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· Private foundation

Burns Legacy Foundation co John Neal

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.

$165k
Granted FY2025still arriving
17
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$382kHealth$292kHuman Services$227kCivil Rights$198kReligion$113kEmployment$95kInternational$50kYouth Development$50kOther$0
02FY2025 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k6 grants · $24k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $141k
$10,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$3.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
RCOSA$20,000
Mike Rowe Works Foundation$15,000
Alexian Brothers Scholarship Fund$15,000
Waukegan to College$15,000
Misericordia$14,000
Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley$12,000
Sharing Center$10,000
Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
Camp Courageous$10,000
Imerman Angels$10,000
Brooklyn Public Library$7,000
Doctors of Recital Partners$5,000
Kenosha Welcome Center$5,000
CASA of the River Region$2,500
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 (FY17–25, $132k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 54% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 12%Camp Courageous: $10k → 11%Camp Courageous: $7k → 11%Kenosha Human Development Services: $2k → 10%Sharing Center: $10k → 10%Sharing Center: $10k → 10%THE SHARING CENTER: $8k → 10%Sharing Center: $5k → 10%Sharing Center: $5k → 10%Sharing Center: $2k → 10%THE SHARING CENTER: $2k → 10%Clearbrook: $27k → 14%Clearbrook: $20k → 14%Clearbrook: $17k → 14%Clearbrook: $8k → 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
WI
NY
IA
OH
PA
CA
KY
VA
AZ
TX
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.4M · 29 repeat orgs$204k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +32% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

29 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2025, 18 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

29
18

Total granted

$1.4M
$164k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+32%
+17%

Still filing today

45%
39%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $40k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthHuman ServicesFood & NutritionEducationPhilanthropyPublic Safety & DisasterOther
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

  • WT
    Waukegan To College NFP
    9× · 2017–2025 · $103k · revenue +162%
  • IA
    IMERMAN ANGELS
    7× · 2018–2025 · $80k · revenue +72%
  • MF
    MIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION
    6× · 2017–2025 · $75k · revenue +228%

Funded once

  • HA
    Holy Angels Catholic School
    one grant, 2024 · $51k
  • BB
    Better Business Bureau Education Fo
    one grant, 2018 · $20k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $15k
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
Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin Inc

Eliminating barriers to employment by providing pathways for those who are underserved, underrepresented and disadvantaged who have a goal of building skills that lead to sustained employment and improved financial stability.

Human Services
3
Northern Illinois Blood Bank Inc D/B/a Rock River Valley Blood Center

Rock river valley blood center, in partnership with our community, is dedicated to providing safe, high value blood products and services to people in need.

Health
4
National Comprehensive Cancer Network

To define and advance quality, effective, equitable, and accessible cancer care and prevention so all people can live better lives.

Health
5
Goodwill Industries of Northern Il and Wi Stateline Area Inc

The mission of goodwill is to create opportunities for individuals with barriers to enhance their lives. barriers include physical or mental disabilities, lack of education and job preparation, socio-economic disadvantages, and others.…

—
6
Homeward Bound Inc

Providing innovative and life-enriching services for children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities.

Human Services
7
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
8
Second Harvest North Central Food Bank

Engaging the community to end hunger

—
9
Volunteers of America of Illinois

Volunteers of america of illinois partners with the people we serve to create transformational and lasting change in their lives through programs that support, empower, and transform.

—
10
My Choice Wisconsin Inc

We inspire people to experience life at its fullest by encouraging ownership of health, fostering independence, and serving the whole person; and do so with an unwavering commitment as stewards of medicaid funding.

Health
11
Vitalant

Unite blood and biologics donors, talent, and innovation to save and improve lives.

Health
12
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin Inc; the most unlike its peers is Brooklyn Public Library. 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 53 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
24/24
Grantees still filing
17/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LGBT of SE WI: $140,000 · OtherLGBT of SE WIMisericordia: $104,000 · OtherMisericordiaSalvation Army - Elgin: $76,000 · OtherSalvation Army - ElginRCOSA: $75,000 · OtherRCOSATHE SALVATION ARMY: $65,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYJack Benny Middle School: $63,224 · OtherJack Benny Middle SchoolLITERACY VOLUNTEERS FOX VALLEY: $56,000 · OtherLITERACY VOLUNTEERS FOX VALLEYLGBT Center of SE WI: $55,000 · OtherLGBT Center of SE WIHoly Angels Catholic School: $51,400 · OtherBoys and Girls Clubs of Dundee: $50,000 · OtherSt Ann Catholic School: $34,190 · Other+23 more: $212,425 · Other+23 moreIMERMAN ANGELS: $80,000 · HealthIMERMAN ANGE…ALEXIAN BROTHERS HEALTH SYSTEM: $70,000 · HealthALEXIAN BROT…MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF WISCONSIN INC: $20,000 · HealthMAKE-A-WISH …HOPE FOR THE DAY: $10,000 · HealthHOPE FOR THE…+1 more: $3,500 · HealthWaukegan To College NFP: $103,000 · EducationWaukegan T…FRIENDS OF THE FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $35,000 · EducationFRIENDS OF…BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY: $7,000 · EducationCLEARBROOK: $71,016 · Human ServicesCLEARBROO…SHARING CENTER INC: $41,500 · Human ServicesSHARING C…CAMP COURAGEOUS OF IOWA: $17,000 · Human ServicesCAMP COUR…+1 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesMIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION: $75,000 · PhilanthropyNATIONAL HOSPICE FOUNDATION: $3,500 · PhilanthropyTEAM RUBICON INC: $50,000 · Public Safety & DisasterNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $23,000 · Food & NutritionKenosha Welcome Center Inc: $5,000 · Food & NutritionCulinary Care: $3,000 · Food & NutritionGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $2,961 · Food & Nutrition
Other$982,239Health$183,500Education$145,000Human Services$131,516Philanthropy$78,500Public Safety & Disaster$50,000Food & Nutrition$33,961

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 budgetWaukegan To College NFP: $103,000 over 9y, 1.3% of budgetIMERMAN ANGELS: $80,000 over 7y, 0.8% of budgetMIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetCLEARBROOK: $71,016 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetALEXIAN BROTHERS HEALTH SYSTEM: $70,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLITERACY VOLUNTEERS FOX VALLEY: $56,000 over 8y, 7.2% of budgetTEAM RUBICON INC: $50,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSHARING CENTER INC: $41,500 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $23,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF WISCONSIN INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCAMP COURAGEOUS OF IOWA: $17,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF ILLINOIS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAlexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOPE FOR THE DAY: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetBROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKenosha Welcome Center Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL HOSPICE FOUNDATION: $3,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE MPN RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $3,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCulinary Care: $3,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $2,961 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKENOSHA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES INC: $2,000 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 Waukegan To College NFP ↗
  • Who funds IMERMAN ANGELS ↗
  • Who funds MIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CLEARBROOK ↗
  • Who funds ALEXIAN BROTHERS HEALTH SYSTEM ↗
  • Who funds LITERACY VOLUNTEERS FOX VALLEY ↗
  • Who funds TEAM RUBICON INC ↗
  • Who funds SHARING CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF WISCONSIN INC ↗
  • Who funds CAMP COURAGEOUS OF IOWA ↗
  • Who funds MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF ILLINOIS INC ↗
  • Who funds Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital ↗
  • Who funds HOPE FOR THE DAY ↗
  • Who funds BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY ↗
  • Who funds Kenosha Welcome Center Inc ↗

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.

AbbVie FoundationIL18.3× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: AbbVie Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Burns Legacy Foundation co John Neal funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Burns Legacy Foundation co John Neal. 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%4%8%11%15%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 · 0–15%
    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 53 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

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