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Cornell Brewer Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cornell Brewer 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.

$308k
Granted FY2025still arriving
12
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$130k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Religion$478kHealth$436kPhilanthropy$265kYouth Development$139kCivil Rights$137kCrime & Legal$132kEducation$77kCommunity Improvement$45kOther$0
02FY2025 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $23k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $105k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $180k
$15,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$8.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND$130,000
RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER$50,000
YOUNG AMERICA'S FOUNDATION$30,000
WILLOW CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH$20,000
SHORELINE COMMUNITY CHURCH SB$20,000
PHILEMON HOUSE$15,000
FILO COMMUNITY NFP$10,000
LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL$10,000
MAX MCGRAW WILDLIFE FOUNDATION$7,500
A ROSIE PLACE FOR CHILDREN$5,000
NICHOLAS SERGI FOUNDATION$5,000
SPECTRIOS INSTITUTE FOR LOW VISION AT DEICKE HOUSE$5,000
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 (FY21–25, $176k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 75% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL: $10k → 8%PARENT PROJECT MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY: $3k → 14%CHADTOUGH FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%MY JOYFUL HEART: $3k → 7%CORE RE-ENTRY INC: $100k → 17%ORPHANETWORK: $2k → 10%LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL: $10k → 8%PARENT PROJECT MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY: $2k → 14%MY JOYFUL HEART: $1k → 7%CORE RE-ENTRY INC: $13k → 17%PARENT PROJECT MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY: $2k → 14%TLC CENTERS FOR THERAPY: $5k → 6%MIDWEST SHELTER FOR HOMELESS VETS: $5k → 7%MY JOYFUL HEART: $1k → 7%PARENT PROJECT MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY: $500 → 14%TLC CENTERS FOR THERAPY: $4k → 6%TLC CENTERS FOR THERAPY: $3k → 6%TLC CENTERS FOR THERAPY: $2k → 6%CLEARBROOK: $3k → 14%CLEARBROOK: $3k → 14%CLEARBROOK: $2k → 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

VT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
IA
IN
PA
CA
MO
VA
DC
OK
TX
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.5M · 39 repeat orgs$245k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +40% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

39 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 30 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

39
27

Total granted

$1.5M
$220k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
0%

Still filing today

67%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentReligionEducationOther
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

  • RU
    Rush University Medical Center
    6× · 2020–2025 · $300k · revenue +30%
  • DA
    DAVID AND CLAUDIA JACKSON FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $125k · revenue +303% · 100% of their budget
  • PH
    PHILEMON HOUSE
    5× · 2021–2025 · $120k · revenue +73%

Funded once

  • OH
    ONE HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH
    one grant, 2024 · $100k
  • HI
    HELPHOPELIVE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +41%
  • IF
    ILLINOIS FOUNDATION FOR NEW BEGINNINGS
    one grant, 2020 · $18k
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
Selah International Counseling Ministries

The mission of Selah International Counseling Ministries is to glorify God as we serve and equip His church, providing leadership and service through counseling, counseling resources, and counseling training.

Health
2
Christianity Today International

Christianity Today is a global community inspired by evangelical conviction to advance the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God. Our mission is to elevate the storytellers and sages of the global church.

Religion
3
Methodist Medical Center of Illinois

To be the trusted partner in all healthcare decisions and to improve health by providing highly accessible, world-class care and services.

Health
4
Christian Healthcare Ministries Inc

To glorify god, show christian love, and experience god's presence as christians share each other's medical bills.

Religion
5
Mercy Health

Mercy Health will provide assistance, support and direction to all of the health care institutions and activities operated and maintained by its Subsidiaries. The mission of Mercy Health in performing these activities shall be to provide a…

—
6
Youth for Christ International Ministries

As part of the body of Christ, to see that every young person in every people group in every nation has the opportunity to make an informed decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ and become a part of the local church.

Religion
7
International Leadership Institute

The international leadership institute (ili) changes history by accelerating the spread of the gospel through training and mobilizing leaders of leaders to reach their nations. ili accomplishes this purpose through cutting edge leadership…

Religion
8
Gull Lake Ministries

Gull lake ministries provides bible based, christian retreats year-round for families, churches and organizations where we exalt jesus and share his truth.

Religion
9
Turning Point for God

To broadcast the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the available means including television, radio, internet, recorded, and written formats.

Religion
10
Time of Grace Ministry

Time of grace is for people who want more growth and less struggle in their spiritual walk. we share the truth of god's word simply and clearly through television, print, and digital media that people view millions of times each month. we…

Religion
11
MRIGlobal

To improve the lives of people through innovative scientific and engineering research.

Science & Tech
12
The Inspirational Network Inc

Impacting people for Christ worldwide through media.

Religion
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Helphopelive Inc; the most unlike its peers is Freedom Church. 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

44 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. 44 of the 70 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
43/44
Grantees still filing
31/44
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WILLOW CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH INC: $186,500 · OtherWILLOW CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH INCYoung America's Foundation: $115,000 · OtherYoung America's FoundationONE HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH: $100,000 · OtherONE HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCHGLOBAL LEADERSHIP NETWORK: $45,000 · OtherGLOBAL LEADERSHIP NETWORKMax McGraw Wildlife Foundation: $41,000 · OtherLAWNDALE COMMUNITY CHURCH: $40,000 · OtherCANOPY CHURCH: $35,000 · OtherADA BIBLE CHURCH: $28,000 · Other+32 more: $248,311 · Other+32 moreRush University Medical Center: $300,000 · HealthRush University Medi…HELPHOPELIVE INC: $25,000 · HealthHELPHOPELIVE INC+6 more: $16,500 · HealthDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $130,000 · PhilanthropyDONOR ADVISED CH…DAVID AND CLAUDIA JACKSON FOUNDATION: $125,000 · PhilanthropyDAVID AND CLAUDI…+3 more: $10,000 · PhilanthropyCore Reentry Inc: $113,000 · Human ServicesCore Reent…Living Water International: $20,000 · Human ServicesLiving Wat…TLC CENTERS FOR THERAPY: $14,000 · Human ServicesTLC CENTER…THE PARENT PROJECT FOR MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY RESEARCH INC: $7,500 · Human ServicesCLEARBROOK: $6,500 · Human Services+4 more: $15,000 · Human Services+4 morePHILEMON HOUSE: $120,000 · Crime & LegalILLINOIS FOUNDATION FOR NEW BEGINNINGS: $17,784 · Crime & LegalNORTH PARK UNIVERSITY: $60,000 · EducationFoundation for Special Education District of Lake County: $7,000 · Education+1 more: $1,500 · EducationFILO COMMUNITY NFP: $20,000 · ReligionBIBLES IN SCHOOLS INC: $7,000 · ReligionFREEDOM CHURCH: $5,000 · Religion
Other$838,811Health$341,500Philanthropy$265,000Human Services$176,000Crime & Legal$137,784Education$68,500Religion$32,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetRush University Medical Center: $300,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $130,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDAVID AND CLAUDIA JACKSON FOUNDATION: $125,000 over 5y, 100% of budgetPHILEMON HOUSE: $120,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetYoung America's Foundation: $115,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCore Reentry Inc: $113,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetNORTH PARK UNIVERSITY: $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMax McGraw Wildlife Foundation: $41,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetMEL TROTTER MINISTRIES: $26,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSPECTRIOS INSTITUTE FOR LOW VISION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetHELPHOPELIVE INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLiving Water International: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFILO COMMUNITY NFP: $20,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetTLC CENTERS FOR THERAPY: $14,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetImaging the World Corp: $12,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetIllinois Conservation Foundation: $10,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetOutdoor Heritage Education Center Inc: $10,000 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetGANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND: $9,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNicholas D Sergi Foundation: $7,500 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetTHE PARENT PROJECT FOR MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY RESEARCH INC: $7,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFoundation for Special Education District of Lake County: $7,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetBIBLES IN SCHOOLS INC: $7,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $6,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCLEARBROOK: $6,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHAND2HAND: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMY JOYFUL HEART NFP: $5,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetMIDWEST SHELTER FOR HOMELESS VETERANS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES: $5,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMISSOURI FORGET-ME-NOT HORSE RESCUE SANCTUARY: $3,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCHADTOUGH DEFEAT DIPG FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMIDWEST COUNCIL FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES: $3,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetLACLEDE CO PREGNANCY SUPPORT CNTR: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPucks for Autism Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetHEART OF WEST MICHIGAN UNITED WAY: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetASCENSION BORGESS LEE FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetThe Orphanetwork: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCaringBridge: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Moody Bible Institute of Chicago: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPurple Plunge: $1,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMOOSE CHARITIES INC: $500 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 Rush University Medical Center ↗
  • Who funds DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ↗
  • Who funds DAVID AND CLAUDIA JACKSON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PHILEMON HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds Young America's Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Core Reentry Inc ↗
  • Who funds NORTH PARK UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation ↗
  • Who funds MEL TROTTER MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds SPECTRIOS INSTITUTE FOR LOW VISION ↗
  • Who funds HELPHOPELIVE INC ↗
  • Who funds Living Water International ↗
  • Who funds FILO COMMUNITY NFP ↗
  • Who funds ILLINOIS FOUNDATION FOR NEW BEGINNINGS ↗
  • Who funds TLC CENTERS FOR THERAPY ↗
  • Who funds Imaging the World Corp ↗
  • Who funds Illinois Conservation Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Outdoor Heritage Education Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds GANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND ↗
  • Who funds Nicholas D Sergi Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE PARENT PROJECT FOR MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY RESEARCH INC ↗
  • Who funds Foundation for Special Education District of Lake County ↗
  • Who funds BIBLES IN SCHOOLS INC ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds CLEARBROOK ↗

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.

Barnabas FoundationThe Chicago Community…Arthur J Gallagher Fo…The Dupage Community …AbbVie FoundationBaxter International …Raymond James Charita…Christian Community F…Thrivent Charitable I…Baird Foundation IncAmerican Endowment Fo…The US Charitable Gif…
Barnabas FoundationIL17× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Barnabas Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Arthur J Gallagher Foundation · The Dupage Community Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · Baxter International Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Christian Community Foundation Inc · Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing · Baird Foundation Inc · American Endowment Foundation · The US Charitable Gift Trust

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 Cornell Brewer Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cornell Brewer Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%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
    1get 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
    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 Cornell Brewer Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Cornell Brewer 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 70 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 Cornell Brewer’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