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Carol Oppenheim and Jerome S Lamet Charitable Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Carol Oppenheim and Jerome S Lamet Charitable Fund

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.

$434k
Granted FY2024still arriving
26
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2022 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$509kHealth$140kEducation$51kCivil Rights$40kCommunity Improvement$36kFood & Nutrition$33kPhilanthropy$16kScience & Tech$10kOther$0
02FY2024 · 26 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k9 grants · $30k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $245k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $160k
$10,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$3.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LOCAL INDEPENDENT ONLINE NEWS PUBLISHERS INC$100,000
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$60,000
THE DIGS CHICAGO$33,530
ANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER$25,560
READER INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM$25,000
CHICAGO DEFENDER CHARITIES$22,000
ONE HOPE UNITED$20,000
BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO$20,000
THE CHICAGO CENTER$15,000
NOBLE NETWORK OF SCHOOLS$13,610
IDLE MUSE THEATRE$10,000
CARE FOR REAL$10,000
IT'S US FOUNDATION$10,000
GUARNERI$10,000
LIFELINE THEATRE$10,000
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 (FY23–24, $31k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CARE FOR REAL: $10k → 14%CARE FOR REAL: $10k → 14%IT'S US FOUNDATION: $10k → 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

WA
IL
MI
NJ
CA
CO
KY
MD
DE
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.

75%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$635k · 15 repeat orgs$216k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against -12% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
16

Total granted

$635k
$130k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
-12%

Still filing today

67%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $86k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesHealthEmploymentCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • LI
    Local Independent Online News Publishers Inc
    3× · 2022–2024 · $170k · revenue +199%
  • UO
    University of Michigan
    2× · 2022–2024 · $90k · revenue +92%
  • RI
    READER INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $60k · revenue +61%

Funded once

  • A
    ALLIANCECHICAGOgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $20k · revenue +44%
  • CC
    Chicago Cred Inc
    one grant, 2022 · $14k · revenue -12%
  • NS
    NORTH SHORE ART LEAGUE
    one grant, 2023 · $11k · revenue -24%
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
Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago

Cinema/Chicago, the non-profit 501(c)(3) presenting organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, enriches the community through year-round programming devoted to international and independent cinema. We strengthen communication…

Arts & Culture
3
Chicago Media Project

To impact society through the powerful tools of media and film. we are a resource for uniting individuals interested in media and developing a core group of informed citizens.

Public Benefit
4
Threewalls

Threewalls is dedicated to fostering contemporary art practices that respond to lived experiences, encouraging connections beyond art through performance, live exhibits, publications, all while connected segregated communities throughout…

Arts & Culture
5
Chicago Art Department

Cultivates new and emerging Chicago artists, and aims to benefit artists by exploring art and learning. Through exhibitions, artist residencies, classes/workshops and community building, we are dedicated to cultivating new voices, ideas,…

Arts & Culture
6
Chicago Independent Radio Project

Operation of studio space and facilities for community radio station. The station is intended to benefit thousands of listeners and various music and arts appreciation groups throughout the chicago area.

Arts & Culture
7
Chicago Public Art Group

Chicago public art group brings artists and communities together to produce high-quality public art, extending and transforming the tradition of collaborative, community-involved public artwork.

Arts & Culture
8
Chicago Humanities Festival

To promote public appreciation, understanding and support of the humanities through festivals and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
9
Chicago Filmmakers

To serve independent film and digital video artists by supporting the creation and dissemination of new media arts works, and to serve Chicago audiences by screening artistically innovative, socially relevant, and diverse films and videos.

Arts & Culture
10
Definition Theatre Company

Definition Theatre celebrates stories created with, inspired by, and intended for the people and communities of color. Through the act of making, Definition expands perspectives, stewards resources, and bridges the immense possibility…

Arts & Culture
11
Floating Museum Nfp

Floating Museum is an arts collective that creates new models exploring relationships between art, community, architecture, and public institutions.

Arts & Culture
12
Spudnik Press Cooperative

At Spudnik Press, artists create and use printed materials to further culture and engage with their community. Through sharing materials, equipment, and studio space, artists are also sharing technical skills, practical knowledge, and…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Care for Real; the most unlike its peers is Chicago Cred Inc. 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

30 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. 30 of the 43 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/30
Grantees still filing
13/30
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Local Independent Online News Publishers Inc: $170,000 · Arts & CultureLocal Independent Online News Publishers IncREADER INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM INC: $60,000 · Arts & CultureREADER INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM INCANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER: $50,560 · Arts & CultureANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTERThe Digs Chicago: $43,530 · Arts & CultureThe Digs ChicagoCabinet of Curiosity Inc NFP: $20,000 · Arts & CultureKMAC MUSEUM: $20,000 · Arts & Culture+7 more: $37,500 · Arts & Culture+7 moreUniversity of Michigan: $90,000 · OtherUniversity of MichiganONE HOPE UNITED: $40,000 · OtherONE HOPE UNITEDBUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $25,500 · OtherBUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES CENTER FOR…THE CHICAGO CENTER: $25,000 · OtherTHE CHICAGO CENTERGUARNERI: $15,000 · OtherGUARNERINOBLE NETWORK OF SCHOOLS: $13,610 · OtherNORTH SHORE ART LEAGUE: $10,920 · OtherMESALUM CENTER FOR NEUROLOGY: $10,000 · OtherSouth Side Community Art Center: $10,000 · Other+9 more: $36,875 · Other+9 moreBLOCK CLUB CHICAGO NFP: $37,500 · EducationGARDENEERS: $12,500 · EducationSAN FRANCISCO STUDY CENTER INC: $5,000 · EducationCHICAGO DEFENDER CHARITIES INC: $22,000 · Community ImprovementTHE HEPH FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Community ImprovementCARE FOR REAL: $20,000 · Human ServicesITS US FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesCHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $1,250 · Human ServicesALLIANCECHICAGO: $20,000 · HealthROCKFORD FAMILY PLANNING FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · HealthChicago Cred Inc: $14,000 · EmploymentPROJECT ONWARD: $10,000 · Employment
Arts & Culture$401,590Other$276,905Education$55,000Community Improvement$32,000Human Services$31,250Health$30,000Employment$24,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLocal Independent Online News Publishers Inc: $170,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $90,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetREADER INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER: $50,560 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetThe Digs Chicago: $43,530 over 2y, 13% of budgetBLOCK CLUB CHICAGO NFP: $37,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCabinet of Curiosity Inc NFP: $20,000 over 2y, 4.8% of budgetKMAC MUSEUM: $20,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetCARE FOR REAL: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetALLIANCECHICAGO: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetChicago Cred Inc: $14,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGARDENEERS: $12,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNORTH SHORE ART LEAGUE: $10,920 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetTHE HEPH FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetPROJECT ONWARD: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetITS US FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetROCKFORD FAMILY PLANNING FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetSouth Side Community Art Center: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLifeline Productions Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO STUDY CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRILOGY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOUTLIER MEDIA: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBrothers for Life: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $1,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $1,250 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.

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…John D and Catherine …Polk Bros Foundation …Democracy Fund IncBuilders Vision Found…Robert R McCormick Fo…Gaylord and Dorothy D…John S and James L Kn…The Miami Foundation …Katten Muchin Rosenma…Lloyd a Fry FoundationField Foundation of I…
The Chicago Community TrustIL22.1× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Democracy Fund Inc · Builders Vision Foundation · Robert R McCormick Foundation · Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation · John S and James L Knight Foundation · The Miami Foundation Inc · Katten Muchin Rosenman Foundation Inc · Lloyd a Fry Foundation · Field Foundation of Illinois

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 Carol Oppenheim and Jerome S Lamet Charitable Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Carol Oppenheim and Jerome S Lamet Charitable Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get 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
    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 43 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 Carol Oppenheim and Jerome S Lamet’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