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Donald L & Susan J Schwartz Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Donald L & Susan J Schwartz 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.

$297k
Granted FY2025still arriving
17
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$258k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$551kArts & Culture$333kPhilanthropy$185kReligion$12kCivil Rights$11kPublic Benefit$9kHuman Services$7kEnvironment$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k15 grants · $14k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
  • $250k+1 grant · $258k
$500
Median grant
9
States reached
$1.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Ravinia Festival$258,182
Macalester College$25,000
Ravinia Festival$5,000
Individual grant recipient$2,500
National Right to Work Foundation$2,000
The Cradle$1,000
Heritage Foundation$1,000
Leadership Institute$750
Latham Cares$500
Food Bank for Larimer County$250
NorthShore Place Holiday Fund Inc$150
Habitat for Humanity$113
Macular Degeneration Research$100
Chicago Furniture Bank$100
Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation$100
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 (FY17–25, $5k) 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 its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Secure Futures: $1k → 17%North Shore Senior Center: $250 → 14%American Red Cross: $500 → 14%Wounded Warrior Project: $200 → 14%Wounded Warrior Project: $200 → 14%The Cradle Foundation: $2k → 14%The Cradle Foundation: $800 → 14%The Cradle Foundation: $500 → 14%Chicago Furniture Bank: $100 → 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

MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
IA
NJ
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
NC
DC
GA
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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$918k · 43 repeat orgs$201k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +53% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

43 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 36 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

43
25

Total granted

$918k
$196k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+53%
+25%

Still filing today

51%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesArts & CultureEnvironmentPublic BenefitEducationHealthOther
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

  • MACALESTER COLLEGE
    8× · 2017–2025 · $550k · revenue +90%
  • RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION
    6× · 2017–2025 · $284k · revenue +53%
  • CS
    Chicago Symphony Orchestra
    6× · 2017–2024 · $34k · revenue +58%

Funded once

  • DS
    DONALD & SUSAN SCHWARTZ DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE
    one grant, 2024 · $182k
  • R2
    Ravinia 2021 Annual Fund
    one grant, 2021 · $4k
  • NR
    National Right to Defense
    one grant, 2023 · $3k
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
The Rand Corporation

Help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis.

Public Benefit
2
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
3
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
4
Boston Architectural College

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

—
5
Lake Forest College

Provide post-secondary education leading to a baccalaureate degree. Program service expenditures are made in conjunction with the operation of a liberal arts college spread over 107 acres with approximately 63 educational and support…

Education
6
National Association of College and University Attorneys

To advance the practice of higher education attorneys for the benefit of the institutions they serve.

—
7
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
8
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
9
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
10
Illinois College

Illinois college is a co-educational institution of higher education learning providing a four-year educational program leading to the baccalaureate degree. illinois college is a community committed to the highest standards of scholarship…

Education
11
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
12
National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors

Empowering financial professionals and consumers through world-class advocacy and education.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Rise International. 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

39 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. 39 of the 78 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
37/39
Grantees still filing
32/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MACALESTER COLLEGE: $550,120 · EducationMACALESTER COLLEGE+3 more: $3,270 · EducationRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $284,359 · Arts & CultureRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONChicago Symphony Orchestra: $33,500 · Arts & CultureChicago Symphony Orchestra+2 more: $4,825 · Arts & CultureDONALD & SUSAN SCHWARTZ DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE: $181,964 · OtherDONALD & SUSAN SCHWARTZ…GLENCOE UNION CHURCH: $12,090 · Other+51 more: $35,494 · Other+51 moreLeadership Institute: $2,700 · Public BenefitILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE: $1,650 · Public BenefitCATO INSTITUTE: $1,200 · Public BenefitTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $850 · Public Benefit+1 more: $125 · Public BenefitThe Cradle Foundation: $2,995 · Human ServicesSECUREFUTURES FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $500 · Human ServicesWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $400 · Human ServicesNORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $250 · Human Services+1 more: $100 · Human ServicesCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $2,300 · EnvironmentThe North Carolina Arboretum Society: $300 · EnvironmentBLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION: $200 · Environment+1 more: $25 · EnvironmentWALNUT COVE MEMBERS ASSOCIATION INC: $1,200 · PhilanthropyAMERICAN MACULAR DEGENERATION GOEHRING: $100 · Philanthropy
Education$553,390Arts & Culture$322,684Other$229,548Public Benefit$6,525Human Services$5,245Environment$2,825Philanthropy$1,300

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 budgetMACALESTER COLLEGE: $550,120 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $284,359 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $33,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY: $4,700 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetThe Cradle Foundation: $2,995 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLeadership Institute: $2,700 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION AND INSTITUTE: $2,330 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $2,300 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE: $1,650 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCATO INSTITUTE: $1,200 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetWALNUT COVE MEMBERS ASSOCIATION INC: $1,200 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetYoung America's Foundation: $1,001 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSECUREFUTURES FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Cradle Society: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $850 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $720 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRISE International: $600 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSARAH'S CIRCLE: $400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe North Carolina Arboretum Society: $300 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S FOUNDATION OF AMERICA INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Food Bank for Larimer County: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $220 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLORAS COLLEGE: $150 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTaxpayer Education Foundation: $125 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetWHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: $125 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSKYLAND FIRE AND RESCUE CORPORATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMacular Degeneration Association: $60 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $50 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $25 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 MACALESTER COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Chicago Symphony Orchestra ↗
  • Who funds STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds The Cradle Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Leadership Institute ↗
  • Who funds THE RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION AND INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds CATO INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds WALNUT COVE MEMBERS ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Young America's Foundation ↗
  • Who funds SECUREFUTURES FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds The Cradle Society ↗
  • Who funds THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH ↗
  • Who funds RISE International ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds SARAH'S CIRCLE ↗

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…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…The Ayco Charitable F…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…Natl Christian Charit…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …
The Chicago Community TrustIL13× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Donald L & Susan J Schwartz Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Donald L & Susan J Schwartz Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get 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 · 0–30%
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 78 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

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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