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F J Zimmermann Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

F J Zimmermann Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$191k
Granted FY2025still arriving
12
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$70k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.1MReligion$84kRecreation & Sports$75kHuman Services$65kArts & Culture$39kHealth$20kScience & Tech$10kFood & Nutrition$10kOther$0
02FY2025 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $5k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $116k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $70k
$2,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$1.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ST JAMES EPISCOPAL PARISH$70,000
UNIVERSITY OF SANTA CLARA$40,000
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON$35,000
OUR LADY OF TAHOE$25,000
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN OFFICE OF FINANCIAL AID$16,404
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER$2,000
EMMA WILLARD SCHOOL$1,000
YMCA$500
CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN$500
EVANS SCHOLARS FOUNDATION$500
ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO$210
KAHILUE THEATER 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 (FY17–21, $56k) 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%HELPING HADS MINISTRIES: $3k → 13%GADS HILL CENTER: $250 → 14%GADS HILL CENTER: $100 → 14%GADS HILL CENTER: $100 → 14%CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $15k → 14%CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $15k → 14%CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $10k → 14%CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $10k → 14%CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $3k → 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
OR
NV
IN
CA
MD
NC
HI
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.2M · 36 repeat orgs$106k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +45% since the first grant, against +22% for those funded once.

36 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2025, 24 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
25

Total granted

$1.2M
$106k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+22%

Still filing today

39%
32%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
EducationHealthArts & CultureHuman ServicesEnvironmentFood & NutritionOther
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

  • MS
    MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL
    3× · 2021–2023 · $30k · revenue +12%
  • MU
    MCPHS UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2022–2023 · $20k · revenue +7%
  • EW
    EMMA WILLARD SCHOOL
    9× · 2017–2025 · $17k · revenue +88%

Funded once

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
  • MK
    Mauna Kea Foundation
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue -81%
  • NH
    NAPA HIGHSCHOOL OF ROBOTICS
    one grant, 2019 · $10k
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
Manhattanville University

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

Education
2
Boston Architectural College

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

—
3
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
4
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
5
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
6
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
7
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
8
President and Fellows of Harvard College

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

Education
9
Columbia College Chicago

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

Education
10
Harvey Mudd College

HMC seeks to educate engineers, scientists, and mathematicians well versed in all of these areas and in the humanities, social sciences and the arts so that they may assume leadership in their fields with a clear understanding of the…

Education
11
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
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Horticultural Society; the most unlike its peers is Mauna Kea Foundation. 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

24 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. 24 of the 62 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/24
Grantees still filing
18/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF SANTA CLARA: $255,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF SANTA CLARAST JAMES EPISCOPAL PARISH: $121,000 · OtherST JAMES EPISCOPAL PARISHUNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO: $119,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENOST IGNATIUS COLLEGE PREP: $90,000 · OtherST IGNATIUS COLLEGE PREPOUR LADY OF TAHOE: $85,000 · OtherOUR LADY OF TAHOEUNIVERSITY OF OREGON: $55,000 · OtherLOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL: $55,000 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $49,212 · Other+34 more: $287,240 · Other+34 moreUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $75,000 · EducationUniversity of…MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL: $30,000 · EducationMARLBOROUGH S…MCPHS UNIVERSITY: $20,000 · EducationMCPHS UNIVERS…EMMA WILLARD SCHOOL: $16,564 · EducationEMMA WILLARD …THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $8,180 · Education+2 more: $10,000 · Education+2 moreCENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $52,500 · Human ServicesHELPING HANDS MINISTRIES INC: $3,000 · Human Services+1 more: $450 · Human ServicesCHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER: $12,000 · Arts & CultureFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $7,000 · Arts & CultureHISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION OF THE FORTNIGHTLY: $2,500 · Arts & CultureURBAN GATEWAYS: $1,000 · Arts & CultureTHE V FOUNDATION: $11,500 · HealthThat Man May See Inc DBA All May See Foundation: $5,000 · HealthEndeavor Health Clinical Operations: $1,000 · Health+1 more: $500 · HealthMauna Kea Foundation: $10,000 · Food & NutritionCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $3,400 · Environment
Other$1,116,452Education$159,744Human Services$55,950Arts & Culture$22,500Health$18,000Food & Nutrition$10,000Environment$3,400

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $75,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $52,500 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetMARLBOROUGH SCHOOL: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMCPHS UNIVERSITY: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEMMA WILLARD SCHOOL: $16,564 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER: $12,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE V FOUNDATION: $11,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $8,180 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $7,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBRADLEY UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThat Man May See Inc DBA All May See Foundation: $5,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCHAPMAN UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $3,400 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetHELPING HANDS MINISTRIES INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION OF THE FORTNIGHTLY: $2,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetCAMP MANITO-WISH YMCA INC: $2,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMalama Kai Foundation: $2,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetHAWAII PUBLIC RADIO: $1,200 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetURBAN GATEWAYS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEndeavor Health Clinical Operations: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCitizens United for Research in Epilepsy: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGADS HILL CENTER: $450 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSolano Community College Educational Foundation: $250 over 1y, 0.1% 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 University of Notre Dame du Lac ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES ↗
  • Who funds MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds MCPHS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds EMMA WILLARD SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER ↗
  • Who funds THE V FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Mauna Kea Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ↗
  • Who funds BRADLEY UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds That Man May See Inc DBA All May See Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds HELPING HANDS MINISTRIES INC ↗

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…American Endowment Fo…AbbVie FoundationGs Donor Advised Phil…The Bank of America C…The Pfizer Foundation…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
The Chicago Community TrustIL12.6× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · American Endowment Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 F J Zimmermann Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from F J Zimmermann 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 →median 1%
  • Mcphs University: 1% of 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.

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 62 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 F J Zimmermann’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