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125 Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

125 Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$505k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$150k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Religion$634kEducation$390kFood & Nutrition$360kInternational$336kPublic Safety & Disaster$325kYouth Development$300kHuman Services$235kHealth$53kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $55k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $450k
$50,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$2.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HOLY FAMILY MINISTRIES$150,000
GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY$100,000
CHICAGO YOUTH CENTERS$100,000
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ILLINOIS$50,000
WHITE STORK - UNITED STATES LTD$50,000
CHURCH WORLD SERVICE INC$25,000
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOUNDATION$20,000
CHICAGO BIBLE SOCIETY$10,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY20–24, $40k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%COMMUNITY MEAL: $10k → 14%COMMUNITY MEAL: $10k → 14%COMMUNITY MEAL: $10k → 14%Community Meal: $10k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
OR
SD
IN
CA
MO
NC
SC
DC
FL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

68%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 12 repeat orgs$858k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
24

Total granted

$1.8M
$823k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+7%

Still filing today

83%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthInternationalFood & NutritionEducationHuman ServicesPhilanthropyOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY
    6× · 2020–2025 · $310k · revenue +17%
  • HF
    HOLY FAMILY MINISTRIES
    3× · 2020–2025 · $180k · revenue +48%
  • University of Illinois Foundation
    4× · 2020–2025 · $155k · revenue +74%

Funded once

  • OW
    OPERATION WHITE STORK
    one grant, 2022 · $150k
  • CI
    CHICAGOLAND IMMIGRANT WELCOME NETWORK
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +2%
  • OW
    OPERATION WHITE STORK - UNITED STATES LTD
    one grant, 2024 · $100k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Chicago Refugee Coalition

The Chicago Refugee Coalition is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated ot the alleviation of human suffering through innovative partnerships, advocacy and community empowerment.

Human Services
2
Central Illinois Foodbank Inc

The Foodbank's mission is to provide food, and develop awareness of and creative solutions for food insecurity. Annually, the Foodbank distributes approximately 9.5 million pounds of food to 130 food pantries, soup kitchens, children's…

Food & Nutrition
3
Nourishing Hope

Nourishing hope provides food, mental health support, and social services to help all our neighbors thrive.

—
4
Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants

Serving recently arrived migrants and asylum seekers in the Chicagoland area and is committed to upholding the dignity and human rights of immigrants.

Human Services
5
Arise Chicago

Arise chicago builds partnerships between faith communities and workers to fight workplace injustice through education, organizing, and advocating for public policy changes.

Employment
6
A Better Chicago

A better chicago is changing how chicago fights poverty by investing in bold ideas that create opportunity for our youth.

Human Services
7
Gastro Intestinal Research Foundation Inc

The GI Research Foundation works to treat, prevent, and cure digestive diseases. In collaboration with the physicians and scientists at the University of Chicago Digestive Diseases Center, we fund innovative clinical and laboratory…

Health
8
Chicago Chesed Fund

To raise and distribute funds, goods, food, and assistance to the poverty-stricken in the jewish community.

Human Services
9
Legal Aid Chicago

At legal aid chicago, we work together to provide high quality civil legal aid to people living in poverty and other vulnerable groups.through advocacy, education, collaboration, and litigation we empower individuals, protect fundamental…

Crime & Legal
10
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago's purpose is to partner with mission-driven people and organizations across Cook and Lake counties and to witness a message of mercy and hope to a world in need through service.

—
11
Executive Service Corps of Chicago

Executive Service Corps is the premier nonprofit consultancy that engages highly skilled professionals who use their experience and expertise to provide nonprofits with the consulting services they need to be successful. Our vision is to…

Community Improvement
12
I58 Global

i58 Global is a Christian ministry dedicated to recruiting, sending and organizing relief workers to provide aid and share hope to refugees in various European countries.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Youth Centers; the most unlike its peers is Jeffrey Pride Foundation Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

24 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 24 of the 38 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/24
Grantees still filing
17/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HOLY FAMILY MINISTRIES FOUNDATION: $400,000 · OtherHOLY FAMILY MINISTRIES FOUNDATIONOPERATION WHITE STORK: $150,000 · OtherOPERATION WHITE STORKLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ILLINOIS: $110,000 · OtherLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ILLINOISOPERATION WHITE STORK - UNITED STATES LTD: $100,000 · OtherOPERATION WHITE STORK - UNITED STATES LTDIndividual grant recipient: $75,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientVALPARAISO UNIVERSITY: $50,000 · OtherHELP OF BEAUFORT: $40,000 · OtherCommunity Meal: $40,000 · Other+18 more: $233,510 · Other+18 moreHOLY FAMILY MINISTRIES: $180,000 · EducationHOLY FAMILY MI…University of Illinois Foundation: $154,965 · EducationUniversity of …GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $310,198 · Food & NutritionGREATER CHICA…+1 more: $10,000 · Food & NutritionChicago Youth Centers: $300,000 · Youth DevelopmentChicago Yout…White Stork - United States Ltd: $150,000 · Public Safety & DisasterWhite Stor…GLOBAL EMPOWERMENT MISSION INC: $100,000 · Public Safety & DisasterGLOBAL EMP…CHICAGOLAND IMMIGRANT WELCOME NETWORK: $100,000 · ReligionCHICAGO FELLOWSHIP: $50,000 · ReligionONE COLLECTIVE: $65,337 · InternationalCHURCH WORLD SERVICE INC: $25,000 · InternationalINGAGE UNLIMITED: $20,000 · International
Other$1,198,510Education$334,965Food & Nutrition$320,198Youth Development$300,000Public Safety & Disaster$250,000Religion$150,000International$110,337

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $310,198 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Youth Centers: $300,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetHOLY FAMILY MINISTRIES: $180,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $154,965 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWhite Stork - United States Ltd: $150,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ILLINOIS: $110,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCHICAGOLAND IMMIGRANT WELCOME NETWORK: $100,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetGLOBAL EMPOWERMENT MISSION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetONE COLLECTIVE: $65,337 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetCHICAGO FELLOWSHIP: $50,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetHELP OF BEAUFORT: $40,000 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetTHE GLOBAL ORPHAN PROJECT INC: $25,595 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLUTHERAN LIFE COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetCHURCH WORLD SERVICE INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEFFREY PRIDE FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetINGAGE UNLIMITED: $20,000 over 2y, 23% of budgetFOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO ASSOCIATION OF VETERANS OF WORLD: $10,000 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetAbove and Beyond Family Recovery Center NFP: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTeam Bright Side Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLions Clubs International Foundation: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Christopher Famil…Greater Chicago Food …The Chicago Community…Thrivent Charitable I…Raymond James Charita…Gs Donor Advised Phil…AbbVie FoundationThe Blackbaud Giving …Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Renaissance Charitabl…
The Christopher Family FoundationIL13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Christopher Family Foundation · Greater Chicago Food Depository · The Chicago Community Trust · Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · AbbVie Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization 125 Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from 125 Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Global Empowerment Mission Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to 125 Foundation?

Find your warmest path to 125 Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 38 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on 125’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home