Illinois · Community foundation
Dekalb County Community Foundation
Our purpose is to serve donors in achieving their philanthropic objectives, to create and build a lasting source of revenue to benefit the residents of our community, and to provide leadership and resources in addressing community needs.
- $5.1M
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 119
- Itemized grants FY2025
- 98
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 10%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Itemized, FY2025
- $4.0M
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2025
- $14,372
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $225,433
- Organizations funded a year
- 89 to 111
- FY2018 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 3
- Total assets, FY2025
- $85M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 10% of the organizations Dekalb County Community Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 6% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $149k went to new ones.
RenewedFirst-time
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesHealthReligionCommunity 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.
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 116 | $4.0M | 9% |
| FY2024 | 98 | $2.5M | 10% |
| FY2023 | 111 | $3.1M | 17% |
| FY2022 | 108 | $3.0M | 14% |
| FY2021 | 104 | $2.8M | 15% |
| FY2020 | 111 | $2.8M | 27% |
| FY2019 | 96 | $2.4M | 32% |
| FY2018 | 89 | $2.5M | 34% |
100% classified
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Human Services$3.2MEducation$3.2MArts & Culture$2.7MPhilanthropy$2.6MHousing & Shelter$1.2MCrime & Legal$1.2MFood & Nutrition$1.0MAnimals$966kOther$0
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
IA
PA
NJ
CA
VA
NC
SC
DC
AL
FL
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeKalb Area Retirement Center | $1,159,496 | 9 | 1% |
| Kishwaukee United Way | $998,028 | 9 | 52% |
| Hope Haven of Dekalb County Inc | $975,882 | 9 | 10% |
| Safe Passage Inc | $862,058 | 9 | 8% |
| Dekalb County Community Gardens | $673,574 | 8 | 16% |
| Kishwaukee College Foundation | $634,578 | 9 | 7% |
| Voluntary Action Center of Northern Illinois | $621,029 | 9 | 1% |
| Family Service Agency of Dekalb County Inc | $596,950 | 8 | 7% |
| Oaken Acres Wildlife Center | $586,343 | 8 | 31% |
| Preservation of Egyptian Theatre Inc | $584,313 | 9 | 10% |
Show all 237 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeKalb Area Retirement Center | $1,159,496 | 9 | 1% |
| Kishwaukee United Way | $998,028 | 9 | 52% |
| Hope Haven of Dekalb County Inc | $975,882 | 9 | 10% |
| Safe Passage Inc | $862,058 | 9 | 8% |
| Dekalb County Community Gardens | $673,574 | 8 | 16% |
| Kishwaukee College Foundation | $634,578 | 9 | 7% |
| Voluntary Action Center of Northern Illinois | $621,029 | 9 | 1% |
| Family Service Agency of Dekalb County Inc | $596,950 | 8 | 7% |
| Oaken Acres Wildlife Center | $586,343 | 8 | 31% |
| Preservation of Egyptian Theatre Inc | $584,313 | 9 | 10% |
| Kishwaukee Family YMCA | $573,317 | 8 | 5% |
| Opportunity House Inc | $520,544 | 8 | 1% |
| Tails Humane Society | $508,160 | 9 | 4% |
| DeKalb County History Center | $470,018 | 9 | 18% |
| Sycamore Park District | $447,110 | 2 | n/a |
| Dekalb County Soilwater Conservation | $437,894 | 9 | n/a |
| Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra | $430,377 | 9 | 57% |
| Dekalb Health Dept | $392,293 | 9 | n/a |
| CASA DeKalb County Inc | $379,812 | 9 | 13% |
| Salem Lutheran Church | $316,525 | 5 | n/a |
| Tanzania Development Support Nfp | $313,213 | 9 | 48% |
| Barb Food Mart Nfp | $291,190 | 9 | 34% |
| Sycamore School District #427 | $290,980 | 3 | n/a |
| Adventure Works of Dekalb County Inc | $275,488 | 9 | 11% |
| Dekalb County Animal Welfare League Inc | $266,897 | 9 | 15% |
| First United Methodist Church Dekalb | $256,492 | 9 | n/a |
| St Mary Church | $252,265 | 9 | n/a |
| Barb City Manor Inc | $238,446 | 8 | 4% |
| Habitat for Humanity of Dekalb County | $234,833 | 6 | 50% |
| Childrens Learning Center Inc | $227,030 | 9 | 3% |
| Sycamore Education Foundation | $225,390 | 9 | 39% |
| Open Door Rehabilitation Center | $224,244 | 9 | 1% |
| Friends of Jane Adeny Memorial School for Girls | $224,217 | 8 | 32% |
| Ellwood House Association | $222,009 | 8 | 6% |
| Elder Care Services of Dekalb County Inc | $212,576 | 9 | 4% |
| We Care Pregnancy Center | $207,744 | 7 | 16% |
| Society of St Vincent de Paul Rockford Council | $189,991 | 7 | 1% |
| The Salvation Army | $185,870 | 9 | n/a |
| Community Coordinated Child Care Inc | $183,676 | 9 | 0% |
| Network of Nations Incorporated | $179,589 | 9 | 43% |
| Fox Valley Older Adult Services | $169,361 | 9 | 2% |
| Northern Illinois University | $166,724 | 6 | n/a |
| City of Dekalb | $162,751 | 4 | n/a |
| Kval Nfp | $157,820 | 9 | 41% |
| Dekalb County Nursing Home Foundation In | $145,951 | 3 | 8% |
| DeKalb Education Foundation | $137,513 | 9 | 62% |
| Northern Illinois University Foundation | $136,601 | 7 | 0% |
| Pay It Forward House Nfp | $132,815 | 8 | 17% |
| Stage Coach Players Inc | $112,635 | 8 | 40% |
| Joseph F Glidden Homestead and Historical Center | $110,880 | 7 | 40% |
| Walcamp Outdoor Ministries Inc | $110,125 | 5 | 4% |
| Village of Waterman | $109,900 | 7 | n/a |
| Hinckley Historical Society | $109,858 | 8 | 20% |
| Dekalb Public Library | $107,225 | 6 | n/a |
| Waterman Lions Club Charities Incorporated | $106,877 | 7 | 54% |
| United States Catholic Conference | $101,264 | 3 | n/a |
| Dekalb County 4-H Foundation Inc | $100,528 | 6 | 59% |
| DeKalb Area Womens Center | $100,418 | 7 | 79% |
| Neighbors House Nfp | $100,018 | 9 | 23% |
| Sycamore Public Library | $99,788 | 9 | n/a |
| Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project | $99,003 | 5 | 2% |
| Christ Community Church | $94,500 | 6 | n/a |
| Dekalb County Farm Bureau Foundation | $93,697 | 7 | 9% |
| Northwestern Memorial Healthcare | $92,971 | 8 | n/a |
| Dekalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association Inc | $92,912 | 9 | 48% |
| Immanuel Lutheran Church | $84,307 | 8 | n/a |
| Goodfellows of Dekalbsycamore Inc | $82,776 | 8 | 25% |
| Association to Restore City Hall | $77,451 | 4 | 28% |
| Dekalb District #428 | $76,386 | 5 | n/a |
| The Growing Place Inc | $74,184 | 6 | 2% |
| Kishwaukee College | $73,555 | 4 | n/a |
| Sycamore Music Boosters | $69,345 | 7 | 48% |
| Shriners Hospitals for Children | $67,634 | 9 | 0% |
| University of Illinois Foundation | $67,130 | 4 | 0% |
| Cor Cantiamo Nfp | $66,442 | 7 | 65% |
| Village of Somonauk | $65,900 | 5 | n/a |
| Snow City Arts Foundation | $65,000 | 7 | 1% |
| Dekalb Parks Foundation | $65,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Dekalb County Youth Service Bureau Inc | $64,115 | 6 | 5% |
| Village of Hinckley | $62,500 | 4 | n/a |
| Village of Kirkland | $62,500 | 4 | n/a |
| City of Sandwich | $61,800 | 2 | n/a |
| Equine Dreams Inc | $60,121 | 4 | 5% |
| Village of Maple Park | $60,000 | 3 | n/a |
| Hinckley Public Library District | $56,922 | 2 | n/a |
| Village of Malta | $56,725 | 4 | n/a |
| Project Hope Inc | $55,248 | 2 | 39% |
| Presbyterian Church USA | $53,896 | 6 | n/a |
| Opportunity Dekalb Inc | $53,462 | 6 | n/a |
| Village of Shabbona | $53,300 | 3 | n/a |
| North Grove School Association | $52,983 | 6 | n/a |
| Village of Lee | $52,500 | 4 | n/a |
| Spartan Food Pantry | $49,726 | 5 | n/a |
| Hinckley Area Food Pantry | $48,767 | 6 | 21% |
| Friends of the Dekalb Public Library Inc | $48,717 | 7 | n/a |
| Ben Gordon Mental Health | $48,531 | 3 | n/a |
| Lee Community Fire Protection District | $48,000 | 2 | n/a |
| City of Sycamore | $46,810 | 3 | n/a |
| Village of Kingston | $46,790 | 3 | n/a |
| Aig American General | $46,624 | 2 | n/a |
| Love Inc of Dekalbsycamore | $44,043 | 6 | 25% |
| Friends of the Sycamore Library | $43,047 | 4 | n/a |
| Raven's Husky Haven and Rescue Inc | $43,033 | 3 | 25% |
| Northern Illinois Food Bank | $41,129 | 3 | 0% |
| Just Make It Happen | $40,581 | 5 | n/a |
| Classical Kids Music Education Nfp | $40,000 | 4 | 3% |
| City of Genoa | $40,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Dekalb County Economic Development Corporation | $39,414 | 3 | 3% |
| Town of Cortland | $39,200 | 2 | n/a |
| Locus Impact Investing | $39,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Kirk Lundbeck | $38,788 | 3 | n/a |
| Vandercook College of Music | $38,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Regional Access & Mobilization Project Inc | $37,338 | 3 | 1% |
| Building Leaders Advocating for Change | $37,174 | 4 | 13% |
| Lawrence Hall | $36,000 | 6 | 0% |
| Kirkland Community Fire District | $34,400 | 3 | n/a |
| Childrens Community Theatre | $34,198 | 4 | 17% |
| Merit School of Music | $33,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Olmstead Memorial Museum Inc | $32,500 | 1 | 51% |
| Somonauk School District #432 | $32,332 | 2 | n/a |
| Genoa-Kingston School District | $31,706 | 2 | n/a |
| Northwestern Memorial Healthcare | $31,198 | 3 | n/a |
| Dekalb County Health Department | $30,452 | 1 | n/a |
| Iowa State University Foundation | $30,200 | 2 | 0% |
| Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education | $30,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Hinckley-Big Rock Cusd #429 | $29,230 | 2 | n/a |
| Indian Valley Vocational Center | $28,830 | 3 | n/a |
| Flewellin Memorial Library | $27,650 | 1 | n/a |
| Northern Illinois Hospice Foundation | $26,526 | 4 | 1% |
| Kishwaukee Education Consortium | $26,175 | 1 | n/a |
| The Musical Arts Institute | $25,400 | 3 | 4% |
| Friends of Jon Foundation | $25,000 | 1 | 95% |
| Girls on the Run of Northwest Illinois | $24,479 | 4 | 3% |
| Dekalb Festival Chorus | $24,095 | 4 | n/a |
| Changing Worlds | $24,000 | 4 | 1% |
| Sir Donald Foundation | $23,200 | 1 | n/a |
| Iowa State University | $22,547 | 2 | n/a |
| Fox Valley Family YMCA Inc | $22,300 | 3 | 0% |
| Faith United Methodist Church | $21,656 | 2 | n/a |
| The Gracie Center | $21,246 | 3 | 11% |
| Sandwich Community Unit School District 430 | $20,700 | 2 | n/a |
| Midwest Museum of Natural History | $20,198 | 3 | 14% |
| Hiawatha Elementary School | $20,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Friends of Imiliwaha Nfp | $20,000 | 1 | 8% |
| Hinckley Festival Association Nfp | $19,362 | 2 | 35% |
| Genoa Kingston Fire Department | $18,777 | 2 | 26% |
| Greater Family Health | $18,600 | 2 | 0% |
| The Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus | $18,000 | 3 | 2% |
| Kishwaukee Special Recreation Assoc | $17,793 | 3 | n/a |
| Harvest Chapel | $17,500 | 2 | n/a |
| First Lutheran Church | $16,975 | 2 | n/a |
| The George Washington University | $16,500 | 2 | 0% |
| Feed My Starving Children Inc | $16,500 | 2 | 0% |
| Shabbona Lee and Rollo Historical Museum | $16,438 | 2 | n/a |
| Everyaction Inc | $16,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Kirkland Boys Youth Baseball League | $15,700 | 1 | n/a |
| Northwestern Medicine Hospice | $15,549 | 2 | n/a |
| Storycatchers | $15,500 | 2 | 0% |
| Dekalb Music Boosters | $15,481 | 2 | n/a |
| University of Wisconsin Madison | $15,119 | 1 | n/a |
| Southland College Prep Charter School Inc | $15,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Music of the Baroque | $15,000 | 2 | 0% |
| The Ruth Project Ministries | $14,738 | 1 | n/a |
| Dimensions Youth Ballet | $14,495 | 2 | n/a |
| Elmwood Cemetery Company | $14,410 | 2 | 5% |
| Franklin Township Park District | $14,359 | 1 | n/a |
| Children's Home & Aid Society of Ill | $12,811 | 2 | 0% |
| Jersey Cares Inc | $12,699 | 1 | 1% |
| Somonauk Community Fire Protection District | $12,500 | 2 | n/a |
| Elgin Master Chorale Inc | $12,000 | 2 | 2% |
| Sandwich Volunteer Firefighters Inc | $12,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Passion Over Profit Foundation | $11,680 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Minnesota Foundation | $11,650 | 1 | 0% |
| Dekalb County Convention & Visitors | $11,623 | 1 | 5% |
| Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Dekalb | $11,540 | 2 | n/a |
| Oc Creative | $11,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Sandwich Public Library District | $11,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Coe College | $10,880 | 1 | 0% |
| Cornerstone Christian Academy | $10,745 | 1 | 1% |
| School Tool Box | $10,569 | 1 | n/a |
| Campus Crusade for Christ Inc | $10,353 | 1 | n/a |
| Kirkland Historical Society | $10,140 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Chicago | $10,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Inc | $10,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Aurora University | $10,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Hillcrest Covenant Church Dekalb Il | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Housing Authority of Dekalb County | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Walther Lutheran High School Association Inc | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Sandwichsomonauk Ministerial Association | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Jewish Community Centers of Chicago | $10,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Kaneland Foundation | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Cornell University | $9,500 | 1 | 0% |
| USC School of Medicine Greenville | $9,300 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Central Florida | $9,100 | 1 | n/a |
| Central Michigan University | $9,100 | 1 | n/a |
| A Promise for Parents | $9,074 | 1 | n/a |
| Genoa Township Park District | $9,068 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Florida | $8,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science | $8,500 | 1 | 0% |
| University of Minnesota | $8,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Arcomusical Nfp | $8,327 | 1 | n/a |
| Federated Church Preschool | $8,171 | 1 | n/a |
| Indian Creek Middle School | $7,600 | 1 | n/a |
| Doorstep Project Inc | $7,579 | 1 | n/a |
| Elgin Symphony Orchestra Association | $7,500 | 1 | 0% |
| The Chicago Philharmonic Society | $7,500 | 1 | 0% |
| Intonation Music Workshop | $7,500 | 1 | 1% |
| Music Will Inc | $7,500 | 1 | 0% |
| The Sandwich Fair Association Inc | $7,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Northwestern Memorial Healthcare | $7,297 | 1 | n/a |
| First Congregational United Church of Christ | $7,245 | 1 | n/a |
| Sycamore Parks Foundation Nfp | $7,164 | 1 | 14% |
| Somonauk Public Library District | $7,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Clinton Township Public Library | $7,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Malta Fire Protection District | $7,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Cortland Community Library | $6,922 | 1 | n/a |
| Dekalb Chamber of Commerce Inc | $6,796 | 1 | n/a |
| Sudden Cardiac-Death Awareness Research | $6,595 | 1 | 10% |
| Project Danztheatre Company | $6,500 | 1 | 3% |
| New Hope Missionary Baptist Church | $6,350 | 1 | n/a |
| Sandwich Park District | $6,240 | 1 | n/a |
| Friends of Shabbona Lake State Park | $6,031 | 1 | n/a |
| Food for Greater Elgin Inc | $6,027 | 1 | n/a |
| Fulcrum Point New Music Project | $6,000 | 1 | 2% |
| FOX VALLEY ACADEMY OF MUSIC PERFORMANCE The Fox Valley Acadeny of Music Performance | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Bethlehem Lutheran Church | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Brain Injury Association of Illinois | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Catalyst Schools | $6,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Gannon University | $6,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Olt Marketing | $5,982 | 1 | n/a |
| St Olaf College | $5,750 | 1 | 0% |
| Chicago Human Rhythm Project | $5,500 | 1 | 1% |
| Kishwaukee Concert Band | $5,496 | 1 | n/a |
| Genoa - Kingston United Way Inc | $5,375 | 1 | n/a |
| Bread & Roses Chorus | $5,328 | 1 | n/a |
| Depaul University | $5,100 | 1 | 0% |
Plus 10 recipients with no EIN on record ($290k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Dekalb County Community Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 26 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 121 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 121.
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.
Ideal Industries FoundationIL64.9× affinity29 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →
Open a dossier: Ideal Industries Foundation · Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group · Douglas C & Lynn M Roberts Family Foundation · Northern Illinois Food Bank · Sycamore Charities Inc Xxx-Xx-Xxxx · Nebraska Community Foundation · Me Stevens-Acct A-Church Fund Xxx-Xx-Xxxx · George E& Betty Bdutton Foundation · Northwestern Memorial HealthCare · Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley · The Bersted Foundation · Kishwaukee United Way
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.
Compare Dekalb County Community Foundation with peer funders
About Dekalb County Community Foundation
- How much does Dekalb County Community Foundation give?
- Dekalb County Community Foundation reported 119 itemized grants totaling $4,018,554, out of $5,077,749 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 89 and 111 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
- What does Dekalb County Community Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Human Services (15%), Education (15%), Arts & Culture (12%).
- Who are Dekalb County Community Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: DeKalb Area Retirement Center ($1.2M), Kishwaukee United Way ($998k), Hope Haven of Dekalb County Inc ($976k).
- Does Dekalb County Community Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 10% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Dekalb County Community Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Ideal Industries Foundation, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group, Douglas C & Lynn M Roberts Family Foundation.
- Where is Dekalb County Community Foundation based?
- Dekalb County Community Foundation is based in IL.
Play a game based on Dekalb County’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