Skip to content
Armin and Esther Hirsch Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Armin and Esther Hirsch Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$822k
Granted FY2025still arriving
96
Grants FY2025still arriving
21
States reached
$75k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0188% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Health$1.7MEducation$874kInternational$418kHousing & Shelter$360kHuman Services$294kFood & Nutrition$277kYouth Development$217kArts & Culture$127kOther$0
02FY2025 · 96 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k71 grants · $254k
  • $10k–50k24 grants · $493k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $75k
$5,000
Median grant
21
States reached
$8.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CUREHHT$75,000
DISCOVERY EYE FOUNDATION$37,000
MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION$35,000
CENTER ON HALSTED$35,000
CAMP CHI$35,000
COMMUNITY ALTERNATIVES UNLIMITED$35,000
CONNECTIONS FOR THE HOMELESS$35,000
NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONMALNATI BRAIN TUMOR INSTITUTE$35,000
GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY$25,000
AACF$25,000
ALL STARS PROJECT$20,000
JUF PATH TO PARENTHOOD$20,000
UNIVERSITY OF THE AFTERMARKET FOUNDATION$20,000
U OF ILLINOIS FOUNDATIONTOM BECKHAM FUND$15,000
DUPAGE CHILDRENS MUSEUM$15,000
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 (FY20–25, $254k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 50% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%CURING KIDS CANCER: $10k → 14%CURING KIDS CANCER: $30k → 8%DOLLAR FOR: $1k → 9%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $2k → 7%LEARNING ALLY: $500 → 11%CURING KIDS CANCER: $15k → 8%DOLLAR FOR: $1k → 9%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $2k → 7%CURING KIDS CANCER: $15k → 8%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $1k → 7%CURING KIDS CANCER: $10k → 8%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $1k → 7%CURING KIDS CANCER: $6k → 8%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $1k → 7%CURING KIDS CANCER: $500 → 8%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $2k → 17%CURING KIDS CANCER: $20k → 8%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $2k → 17%CURING KIDS CANCER: $10k → 8%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $1k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $1k → 17%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 14%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $1k → 17%CORE: $2k → 14%MOTHER'S TRUST FOUNDATION: $4k → 8%MOTHER'S TRUST: $3k → 8%MOTHER'S TRUST FOUNDATION: $3k → 8%MOTHER'S TRUST: $1k → 8%MOTHER'S TRUST: $1k → 8%MOTHER'S TRUST: $1k → 8%CENTER ON HALSTED: $35k → 14%CAMP CHI: $35k → 14%CAMP CHI: $3k → 14%CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE: $500 → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $3k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $3k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $1k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $1k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $1k → 14%ALMOST HOME CHICAGO: $5k → 14%CHICAGO CHESED FUND: $1k → 14%CHICAGO CHESED FUND: $1k → 14%CHICAGO CHESED FUND: $1k → 14%CHICAGO CHESED FUND: $1k → 14%FRIDA KAHLO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION: $10k → 14%CHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $3k → 14%CHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $2k → 14%CHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $1k → 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

ME
WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
OH
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
MO
WV
VA
MD
AZ
TN
NC
DC
HI
LA
GA
TX
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.4M · 138 repeat orgs$762k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

138 repeat relationships: 63 still active in FY2025, 75 since wound down; 33 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

138
99

Total granted

$4.4M
$493k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+8%

Still filing today

43%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $269k 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
HealthHuman ServicesFood & NutritionEducationInternationalAnimalsOther
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

  • HHT FOUNDATION
    6× · 2020–2025 · $360k · revenue +450%
  • CF
    CONNECTIONS FOR THE HOMELESS INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $280k · revenue +124%
  • THE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH
    6× · 2020–2025 · $245k · revenue +250%

Funded once

  • JI
    JUF ISRAEL EMERGENCY FUND
    one grant, 2023 · $95k
  • HB
    HOMEWARD BOUND OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA INCgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $57k · revenue +51%
  • IW
    ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue -4%
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
Nourishing Hope

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

—
2
Uchicago Medicine Network Inc

Uchicago medicine network, inc. supports and encourages health and human service by providing support, directly or indirectly to ingalls memorial hospital, the university of chicago medical center, and other related tax-exempt…

Health
3
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
4
National Opinion Research Center

See schedule onorc at the university of chicago conducts research and data science on critical societal issues to guide decision-making and the development of programs and public policy. our experts identify relationships and trends, and…

Social Science
5
University of Chicago Medical Center

Our mission at the university of chicago medicine is to provide superior health care through rigorous research, innovative education, and comprehensive care and healing. in partnership with our colleagues, we pursue life-changing…

Health
6
Alternatives Inc

Alternatives, inc.'s mission is to facilitate personal development,strengthen family relationships and enhance the community's well being. serving over 3,000 youth and families annually, the organization offers a range of counseling and…

Health
7
Center for Housing and Health

Chh honors every person's right to a home and health care, by bridging the housing and health care systems, to improve the lives of chicagoans experiencing homelessness.

Housing & Shelter
8
Heartland Alliance Health

Heartland alliance health's mission is to transform healthcare for the most vulnerable, particularly people experiencing homelessness, mental illness or addictions, or struggling with multiple chronic illnesses, improving health for all…

Health
9
American Academy of Neurology

The Academy's mission is to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all.

Community Improvement
10
Aids Foundation of Chicago

The aids foundation of chicago mobilizes communities to create equity and justice for people living with and vulnerable to hiv and related chronic disease.

Health
11
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc

The mission of dfci is to provide expert, compassionate, and equitable care to children, adults, and their families, while advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of cancer and related diseases. we train new…

Health
12
City of Hope

City of Hope's mission is to make hope a reality for all touched by cancer and diabetes. PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE O FOR A CONTINUATION OF OUR MISSION

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Connections for the Homeless Inc; the most unlike its peers is Klairmont Kollections Automotive Museum. 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

116 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 116 of the 271 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
19
Early backer (in before they grew)
110/116
Grantees still filing
75/116
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SELF HELP: $115,000 · OtherJUF ISRAEL EMERGENCY FUND: $95,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $93,500 · OtherALL STARS PROJECT INC: $120,000 · OtherAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $95,500 · Other+146 more: $2,184,402 · Other+146 moreTHE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH: $245,000 · HealthTHE MICHAEL J FOX FO…PARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $180,400 · HealthPARTNERS IN HEALTH A…Childrens Oncology Services Inc: $147,500 · HealthChildrens Oncology S…ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $127,500 · HealthALZHEIMER'S DISEASE …LOU MALNATI - CANCER RESEARCH FUND: $55,000 · HealthLOU MALNATI - CANCER…Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation: $54,000 · HealthBear Necessities Ped…+9 more: $95,000 · Health+9 moreHHT FOUNDATION: $360,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $22,500 · Community ImprovementCONNECTIONS FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $280,493 · Housing & ShelterHOMEWARD BOUND OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA INC: $57,000 · Housing & ShelterGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $165,000 · Food & NutritionFeeding America: $64,000 · Food & NutritionNORTHFIELD TOWNSHIP FOOD PANTRY: $11,000 · Food & NutritionNILES TOWNSHIP FOOD PANTRY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Food & NutritionWEST DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP FOOD PANTRY: $10,000 · Food & Nutrition+4 more: $15,500 · Food & NutritionCuring Kids Cancer Inc: $116,100 · Human ServicesJewish Community Centers of Chicago: $38,250 · Human ServicesCenter on Halsted: $35,000 · Human ServicesMothers Trust Foundation: $11,500 · Human ServicesFRIDA KAHLO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION: $10,000 · Human ServicesCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $9,000 · Human Services+6 more: $31,000 · Human ServicesNorthwood University: $75,000 · EducationNorth Central College: $50,000 · EducationILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $50,000 · EducationAMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND: $16,000 · EducationThurgood Marshall College Fund: $14,000 · Education+3 more: $12,000 · Education
Other$2,703,402Health$904,400Community Improvement$382,500Housing & Shelter$337,493Food & Nutrition$275,500Human Services$250,850Education$217,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetHHT FOUNDATION: $360,000 over 6y, 4.1% of budgetCONNECTIONS FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $280,493 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetTHE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH: $245,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $180,400 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $165,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetChildrens Oncology Services Inc: $147,500 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $127,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetALL STARS PROJECT INC: $120,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetCuring Kids Cancer Inc: $116,100 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $95,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDUPAGE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $85,000 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetNorthwood University: $75,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $64,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDISCOVERY EYE FOUNDATION: $62,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetCENTER FOR DISASTER PHILANTHROPY INC: $60,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHOMEWARD BOUND OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA INC: $57,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLOU MALNATI - CANCER RESEARCH FUND: $55,000 over 6y, 12% of budgetBear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation: $54,000 over 6y, 2.3% of budgetNorth Central College: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHoward Brown Health Center: $45,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJewish Community Centers of Chicago: $38,250 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY ALTERNATIVES UNLIMITED: $35,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCenter on Halsted: $35,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetRESTORING THE PATH: $30,000 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetLEUKEMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $27,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetSunbird Initiative: $26,500 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $26,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $25,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHomeless Prenatal Program Inc: $21,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetEquality Now Inc: $18,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND: $16,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFLYING HORSE FARMS: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThurgood Marshall College Fund: $14,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWILLOW HOUSE: $12,500 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetMothers Trust Foundation: $11,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetNORTHFIELD TOWNSHIP FOOD PANTRY: $11,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetNILES TOWNSHIP FOOD PANTRY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMental Health Association of Greater Chicago: $10,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetKenwood Oakland Community Organization: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFRIDA KAHLO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWEST DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP FOOD PANTRY: $10,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetBEAT THE STREETS CHICAGO: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCamp for All Kids: $9,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetSAVE THE CHIMPS INC: $9,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $9,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $9,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL RELIEF TEAMS: $8,000 over 3y, 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 HHT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CONNECTIONS FOR THE HOMELESS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH ↗
  • Who funds PARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY ↗
  • Who funds Childrens Oncology Services Inc ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ALL STARS PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds Curing Kids Cancer Inc ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM ↗
  • Who funds DUPAGE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds Northwood University ↗
  • Who funds Feeding America ↗
  • Who funds DISCOVERY EYE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR DISASTER PHILANTHROPY INC ↗
  • Who funds HOMEWARD BOUND OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA INC ↗
  • Who funds LOU MALNATI - CANCER RESEARCH FUND ↗
  • Who funds Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation ↗
  • Who funds North Central College ↗
  • Who funds ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Howard Brown Health Center ↗
  • Who funds Jewish Community Centers of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY ALTERNATIVES UNLIMITED ↗
  • Who funds Center on Halsted ↗

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 FoundationThe Earl and Bettie F…Dr Scholl FoundationJohn D and Catherine …Jewish Federation of …First Bank Chicago Fo…Give N KindCircle of Service Fou…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Chicago Foundation fo…Robert R McCormick Fo…
The Chicago Community TrustIL21.5× affinity16 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 · The Earl and Bettie Fields Automotive Group Foundation Inc · Dr Scholl Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · First Bank Chicago Foundation · Give N Kind · Circle of Service Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Chicago Foundation for Women · Robert R McCormick 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 Armin and Esther Hirsch Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Armin and Esther Hirsch Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Hht Foundation: 30% of income from government
  • Learning Ally Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
28report 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.

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 271 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 Armin and Esther Hirsch’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