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Center Street Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Center Street 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.

$67k
Granted FY2025still arriving
11
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Health$101kPhilanthropy$63kHuman Services$35kEducation$21kHousing & Shelter$10kReligion$7kRecreation & Sports$6kFood & Nutrition$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k8 grants · $7k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $60k
$1,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$67k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
St Monicas Senior Living$30,000
Josselyn Center$15,000
Springboard Foundation$15,000
Vanderbilt University$2,000
Neighbor by Neighbor$1,000
University of Wisconsin$1,000
Hadley Institute for the Blind$1,000
Indian Hill Scholarship Fund$1,000
Santas Volunteers$500
Reading Power$350
Gift of Adoption$250
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 (FY22–25, $24k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%Neighbor by Neighbor: $1k → 15%Neighbor by Neighbor: $1k → 15%Santas Volunteers: $500 → 14%Santas Volunteers: $250 → 14%Santas Volunteers: $250 → 14%Santas Volunteers: $200 → 14%Lorenzo's House: $5k → 14%Lorenzos House: $5k → 14%McGraw YMCA: $500 → 14%Chicago Furniture Bank: $10k → 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.
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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$197k · 16 repeat orgs$60k to everyone else

16 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 8 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
16

Total granted

$197k
$29k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+10%
+14%

Still filing today

50%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 53% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $31k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesHealthFood & NutritionYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • TJ
    THE JOSSELYN CENTER NFP
    6× · 2020–2025 · $90k · revenue +596%
  • LH
    LORENZO'S HOUSE
    3× · 2021–2024 · $10k · revenue +363%
  • TC
    THE COVE SCHOOL INC
    3× · 2021–2023 · $6k · revenue +15%

Funded once

  • CF
    CHICAGO FURNITURE BANK
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue -16%
  • FT
    First Tee
    one grant, 2022 · $6k
  • Northwestern University
    2× · 2021–2022 · $5k · revenue +14%
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
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
2
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
3
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
4
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
5
Benedictine University

Benedictine University is an inclusive academic community dedicated to teaching and learning, scholarship and service, truth and justice, as inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition, the social teaching of the Church, and the…

Education
6
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
7
Madonna University

The mission of madonna university, a catholic and franciscan institution of higher learning, is to instill in its students christain humanistic values, intellectual inquiry, a respect for university and a committment to serving others…

Education
8
The University of Chicago Charter School Corporation

To Prepare Students for Success in Four-Year Colleges.

Education
9
Concordia University Chicago

Steadfast in jesus christ as revealed in the holy scriptures, concordia university chicago promotes academic rigor in its liberal arts and professional programs; grounds students in objective truth, integrity, and excellence; and practices…

Education
10
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
11
University of Indianapolis

The University of Indianapolis champions lifelong learning through relevant and innovative education that fosters experiential learning, diverse perspectives, service for impact, and a global mindset.

Education
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Santas Volunteers. 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

22 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. 22 of the 35 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/22
Grantees still filing
14/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Springboard Foundation: $62,500 · OtherThe Springboard FoundationST MONICA'S SENIOR LIVING INC: $30,000 · OtherST MONICA'S SENIOR LIVING INCKENILWORTH UNION CHURCH: $6,500 · OtherKENILWORTH UNION CHURCHFirst Tee: $6,000 · OtherIndian Hill Scholarship Fund: $4,000 · Other+14 more: $9,950 · Other+14 moreTHE JOSSELYN CENTER NFP: $89,575 · HealthTHE JOSSELYN CENTER NFP+1 more: $500 · HealthLORENZO'S HOUSE: $10,000 · Human ServicesLORENZO'S …CHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $10,000 · Human ServicesCHICAGO FU…Neighbor by Neighbor: $2,000 · Human ServicesNeighbor b…SANTAS VOLUNTEERS: $1,200 · Human Services+1 more: $500 · Human ServicesTHE COVE SCHOOL INC: $6,000 · EducationVanderbilt University: $3,000 · EducationNOTRE DAME COLLEGE: $2,000 · EducationUniversity of Dayton: $2,000 · EducationPERSPECTIVES CHARTER SCHOOLS: $1,000 · EducationIndian Hill Club Scholarship Foundation: $500 · EducationNorthwestern University: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $4,500 · Food & NutritionREADING POWER INC: $350 · Youth Development
Other$118,950Health$90,075Human Services$23,700Education$14,500Recreation & Sports$5,000Food & Nutrition$4,500Youth Development$350

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 JOSSELYN CENTER NFP: $89,575 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetThe Springboard Foundation: $62,500 over 6y, 5.3% of budgetST MONICA'S SENIOR LIVING INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetLORENZO'S HOUSE: $10,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetCHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE COVE SCHOOL INC: $6,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $4,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNeighbor by Neighbor: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNOTRE DAME COLLEGE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Dayton: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSANTAS VOLUNTEERS: $1,200 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetPERSPECTIVES CHARTER SCHOOLS: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetIndian Hill Club Scholarship Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION INC: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYoung Mens Christian Assoc McGaw Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWINNETKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $400 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetREADING POWER INC: $350 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 THE JOSSELYN CENTER NFP ↗
  • Who funds The Springboard Foundation ↗
  • Who funds ST MONICA'S SENIOR LIVING INC ↗
  • Who funds LORENZO'S HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO FURNITURE BANK ↗
  • Who funds THE COVE SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY ↗
  • Who funds Vanderbilt University ↗
  • Who funds Neighbor by Neighbor ↗
  • Who funds NOTRE DAME COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds University of Dayton ↗
  • Who funds SANTAS VOLUNTEERS ↗
  • Who funds PERSPECTIVES CHARTER SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds Indian Hill Club Scholarship Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Young Mens Christian Assoc McGaw Inc ↗
  • Who funds WINNETKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds READING POWER 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.

The Chicago Community…Baird Foundation Inc36 Foundation IncTinberg FoundationKemper Educational an…American Endowment Fo…The Ayco Charitable F…Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Gs Donor Advised Phil…The Blackbaud Giving …
The Chicago Community TrustIL21.6× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Baird Foundation Inc · 36 Foundation Inc · Tinberg Foundation · Kemper Educational and Charitable Fund · American Endowment Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund

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 Center Street Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Center Street 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%15%30%45%60%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 · 0–60%
    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 Center Street Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Center Street 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 35 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 Center Street’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