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Allen and Meline Pickus Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Allen and Meline Pickus Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$37k
Granted FY2024still arriving
14
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$57kHuman Services$27kPhilanthropy$18kHealth$9kFood & Nutrition$8kHousing & Shelter$8kInternational$8kCivil Rights$7kOther$0
02FY2024 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k12 grants · $17k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
$1,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$202k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO$10,000
JUF$10,000
RAVINIA FESTIVAL$5,000
INFANT WEALFARE SOCIETY$2,500
UNICEF$2,000
NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BA$2,000
PILOTS FOR KIDS$1,000
ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION$1,000
READING POWER$1,000
COUMMUNITY PARTNER FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING$1,000
DOCTOR WITHOUT BORDERS$500
PULMONARY FIBROSIS FOUNDATION$500
COMMUNITY HOUSE$500
USCJ$188
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, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 47% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%COMMUNITY HOUSE: $500 → 14%COMMUNITY HOUSE: $500 → 14%COMMUNITY HOUSE: $500 → 14%COUMMUNITY PARTNER FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING: $1k → 8%COUMMUNITY PARTNER FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING: $1k → 8%COMMUNITY HOUSE: $250 → 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

MT
IL
NY
WY
CA
VA
DC
AL
GA
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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$154k · 33 repeat orgs$34k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +16% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

33 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2024, 20 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

33
24

Total granted

$154k
$33k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+8%

Still filing today

45%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesInternationalPhilanthropyEnvironmentOther
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

  • RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $22k · revenue +52%
  • LO
    Lyric Opera of Chicago
    2× · 2023–2024 · $15k · revenue +35%
  • JU
    JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
    2× · 2021–2022 · $14k · revenue +33%

Funded once

  • IW
    INFANT WELFARE SOCIETY
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $8k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $6k
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
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
2
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
3
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
4
United States Telecom Association

See schedule oustelecom exists to ensure members can compete, grow and thrive to build a world where families, enterprises and communities are connected through the power of broadband.our member companies have committed a considerable…

—
5
Internet Society Foundation

At the internet society foundation, we focus on funding initiatives that strengthen the internet in function and reach so that it can effectively serve all people. our work advances the vision of the internet society (isoc): the internet…

International
6
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
7
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
8
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

See schedule ouniversity corporation for atmospheric research (ucar), on behalf of, and in cooperation with its member university members, is engaged in the management of long-term atmospheric and related research and educational…

Science & Tech
9
National Public Radio Inc

National public radio, inc. ("npr") works collaboratively with member public radio station licensees ("member stations") to create a more informed public, one that is challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of…

Arts & Culture
10
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
11
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
12
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of Lake County Inc; the most unlike its peers is Pilot for Kids. 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

27 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. 27 of the 59 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/27
Grantees still filing
18/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JUF: $20,000 · OtherJUFLYRIC OPERA: $19,000 · OtherLYRIC OPERAINFANT WEALFARE SOCIETY: $12,500 · OtherINFANT WEALFARE SOCIETYINFANT WELFARE SOCIETY: $10,000 · OtherINFANT WELFARE SOCIETYIndividual grant recipient: $8,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $5,500 · OtherNHP FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Other+37 more: $29,665 · Other+37 moreRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $22,000 · Arts & CultureRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOC…Lyric Opera of Chicago: $15,000 · Arts & CultureLyric Opera of Chicago+2 more: $300 · Arts & CultureJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $13,500 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNI…UNITED WAY OF LAKE COUNTY INC: $4,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY…UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $7,400 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $375 · International+1 more: $150 · InternationalALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $4,025 · HealthPULMONARY FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $2,000 · HealthNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $5,450 · Food & NutritionCOMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING: $2,000 · Human ServicesTHE COMMUNITY HOUSE: $1,750 · Human ServicesPilot for Kids: $1,200 · Human Services
Other$109,665Arts & Culture$37,300Philanthropy$17,500International$7,925Health$6,025Food & Nutrition$5,450Human Services$4,950

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 budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $22,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLyric Opera of Chicago: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $13,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $7,400 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $5,450 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $4,025 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF LAKE COUNTY INC: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC: $2,250 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPULMONARY FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY HOUSE: $1,750 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPilot for Kids: $1,200 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetOPTIONS FOR COLLEGE SUCCESS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetLAKE COUNTY CRISIS CENTER: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetREADING POWER INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWORDS ON WHEELS: $1,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $550 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $375 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUnited States Association for UNHCR: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYELLOWSTONE FOREVER: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYOSEMITE FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $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.

  • Who funds RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Lyric Opera of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF ↗
  • Who funds NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF LAKE COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ↗
  • Who funds PULMONARY FIBROSIS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE COMMUNITY HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds Pilot for Kids ↗
  • Who funds OPTIONS FOR COLLEGE SUCCESS ↗
  • Who funds LAKE COUNTY CRISIS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds READING POWER INC ↗
  • Who funds WORDS ON WHEELS ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds University of Illinois Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗

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.

Raymond James Charita…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Raymond James Charitable Endowment FundFL11.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 Allen and Meline Pickus Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Allen and Meline Pickus Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    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 Allen and Meline Pickus Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Allen and Meline Pickus 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 59 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Allen and Meline Pickus’ 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