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Bednyak Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Bednyak Family 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.

$352k
Granted FY2024still arriving
38
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$70k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0190% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

International$527kPhilanthropy$267kHealth$243kHuman Services$133kEducation$92kEnvironment$76kArts & Culture$63kPublic Safety & Disaster$50kOther$0
02FY2024 · 38 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k27 grants · $56k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $126k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $170k
$2,500
Median grant
6
States reached
$4.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Jewish United Fund of Chicago$70,000
American Israel Education Foundation$50,000
American Friends of Israel Navy$50,000
Jewish Community Centers$30,000
Childrens Oncology Group$25,000
Childrens Hospital of$20,000
US Holocaust Museum$11,392
Urban Initiatives Inc$10,000
Chicago Botanical Garden$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
Share out Spare Purchase$10,000
Art Institute of Chicago$6,500
The Ark$5,589
Invest for Kids Inc$5,150
Lyon Family Foundation$5,000
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 (FY18–24, $101k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Ray of Hope: $3k → 14%OUTREACH COMMUNITY MINISTRIES: $505 → 7%Family Service of Glencoe: $1k → 14%Family Service of Glencoe: $1k → 14%Invest for Kids Inc: $5k → 14%Family Services of Glencoe: $500 → 14%Invest for Kids Inc: $5k → 14%Invest For Kids: $5k → 14%Jewish Community Centers: $30k → 14%SHALVA: $710 → 14%SHALVA: $360 → 14%URBAN INITIATIVE: $10k → 14%Urban Initiatives Inc: $10k → 14%Jewish Child & Family Services: $25k → 14%SHARE OUR SPARE: $1k → 14%SHARE OUR SPARE: $500 → 14%Share Our Spare: $1k → 14%Shalva: $360 → 14%Shalva: $360 → 14%Shalva: $360 → 14%Shalva: $300 → 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
WI
NY
OR
IA
PA
CA
VA
TN
DC
OK
AL
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.

65%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 34 repeat orgs$566k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

34 repeat relationships: 24 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
50

Total granted

$1.1M
$497k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
+21%

Still filing today

68%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $69k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesArts & CultureEducationPhilanthropyHealthInternationalOther
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

  • JU
    JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
    6× · 2018–2024 · $236k · revenue +34%
  • CH
    CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
    4× · 2018–2024 · $50k · revenue +38%
  • TU
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    5× · 2019–2024 · $28k · revenue +21%

Funded once

  • The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc
    one grant, 2022 · $250k · revenue -9%
  • IC
    ILLINOIS COVID-19 RESPONSE
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
  • JC
    Jewish Child and Family Services
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +5%
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
True Chicago
Arts & Culture
2
Children's Museum of Oak Park

To spark curiosity and creativity in all young children through positive, play-based learning experiences.

Arts & Culture
3
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
4
Chicago Historical Society

The Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration, and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, programs, digital resources, and special events, the Museum connects people to Chicago's history…

Arts & Culture
5
Loyola University of Chicago

We are chicago's jesuit, catholic university - a diverse community seeking god in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.

Education
6
Chicago Children's Museum

Chicago childrens museum is a place where families and caregivers with infants and children are encouraged to create, explore, and discover together through play. the museum features three vibrant floors of exhibits and activities that…

Arts & Culture
7
The University of Chicago Charter School Corporation

To Prepare Students for Success in Four-Year Colleges.

Education
8
The Family Institute

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

—
9
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
10
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
11
Students Run Chicago
Health
12
Lyric Opera of Chicago

We believe in the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great art and opera. Lyric Opera of Chicago exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to the Chicago region and the nation, and to advance the…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Horticultural Society; the most unlike its peers is Enchanted Backpack. 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

49 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. 49 of the 99 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)
48/49
Grantees still filing
35/49
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

American Friends of Israel Navy: $175,000 · OtherAmerican Friends of Israel NavyThe Children's Oncology Group: $125,250 · OtherThe Children's Oncology GroupILLINOIS COVID-19 RESPONSE: $50,000 · OtherILLINOIS COVID-19 RESPONSELURIE CHILDREN'S FUND: $44,860 · OtherLURIE CHILDREN'S FUNDShare out Spare Purchase: $40,181 · OtherShare out Spare PurchaseLurie Children's Hospital: $35,000 · Other+63 more: $267,859 · Other+63 moreThe American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc: $250,000 · InternationalThe American Jewish Join…AMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · InternationalAMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATIO…+1 more: $1,728 · InternationalJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $235,700 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNITED FUN…ENCHANTED BACKPACK: $10,000 · Philanthropy+3 more: $8,527 · PhilanthropyJewish Community Centers of Chicago: $30,000 · Human ServicesJewish Child and Family Services: $25,000 · Human ServicesURBAN INITIATIVES INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesInvest for Kids Inc: $15,450 · Human Services+5 more: $10,514 · Human ServicesSTATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA FOUNDATION: $65,000 · EducationTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $15,000 · Education+3 more: $4,103 · EducationCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $50,000 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF THE GREEN BAY TRAIL: $5,500 · EnvironmentThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $27,792 · Arts & CultureEdmundson Art Foundation Inc: $10,000 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $4,500 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $2,500 · Arts & Culture
Other$738,150International$351,728Philanthropy$254,227Human Services$100,964Education$84,103Environment$55,500Arts & Culture$44,792

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 budgetThe American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc: $250,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $235,700 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSTATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA FOUNDATION: $65,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $50,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetJewish Community Centers of Chicago: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $27,792 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJewish Child and Family Services: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetURBAN INITIATIVES INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLYNN SAGE BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION: $17,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetInvest for Kids Inc: $15,450 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF CHICAGO: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $15,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LYON FAMILY FOUNDATION: $12,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetREWILD: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEdmundson Art Foundation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNorthwestern University: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE GREEN BAY TRAIL: $5,500 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetMOD COLLECTIVE: $5,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $4,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $3,600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY SERVICE OF GLENCOE: $2,536 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetShare our Spare: $2,523 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER MIAMI JEWISH FEDERATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRay Of Hope Mentoring Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetSHALVA INC: $2,450 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetLUNGEVITY FOUNDATION INC: $2,040 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $1,728 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGLENCOE PTO: $1,500 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetBERNIE'S BOOK BANK: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER GALLATIN UNITED WAY INC: $1,027 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKenneth C Griffin Museum of Science and Industry: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKOHL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF GREATER CHICAGO INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGLENCOE JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN AND NURSERY SCHOOL: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW TRIER AQUATICS: $758 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPAWS FOR PATRICK: $735 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOUTREACH COMMUNITY MINISTRIES: $505 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe People's Music School: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHWEST DOG PROJECT: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSCOPE INC: $500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetKEEN CHICAGO LLC: $379 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTWIST OUT CANCER: $250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetALL KIDS PLAY: $150 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE GRACE NETWORK: $103 over 1y, 0.1% 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 The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Jewish Community Centers of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ↗
  • Who funds Jewish Child and Family Services ↗
  • Who funds URBAN INITIATIVES INC ↗
  • Who funds LYNN SAGE BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Invest for Kids Inc ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds THE LYON FAMILY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds REWILD ↗
  • Who funds ENCHANTED BACKPACK ↗
  • Who funds Edmundson Art Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE GREEN BAY TRAIL ↗
  • Who funds MOD COLLECTIVE ↗

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 Kadens Family Fou…The Chicago Community…Daniel R and Karen Ka…Bergstein Family Foun…Domont Family Foundat…The Netter Foundation…Polk Bros Foundation …Circle of Service Fou…National Philanthropi…Gs Donor Advised Phil…The Ayco Charitable F…AbbVie Foundation
The Kadens Family FoundationDE17.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Kadens Family Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Daniel R and Karen Kales Lee Family Foundation C/O Karen K Lee · Bergstein Family Foundation · Domont Family Foundation · The Netter Foundation Inc · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Circle of Service Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · AbbVie 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 Bednyak Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Bednyak Family 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%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    16report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 Bednyak Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Bednyak Family 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 99 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 Bednyak Family’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