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Dolores Kohl Education Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Dolores Kohl Education Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
26
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$410k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% 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$7.1MPhilanthropy$799kEducation$502kEnvironment$51kReligion$32kHuman Services$32kRecreation & Sports$22kHealth$6kOther$0
02FY2024 · 26 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k20 grants · $42k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $421k
  • $250k+2 grants · $748k
$2,500
Median grant
3
States reached
$8.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION$410,100
DOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - ANIMAL ORCHESTRA EXHIBIT$337,731
KOHL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF GREATER CHICAGO$166,667
DOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - VAN GOGH$108,605
DOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - RACE EXHIBIT$87,322
DOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - STORY BUS PROGRAM$58,589
NORTH SHORE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL$7,500
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN$5,000
ACADEMY FOR URBAN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP$5,000
JEWISH UNITED FUND CHICAGO$5,000
DOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - KOHL EDUCATION PRIZE$4,000
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MUSEUM$2,500
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY BIENEN SCHOOL$2,500
CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION$2,000
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES AND ALUMNI$2,000
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 (FY17–23, $32k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%THREADS OF JUSTICE COLLECTIVE: $200 → 12%THE YOUNG CENTER FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: $500 → 14%CENTER ON HALSTED: $10k → 14%CENTER ON HALSTED: $3k → 14%YOUNG CENTER FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: $500 → 14%FAMILY FOCUS INC: $3k → 14%FAMILY FOCUS INC: $500 → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $10k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $5k → 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

WA
IL
WI
NY
MA
OR
CA
DC
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 11% of Dolores Kohl Education Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 98% of the giving stays in IL; by stated purpose, 79%.

Dolores Kohl Education Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 19% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.8M · 35 repeat orgs$194k to everyone else

35 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2024, 17 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

35
42

Total granted

$7.8M
$174k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+33%

Still filing today

63%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $20k 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 & CultureEducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentPhilanthropyHealthOther
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

  • RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION
    7× · 2018–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +50%
  • KC
    KOHL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF GREATER CHICAGO INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $930k · revenue +64%
  • JU
    JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
    7× · 2018–2024 · $348k · revenue +34%

Funded once

  • CH
    CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETYgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $50k · revenue +37%
  • Northwestern Universitygraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $22k · revenue +33%
  • IH
    ILLINOIS HOLOCAUST MUSEUM
    one grant, 2018 · $15k
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
Chicago Opera Theater

Chicago opera theater expands the tradition of opera as a living art form by engaging lovers of music and storytelling through innovative experiences, predominantly of new and rarely performed works.

Arts & Culture
2
Chicago Historical Society

The Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration, and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, programs, digital resources, and special events, the Museum connects people to Chicago's history…

Arts & Culture
3
Columbia College Chicago

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

Education
4
University of Chicago

The mission of the university of chicago has been to sustain at the highest level of excellence, the communication of knowledge, the creation of knowledge and the fostering of a dynamic community of scholars and students.

Education
5
True Chicago
Arts & Culture
6
Music and Dance Theater Chicago Inc
Arts & Culture
7
Chicago Public Education Fund

The chicago public education fund (the fund) is a nonprofit organization that improves public schools in chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them.

Education
8
The Richard H Driehaus Foundation
Philanthropy
9
Chamber Opera of Chicago
—
10
Children's Museum of Oak Park

To spark curiosity and creativity in all young children through positive, play-based learning experiences.

Arts & Culture
11
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Inc

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University ("The Auditorium"), an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, is committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community and educational programming to Chicago and to the…

Arts & Culture
12
Chicago Theatre Group Inc

The chicago theatre group is committed to producing both classic and contemporary works giving full voice to a wide range of artists and visions. by dedicating itself to three guiding principles - quality, equity, and community - the…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Museum of Contemporary Art; the most unlike its peers is Make It Better Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

57 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. 57 of the 87 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
56/57
Grantees still filing
41/57
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - VAN GOGH: $1,604,202 · OtherDOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - VAN GOGHDOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - RACE EXHIBIT: $1,356,171 · OtherDOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - RACE EXHIBITDOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - ANIMAL ORCHESTRA EXHIBIT: $947,673 · OtherDOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - ANIMAL ORCHESTRA EXHIBITDOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - STORY BUS PROGRAM: $456,942 · OtherDOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION - STORY BUS PROGRAMDOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $167,878 · Other+41 more: $324,653 · Other+41 moreRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $1,061,386 · Arts & CultureRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONKOHL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF GREATER CHICAGO INC: $930,435 · Arts & CultureKOHL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF GREATER C…Chicago Humanities Festival: $420,173 · Arts & CultureChicago Humanities FestivalWriters Theatre Inc: $114,825 · Arts & Culture+17 more: $121,235 · Arts & CultureThe Chicago Community Trust: $442,230 · PhilanthropyThe Chicag…JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $347,600 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNI…+2 more: $9,302 · PhilanthropyBRANDEIS UNIVERSITY: $82,500 · EducationErikson Institute: $26,000 · EducationACADEMY FOR URBAN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP: $5,000 · EducationTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $5,000 · Education+4 more: $850 · EducationCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $50,000 · Environment+1 more: $1,000 · EnvironmentCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $15,000 · Human ServicesCenter on Halsted: $12,500 · Human ServicesFAMILY FOCUS LEGACY: $3,000 · Human Services+2 more: $1,200 · Human ServicesNorthwestern University: $21,500 · Recreation & Sports
Other$4,857,519Arts & Culture$2,648,054Philanthropy$799,132Education$119,350Environment$51,000Human Services$31,700Recreation & Sports$21,500

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 budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $1,061,386 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetKOHL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF GREATER CHICAGO INC: $930,435 over 8y, 8.1% of budgetThe Chicago Community Trust: $442,230 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Humanities Festival: $420,173 over 7y, 2.6% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $347,600 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetDOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $167,878 over 8y, 10.0% of budgetWriters Theatre Inc: $114,825 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetBRANDEIS UNIVERSITY: $82,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLAKE FOREST COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $65,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $41,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSTART EARLY: $29,950 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetErikson Institute: $26,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNorthwestern University: $21,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $13,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCenter on Halsted: $12,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSHAKESPEARE CENTER OF LOS ANGELES: $10,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetMERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $9,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLyric Opera of Chicago: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH SHORE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $6,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetACADEMY FOR URBAN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCIVITAS ENSEMBLE: $5,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR JEWISH WOMEN CHICAGO NORTH SHORE SECTION: $5,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetChicago Children's Museum: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHighland Park Community Foundation: $4,302 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PILGRIM CHAMBER PLAYERS: $3,500 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetFAMILY FOCUS LEGACY: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJ STREET EDUCATION FUND INC: $2,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES AND ALUMNI: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHEDWIG DANCES INC: $2,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION OF ILLINOIS INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $1,460 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING: $1,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM INC: $1,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPlanned Parenthood of Illinois: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBRUSHWOOD CENTER AT RYERSON WOODS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLOOKINGGLASS THEATRE COMPANY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE YOUNG CENTER FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDRENS RIGHTS: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Northmoor Education Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNORTON MUSEUM OF ART INC: $275 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK INC: $258 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UWM FOUNDATION INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $100 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 RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds KOHL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF GREATER CHICAGO INC ↗
  • Who funds The Chicago Community Trust ↗
  • Who funds Chicago Humanities Festival ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds DOLORES KOHL EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Writers Theatre Inc ↗
  • Who funds BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds LAKE FOREST COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ↗
  • Who funds START EARLY ↗
  • Who funds Erikson Institute ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds Chicago Symphony Orchestra ↗
  • Who funds CRADLES TO CRAYONS INC ↗
  • Who funds MUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds Center on Halsted ↗
  • Who funds SHAKESPEARE CENTER OF LOS ANGELES ↗
  • Who funds MERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC ↗
  • Who funds Lyric Opera of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds NORTH SHORE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ↗
  • Who funds ACADEMY FOR URBAN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds CIVITAS ENSEMBLE ↗
  • Who funds Make It Better Foundation ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR JEWISH WOMEN CHICAGO NORTH SHORE SECTION ↗
  • Who funds Chicago Children's Museum ↗

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…Jewish Federation of …Arie and Ida Crown Me…John D and Catherine …Jerome H Stone Family…Robert R McCormick Fo…Polk Bros Foundation …The Irving Harris Fou…Circle of Service Fou…The Ayco Charitable F…AbbVie FoundationBaird Foundation Inc
The Chicago Community TrustIL25.4× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · Arie and Ida Crown Memorial · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Jerome H Stone Family Foundation · Robert R McCormick Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · The Irving Harris Foundation · Circle of Service Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · Baird Foundation Inc

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 Dolores Kohl Education Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Dolores Kohl Education 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 9%
  • Brandeis University: 9% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
16report 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 Dolores Kohl Education Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Dolores Kohl Education 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 87 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Dolores Kohl Education’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