federation, Community Chest or similar (NTEE T700).
- How spread out its giving is. 56 distinct organizations, with 38% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 59% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is about the 57% median for grantmaking charities -- noticeably lower than the 67% private foundations manage. Organizations like this one rotate more of their list each year, which is where an opening for a newcomer tends to be.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $187,500. Half of what it reported fell between $100,000 and $500,000; the smallest was $10,000 and the largest $16.9M. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago | Chicago, IL | $49.2M | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Covenant Foundation | New York, NY | $22.9M | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago | Chicago, IL | $15.1M | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jerusalem Foundation Inc | New York, NY | $6,500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Jewish Federations of North America Inc | New York, NY | $3,500,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| American Friends of Magen David Adom | New York, NY | $2,500,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School | Skokie, IL | $2,500,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | $2,000,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Birthright Israel Foundation | New York, NY | $1,550,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Friends of the Tel Aviv University Inc | New York, NY | $1,500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jewish Family and Childrens Service Inc | Phoenix, AZ | $1,500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Council for Jewish Elderly | Chicago, IL | $1,380,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago | Northbrook, IL | $1,375,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Keshet | Northbrook, IL | $1,000,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies Inc | Paramus, NJ | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Ark | Chicago, IL | $775,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Shalva Inc | Chicago, IL | $755,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| American Friends of Bar-Ilan University Inc | New York, NY | $750,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Friends of the Hebrew University Inc | New York, NY | $750,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Society for Technion- Israel Institute of Technology Inc | New York, NY | $750,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Society of the University of Haifa | New York, NY | $750,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Americans for Ben-Gurion University Inc | New York, NY | $750,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chicago Jewish Day School | Chicago, IL | $750,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Rochelle Zell Jewish High School | Deerfield, IL | $750,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago | Skokie, IL | $700,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Ecopeace Middle East Environmental Ngo Forum | Washington, DC | $700,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion | Cincinnati, OH | $600,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School | Chicago, IL | $500,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Arie Crown Hebrew Day School | Skokie, IL | $500,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Facing History & Ourselves Inc | Boston, MA | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hillel the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life | Washington, DC | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ida Crown Jewish Academy Inc | Skokie, IL | $500,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jewish Funders Network | New York, NY | $495,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Yeshivat Maharat Inc | Bronx, NY | $440,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Jewish National Fund -Keren Kayemeth Leisrael- Inc | Rockville Ctr, NY | $405,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School | Chicago, IL | $390,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago Inc | Northbrook, IL | $350,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Beit Tshuvah | Los Angeles, CA | $300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of the Israel Defense Forces | New York, NY | $300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Matan Inc | Bronx, NY | $300,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Union for Reform Judaism | New York, NY | $300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc | New York, NY | $250,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Afsnc Inc | New York, NY | $225,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jewish Child and Family Services | Chicago, IL | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Friends of Elnet | Skokie, IL | $185,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Clal-the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership Inc | New York, NY | $135,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Atzum Inc | Skokie, IL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| P E F Israel Endowment Funds Inc | New York, NY | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Hap Foundation Inc | Oakbrook Ter, IL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Window to the World Communications Inc | Chicago, IL | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Bnai Brith Youth Organization Inc | Washington, DC | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Israel Policy Forum Inc | New York, NY | $37,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Firehouse Community Arts Center of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Jewish Community Centers of Chicago | Northbrook, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Civic Leadership Foundation | Northbrook, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Clubhouse Center for Respite and Inclusion Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
31 of 56 (55%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago
Hebrew language instruction, Bridge Tech in the Negev and Kfar Kassem, physician fellowships, Co-Tech Program, High-tech Entrepreneurship and for Hassoub garage capital project, Diversity in High-Tech in Acre and Hura, AlKavsaa program for Negev and East Jerusalem, Summer Camps in FSU, Enter High-Tech and Excel in High-Tech, The Admas program for Ethiopian Israeli STEM university students, Portland Trust for Arab high-tech employment, Aaron Institute's Center for Economic Policy for the Israeli Arab Society, Netivot Campus - capital grant, Full Stack and DevNet Courses, training in the periphery, and general operating support CRM system. - Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
Chicago Jewish Day School Capital Campaign, LiveSecure, EZRA Passthrough, Holocaust Community Services- CJE Passthrough, Israel Studies on Campus, Israel Education Center - Jerusalem Foundation
General operating support and Rebecca Crown Theatre - Jewish Federations of North America
LiveSecure ($3mil); Israel Action Network ($250K) - Birthright Israel Foundation
GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT AND TOUR EDUCATOR TRAINING & ONWARD ISRAEL - American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Scholarships and General operating support
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 49 of 56 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 31 | $19.4M | $150,000 |
| 2021 | 29 | $35.3M | $150,000 |
| 2022 | 35 | $46.2M | $450,000 |
| 2023 | 25 | $28.8M | $125,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
60% of its giving went to organizations in Illinois. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available 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 grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $187,500 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Illinois.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Crown Family Foundation's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 25 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 30 South Wells Street 4049, Chicago, IL, 60606.
EIN 36-3330462 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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