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· Public charity

Chicago Urban League

The Chicago Urban League works to foster economic empowerment, cultivate leadership, and dismantle systemic barriers in the effort to drive lasting equity and prosperity for Black Chicago.

$104k
Granted FY2023
8
Grants FY2023
5
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What you fund
0199% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20212023.

Community Improvement$4.1MEmployment$327kEducation$152kHuman Services$129kHousing & Shelter$70kHealth$38kFood & Nutrition$35kArts & Culture$20kOther$0
02FY2023 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 8 grants below total $68,750 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $103,750 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $35,000 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k3 grants · $19k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $50k
$10,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DePaul University$10,000
Iowa State University$10,000
University of Michigan$10,000
University of Southern Califo$10,000
Howard University$10,000
Individual grant recipient$6,250
Akwa-Ibom State Polytechnic$6,250
North Carolina University$6,250
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY21–22, $90k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%YMCA of Jefferson County: $20k → 15%CHRISTIAN COUNTY YMCA: $20k → 16%YWCA Metropolitan Chicago: $15k → 14%JUREMA NICOLE GORHAM: $10k → 14%DBABurst Into Books: $25k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

IL
MI
MA
IA
IN
PA
NJ
CA
UT
MO
KY
NC
DC
GA
TX

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

2%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$104k · 4 repeat orgs$4.8M to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +59% since the first grant, against +10% for the ones you funded once.

4 repeat relationships — 1 still active in FY2023, 3 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
320

Total granted

$104k
$4.8M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+59%
+10%

Still filing today

50%
4%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 15% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $59k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23
EducationHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • BI
    BURST INTO BOOKS
    2× · 2021–2022 · $35k · revenue +59%
  • A
    AGRICULTURE
    2× · 2021–2022 · $35k
  • BL
    BUCKETZ LLC
    2× · 2021–2022 · $18k

Funded once

  • CT
    CHICAGO TREND
    one grant, 2021 · $150k
  • PF
    Premier Fitness Centers I
    one grant, 2021 · $40k
  • OO
    Om on the Range Yoga Studio
    one grant, 2021 · $40k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
2
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
3
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
4
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
5
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
6
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
7
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
8
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
9
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

10
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
11
Butler University

Butler university, founded on ideals of equity and academic excellence, creates and fosters a collaborative, stimulating intellectual learning environment. we are inspired to boldly innovate and broadly educate, enriching communities and…

Education
12
DePauw University

Depauw university develops leaders the world needs through an uncommon commitment to the liberal arts. depauw's diverse and inclusive learning and living experience, distinctive in its rigorous intellectual engagement and its global and…

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Dixon Family Ymca and the most unlike its peers is University of Michigan. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 60 years old; the field is 17. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number20%0%<5yr14%15%5–10yr18%5%10–20yr17%10%20–35yr14%20%35–55yr17%50%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value20%0%<5yr14%21%5–10yr18%5%10–20yr17%9%20–35yr14%17%35–55yr17%48%55yr+

The field is 20% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 15% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/327
the rest of the field
15%
6,788/46,243

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

19 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 19 of the 332 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
14/19
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

CHICAGO TREND — $150,000 · Other+189 more — $3,344,822 · Other+189 moreBURST INTO BOOKS — $35,000 · Human ServicesYOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION — $20,000 · Human ServicesThe YMCA of Jefferson County — $20,000 · Human ServicesYWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO — $15,000 · Human ServicesIGNITE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION INC — $15,000 · Community ImprovementFAR SOUTH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP — $15,000 · Community ImprovementCHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVES INC — $15,000 · Community ImprovementCHICAGO'S SUNSHINE ENTERPRISES INC — $12,000 · Community ImprovementTHOUSAND WAVES FOUNDATION NFP — $20,000 · EducationTHE HOWARD UNIVERSITY — $15,600 · Education
Other$3,494,822Human Services$90,000Community Improvement$57,000Education$35,600

Showing your 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetBURST INTO BOOKS — $35,000 over 2y, 9.6% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL — $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHOUSAND WAVES FOUNDATION NFP — $20,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetYoung Mens Christian Assoc of McDonough Co — $20,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetYOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION — $20,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetThe YMCA of Jefferson County — $20,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetDIXON FAMILY YMCA — $20,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetTHE HOWARD UNIVERSITY — $15,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO — $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIGNITE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION INC — $15,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetFAR SOUTH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP — $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVES INC — $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHICAGO'S SUNSHINE ENTERPRISES INC — $12,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Michigan — $10,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds BURST INTO BOOKS
  • Who funds YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL
  • Who funds THOUSAND WAVES FOUNDATION NFP

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Women's Business Development CenterIL9.7× affinity19 shared granteesties to 4 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Women's Business Development Center · National Council of YMCAs of the USA · The Chicago Community Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Chicago Urban League funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%your share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report 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, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 332 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $447k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2023, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph