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Alverin M Cornell Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Alverin M Cornell 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.

$6.7M
Granted FY2025still arriving
3
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$6.7M
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.

Philanthropy$9.6MEducation$548kHealth$435kEnvironment$165kYouth Development$100kHuman Services$40kArts & Culture$35kReligion$35kOther$0
02FY2025 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $11k
  • $250k+1 grant · $6.7M
$8,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ALVERIN M CORNELL FOUNDATION DONOR$6,686,205
LADDER UP$8,000
CPA ENDOWMENT FUND OF ILLINOIS$3,000
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 (FY20–21, $85k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%YOUTH AND FAMILY COUNSELING: $40k → 8%YOUTH AND FAMILY COUNSELING: $30k → 8%YOUTH AND FAMILY COUNSELING: $10k → 8%ROBERTI COMMUNITY HOUSE: $5k → 8%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

MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
IA
IN
OH
PA
NC
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 15 repeat orgs$252k to everyone else

15 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
23

Total granted

$11M
$252k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+48%
+60%

Still filing today

80%
61%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
EducationHealthHuman ServicesArts & CultureHousing & ShelterEnvironmentOther
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

  • DM
    DANIEL MURPHY SCHOLARSHIP FUND
    2× · 2020–2021 · $200k · revenue +89%
  • VO
    VOYAGEUR OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL
    2× · 2020–2021 · $160k · revenue +37%
  • Culver Educational Foundation
    2× · 2020–2021 · $125k · revenue +69%

Funded once

  • SI
    SHELTER INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $30k · revenue +244%
  • PF
    PEO Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $25k · revenue +60%
  • HY
    HOWARD YOUNG FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2020 · $25k · revenue +23%
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
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management

Lake Forest Graduate School of Management's mission is to bring the real world to business education and leadership development.

—
2
Lake Forest College

Provide post-secondary education leading to a baccalaureate degree. Program service expenditures are made in conjunction with the operation of a liberal arts college spread over 107 acres with approximately 63 educational and support…

Education
3
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

The Chicago School educates the next generation of change-makers in innovative theory and culturally competent practice to strengthen the integrated health of individuals, organizations, and communities.

Education
4
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
5
Illinois College

Illinois college is a co-educational institution of higher education learning providing a four-year educational program leading to the baccalaureate degree. illinois college is a community committed to the highest standards of scholarship…

Education
6
Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute

The chicago psychoanalytic institute transforms the lives of individuals, families and communities, using psychoanalytic knowledge to help them grow and thrive.

Social Science
7
Lake Forest Academy

Lake forest academy strives to embody in its practices - and to cultivate in its students -excellence of character, scholarship, citizenship, and responsibility.

Education
8
Rockford University

To educate men & women to lead responsible lives by means of a curriculum grounded in liberal arts learning and complemented and extended by professional and practical experience, through the total academic and co-curricular experience,…

Education
9
The Family Institute

Our mission is to strengthen and heal families and individuals from all walks of life through clinical service, education and research.

—
10
Lakeside Community Committee

To enhance the quality of life for children and families by inspiring hope and empowerment and growth within all whom we serve.

Human Services
11
Chicago Public Education Fund

The chicago public education fund (the fund) is a nonprofit organization that improves public schools in chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them.

Education
12
Kipp Chicago Schools

The team at kipp chicago schools is guided by a simple, yet powerful mission: to create a network of excellent schools in chicago that teach our students the character and academic skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond, and to…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Shelter Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Roberti Community House. 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 39 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
20/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ALVERIN M CORNELL FOUNDATION DONOR: $9,500,666 · OtherALVERIN M CORNELL FOUNDATION DONOR+19 more: $563,000 · Other+19 moreALEXIAN BROTHERS HEALTH SYSTEM: $250,000 · HealthBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $60,000 · Health+1 more: $10,000 · HealthCulver Educational Foundation: $125,000 · EducationFoundation for Special Education District of Lake County: $50,000 · EducationLADDER UP (F/K/A CITY-WIDE TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM): $43,500 · EducationPEO Foundation: $25,000 · EducationCPA ENDOWMENT FUND OF ILLINOIS: $16,000 · EducationALMA COLLEGE: $10,000 · EducationWaukegan To College NFP: $10,000 · EducationPARK LAWN SCHOOL AND ACTIVITY CENTER IN C: $10,000 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $10,000 · EducationVOYAGEUR OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL: $160,000 · EnvironmentYOUTH AND FAMILY COUNSELING: $80,000 · Human ServicesThe Roberti Community House: $5,000 · Human ServicesRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $35,000 · Arts & CultureCHICAGO POLICE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Arts & CultureSHELTER INC: $30,000 · Housing & ShelterTHE LAKE COUNTY HAVEN: $12,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$10,063,666Health$320,000Education$299,500Environment$160,000Human Services$85,000Arts & Culture$45,000Housing & Shelter$42,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetALEXIAN BROTHERS HEALTH SYSTEM: $250,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDANIEL MURPHY SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $200,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetVOYAGEUR OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL: $160,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetCulver Educational Foundation: $125,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBy The Hand Club For Kids: $100,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetYOUTH AND FAMILY COUNSELING: $80,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $60,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFoundation for Special Education District of Lake County: $50,000 over 2y, 9.6% of budgetLADDER UP (F/K/A CITY-WIDE TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM): $43,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSHELTER INC: $30,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetHOWARD YOUNG FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetMax McGraw Wildlife Foundation: $18,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCPA ENDOWMENT FUND OF ILLINOIS: $16,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetTHE LAKE COUNTY HAVEN: $12,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCHICAGO POLICE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLOVE INC OF LAKE COUNTY: $10,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetALMA COLLEGE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSamaritan Interfaith Counseling Center: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetPARK LAWN SCHOOL AND ACTIVITY CENTER IN C: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLAKE COUNTY CRISIS CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHANGING WORLDS: $8,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetThe Roberti Community House: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% 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 Chicago Community…AbbVie FoundationNational Philanthropi…The Ayco Charitable F…The Lake County Commu…Trustmark FoundationUnited Way of Metropo…Baxter International …Arthur J Gallagher Fo…Baird Foundation IncUnited Way of Lake Co…Harold M & Adeline S …
The Chicago Community TrustIL20.6× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · AbbVie Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · The Lake County Community Foundation · Trustmark Foundation · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · Baxter International Foundation · Arthur J Gallagher Foundation · Baird Foundation Inc · United Way of Lake County Inc · Harold M & Adeline S Morrison Family 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 Alverin M Cornell Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Alverin M Cornell Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%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
    0get no government money at all
    5report 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 Alverin M Cornell Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Alverin M Cornell 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 39 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 Alverin M Cornell’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