Underwriters Laboratories Inc
Evanston, IL · EIN 36-1892375. Reported 152 grants totalling $7.7B to 84 organizations across tax years 2021-2024, 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 Underwriters Laboratories Inc, the IRS classifies it under public & societal benefit rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE W900) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 84 distinct organizations, with 100% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is extreme concentration. A grantmaker sending three quarters of its money to one organization is in practice a support fund for that organization, whatever its classification says, and an unsolicited request is very unlikely to go anywhere.
- How much its list changes. 55% 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 $30,000. Half of what it reported fell between $15,000 and $169,480; the smallest was $5,198 and the largest $7.6B. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
1 of those grants was non-cash -- goods, property or services worth $7.6B in total. In-kind giving is real support but it is not a cheque.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulse Inc | Evanston, IL | $7.6B | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $5,907,843 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH | $2,237,557 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | $1,662,525 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Georgia State University Research Foundation Inc | Atlanta, GA | $1,231,100 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Trustees of Purdue University | West Lafayette, IN | $1,228,317 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| State of Maryland-University of Maryland College P | College Park, MD | $1,178,977 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | $855,976 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Kindling Inc | Kingston, MA | $850,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| University of Maryland College Park Foundation Inc | College Park, MD | $734,758 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | $620,296 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University | Tempe, AZ | $549,995 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| University of Houston Division of Research | Houston, VI | $525,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| William Marsh Rice University | Houston, TX | $395,565 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Emory University | Atlanta, GA | $389,697 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| West Virginia University Research Corporation | Morgantown, WV | $380,578 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Southwest Research Institute | San Antonio, TX | $299,600 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois | Urbana, IL | $275,286 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $263,180 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Nasa Johnson Space Center | Houstaon, TX | $240,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX | $196,596 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| University of Maryland Foundation Inc | Adelphi, MD | $190,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Business Executives for National Security | Washington, DC | $176,435 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Stonier Scholarship Inc | Towson, MD | $171,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | $164,214 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The University of Tennessee Foundat Ion Inc | Knoxville, TN | $160,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Sfpe Educational and Scientific Foundation Inc | Gaithersburg, MD | $146,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| National Engineers Week Foundation | Alexandria, VA | $133,395 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| National Consortium for Graduate Dgrs Minorities in Engineering | Alexandria, VA | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| U C San Diego Foundation | La Jolla, CA | $106,667 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Inc | Quincy, MA | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| United States Conference of Mayors | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Fdny Foundation | Brooklyn, NY | $85,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Cristo Rey St Martin College Prep | Waukegan, IL | $78,880 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Chicago Horticultural Society | Glencoe, IL | $75,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| National Fallen Firefighters Foundation | Emmitsburg, MD | $70,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| United Nations Foundation Inc | Washington, DC | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northbrook Symphony Orchestra Inc | Northbrook, IL | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| North American Associates of the Sts Forum | New York, NY | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| San Jose State University Research Foundation | San Jose, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The American Ireland Fund | Boston, MA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Chicago Symphony Orchestra | Chicago, IL | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| University of Illinois Foundation | Champaign, IL | $38,060 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Center on Halsted | Chicago, IL | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| National Fire Protection Research Foundation | Quincy, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| National Society of Black Engineers | Chicago, IL | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Oregon State University | Corvallis, OR | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American India Foundation | New York, NY | $27,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Congressional Fire Services Institute Inc | Washington, DC | $27,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Box 15 Club Inc | Columbus, OH | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago Inc | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chicago Architecture Foundation | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Key West Harry S Truman Foundation Inc | Key West, FL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Nehemiah Group | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Science Teaching Association | Mclean, VA | $23,750 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Regents of the University of California at Riverside | Riverside, CA | $23,239 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ravinia Festival Association | Highland Park, IL | $22,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Evanston Symphony Orchestra Association | Evanston, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Illinois Saint Andrew Society of the Scottish Old Peoples Home | N Riverside, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Navy Seal Foundation Inc | Virginia Bch, VA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Tech Fest Live | Richmond, TX | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kennesaw State Unversity Research and Service Foundation Inc | Kennesaw, GA | $19,393 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Catholic Charities | Albuquerque, NM | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Catholic Charities USA | Alexandria, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Electrochemical Society Inc | Pennington, NJ | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Society of Fire Protection Engineers Inc | Gaithersburg, MD | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Society of Black Engineers | Alexandria, VA | $12,250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Erikson Institute | Chicago, IL | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Network Media Partners LLC | Hunt Valley, MD | $10,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Larraine Segil Scholars Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $10,385 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Chemical Society | Lawrence, KS | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Black Chief Officers Committee | Fulton, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| DC Fire & Emergency Medical Services Foundation Inc | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Illinois Science and Technology Institute | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Music Institute of Chicago | Evanston, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The American Ceramic Society Inc | Westerville, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Music of the Baroque Concert Series Inc | Chicago, IL | $7,669 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University Industry Demonstration Partnership Inc | Columbia, SC | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $6,174 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Center for Public Safety Excellence Inc | Reston, VA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Illinois Legal Aid Online | Chicago, IL | $5,198 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
44 of 84 (52%) 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 kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 66 of 84 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | $7.6B | $25,000 |
| 2022 | 40 | $4,557,967 | $25,000 |
| 2023 | 39 | $8,328,026 | $75,000 |
| 2024 | 48 | $8,624,452 | $25,000 |
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
100% 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.
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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 $30,000 -- 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 Underwriters Laboratories Inc's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 48 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: 1603 Orrington Ave Suite Unit 17, Evanston, IL, 60201.
EIN 36-1892375 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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