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Chicago Media Project at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Chicago Media Project

To impact society through the powerful tools of media and film.

$91k
Granted FY2024still arriving
2
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$960kHealth$20kInternational$20kOther$0
02FY2024 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 2 grants below total $40,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $90,586 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $50,586 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.
$30,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$335k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE STRIKE SVFF FILM$30,000
Individual grant recipient$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 82% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY: $10k → 16%TREECLIMBER MEDIA LLC: $30k → 10%CATAPULT FILM FUND: $10k → 10%BREAKWATER STUDIOS: $20k → 14%WESTCHESTER INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: $10k → 9%HOT DOCS FOUNDATION (USA) INC: $30k → 17%STORYLINE INC: $13k → 20%UTAH FILM CENTER: $66k → 8%BVM PRODUCTIONS LLC: $10k → 8%INCITE PRODUCTIONS INC: $10k → 12%GREEN RIVER FILMS: $8k → 14%NEXT GENERATION PRODUCTION LLC: $25k → 16%CATAPULT FILM FUND: $10k → 10%NEW WAVE PRODUCTIONS LLC: $7k → 14%HOT DOCS FOUNDATION (USA) INC: $16k → 17%STORYLINE INC: $13k → 20%SISKELJACOBS PRODUCTION: $9k → 14%ROUGH CUT RETREAT: $10k → 10%TRIPOD MEDIA: $37k → 14%HOT DOCS FOUNDATION (USA) INC: $12k → 17%SPARGEL PRODUCTIONS LLC: $10k → 20%ROUGH CUT RETREAT: $8k → 10%FILM INDEPENDENT INC: $19k → 14%WOMEN MAKE MOVIES INC: $25k → 17%CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA: $13k → 14%ROUGH CUT RETREAT: $8k → 10%IFC THEATRES LLC: $10k → 17%ONE STORY UP: $62k → 20%DEAR EVANSTON: $12k → 14%IFC THEATRES LLC: $10k → 17%THE AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY INC: $25k → 20%KARTEMQUIN EDUCATIONAL FILMS: $10k → 14%PRINCIPE PRODUCTIONS INC: $10k → 17%FULTON LANDING PRODUCTIONS LLC: $20k → 20%MEZCLA MEDIA COLLECTIVE LTD: $20k → 14%WE CALL BS LLC: $10k → 17%THE AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY INC: $18k → 20%UNAPOLEGTIC FILM LLC: $8k → 14%PRINCIPE PRODUCTIONS INC: $10k → 17%THE AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY INC: $18k → 20%THE STRIKE SVFF FILM: $30k → 17%KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE LLC: $100k → 20%PUEBLO SIGHT & SOUND INC: $15k → 17%I LOVE YOU CHINGOS LLC: $8k → 20%ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION INC: $10k → 17%TALOS FILMS: $50k → 17%SHINE GLOBAL INC: $10k → 17%SHINE GLOBAL INC: $10k → 17%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
IL
NY
MA
NJ
CA
UT
CO
GA
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.

32%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$318k · 9 repeat orgs$692k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
31

Total granted

$318k
$652k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-18%
+12%

Still filing today

89%
35%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $40k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHealthInternationalOther
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

  • CF
    Catapult Film Fund
    4× · 2019–2023 · $35k · revenue +48%
  • SG
    SHINE GLOBAL INC
    2× · 2019–2020 · $20k · revenue +103%
  • PN
    Points North Institute
    2× · 2018–2019 · $12k · revenue +153%

Funded once

  • KD
    KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE LLC
    one grant, 2019 · $100k
  • UF
    UTAH FILM CENTERgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $66k · revenue +128%
  • OS
    ONE STORY UP
    one grant, 2022 · $62k
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
Independent Film Alliance F/K/a Stage 18
—
2
The Filmmaker Fund
Philanthropy
3
WorkingFilms Inc

Recognizing the power of film to inspire, Working Films positions documentaries to increase civic engagement and shift culture at the local, state, and national level.

Arts & Culture
4
Dc Dox

Dc dox is a major international film festival in the nation's capital dedicated to promoting documentary film as a leading art form, championing new voices and innovations in non-fiction storytelling, and using film as a catalyst to engage…

—
5
Doc Society Inc

We bring people together to unleash the transformational power of independent documentary film. we serve individual filmmakers and the growing network of partners who support them globally. we help build new models, aiming to innovate,…

Philanthropy
6
Breaking Through the Lens

Advocate for gender equality in the film industry.

Arts & Culture
7
Northwest Film Forum

Northwest Film Forum incites public dialogue and creative action through collective cinematic experiences. A nonprofit film and arts center located in Seattle, Northwest Film Forum presents hundreds of films, festivals, community events,…

Arts & Culture
8
Maysles Institute Inc

Maysles Documentary Center (MDC) is a Harlem-based nonprofit organization committed to community, education, and documentary film. We use filmmaking to amplify and expand under-represented artists and narratives, while empowering young…

Arts & Culture
9
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
10
Aubin Pictures Inc

Aubin pictures' mission is to create cultural awareness and strategic, sustainable social justice through transformative, community-based production and impactful distribution of media.

Arts & Culture
11
International Documentary Foundation Inc

We are dedicated to the vision of a world where documentary creators flourish. through our work, we connect audiences with the best of the form, provide resources, create community, and defend the rights and freedoms of documentary…

Arts & Culture
12
Docs in Progress Inc

Docs in progress is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which gives individuals the tools to tell stories through documentary film to educate, inspire, and transform the way people view their world.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Center for Independent Documentary Inc; the most unlike its peers is Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble. 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

19 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. 19 of the 42 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
10/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE LLC: $100,000 · OtherKNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE LLCONE STORY UP: $62,000 · OtherONE STORY UPTALOS FILMS: $50,000 · OtherTALOS FILMSTRIPOD MEDIA: $37,000 · OtherTRIPOD MEDIATHE STRIKE SVFF FILM: $30,000 · OtherTREECLIMBER MEDIA LLC: $30,000 · OtherNEXT GENERATION PRODUCTION LLC: $25,000 · OtherSTORYLINE INC: $25,000 · OtherIFC THEATRES LLC: $20,200 · OtherBREAKWATER STUDIOS: $20,000 · OtherSHINE GLOBAL INC: $20,000 · OtherFULTON LANDING PRODUCTIONS LLC: $20,000 · Other+14 more: $133,285 · Other+14 moreSundance Institute: $68,000 · Arts & CultureSundance InstituteUTAH FILM CENTER: $66,000 · Arts & CultureUTAH FILM CENTERAMERICAN DOCUMENTARY INC: $60,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN DOCUMENTARY INCHOT DOCS FOUNDATION USA INC: $58,000 · Arts & CultureHOT DOCS FOUNDATION USA INCCatapult Film Fund: $35,000 · Arts & CultureCatapult Film FundWOMEN MAKE MOVIES INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureWOMEN MAKE MOVIES INCMezcla Media Collective LTD: $20,073 · Arts & CultureFILM INDEPENDENT: $19,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $46,560 · Arts & Culture+5 morePRINCIPE PRODUCTIONS INC: $20,000 · InternationalWESTCHESTER INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: $10,000 · HealthELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · Health
Other$572,485Arts & Culture$397,633International$20,000Health$20,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSundance Institute: $68,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUTAH FILM CENTER: $66,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetAMERICAN DOCUMENTARY INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetHOT DOCS FOUNDATION USA INC: $58,000 over 3y, 52% of budgetCatapult Film Fund: $35,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetWOMEN MAKE MOVIES INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSTORYLINE INC: $25,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetMezcla Media Collective LTD: $20,073 over 1y, 13% of budgetSHINE GLOBAL INC: $20,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetPRINCIPE PRODUCTIONS INC: $20,000 over 2y, 5.4% of budgetFILM INDEPENDENT: $19,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPoints North Institute: $12,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetWESTCHESTER INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetKARTEMQUIN EDUCATIONAL FILMS: $9,990 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTALLGRASS EDUCATIONAL FILMS CO JOSEPH WINSTON: $7,000 over 1y, 5.5% 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 Sundance Institute ↗
  • Who funds UTAH FILM CENTER ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY INC ↗
  • Who funds HOT DOCS FOUNDATION USA INC ↗
  • Who funds Catapult Film Fund ↗
  • Who funds WOMEN MAKE MOVIES INC ↗
  • Who funds STORYLINE INC ↗
  • Who funds Mezcla Media Collective LTD ↗
  • Who funds SHINE GLOBAL INC ↗
  • Who funds PRINCIPE PRODUCTIONS INC ↗
  • Who funds FILM INDEPENDENT ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC ↗
  • Who funds Points North Institute ↗
  • Who funds WESTCHESTER INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ↗
  • Who funds ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY INC ↗
  • Who funds KARTEMQUIN EDUCATIONAL FILMS ↗
  • Who funds TALLGRASS EDUCATIONAL FILMS CO JOSEPH WINSTON ↗

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.

Sundance InstituteJohn D and Catherine …Catapult Film FundPerspective Media Ini…The Ford FoundationSilicon Valley Commun…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Sundance InstituteUT19.4× affinity7 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sundance Institute · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Catapult Film Fund · Perspective Media Initiatives Inc · The Ford Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile 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 Chicago Media Project funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Chicago Media Project. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • The Center for Independent Documentary Inc: 6% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 42 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 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

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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