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Flowers for Dreams Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Flowers for Dreams Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$191k
Granted FY2025still arriving
24
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Youth Development$176kHealth$173kFood & Nutrition$113kEmployment$80kHousing & Shelter$69kArts & Culture$58kEnvironment$52kHuman Services$44kOther$0
02FY2025 · 24 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k16 grants · $62k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $129k
$6,411
Median grant
3
States reached
$65k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$25,000
COALITION TO SAVE OUR MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS$18,708
HOPE FOR THE DAY$18,708
CENTRO SANAR$16,692
THE NIGHT MINISTRY$13,053
GARDENEERS DBA CHICAGO GROWTH FOOD$12,324
GLOBAL GARDENS CHICAGO$12,324
GROWING HOME$12,324
Individual grant recipient$9,550
GRAND AVE CLUB$7,951
KEEP GROWING DETROIT$6,472
GOT GRIEF HOUSE$6,411
ILLINOIS COALITION FOR IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE RIGHTS$5,400
MICELLANEOUS ORGANIZED CHARITIES$5,285
COVENANT HOUSE ILLINOIS INC$3,852
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 (FY22–25, $74k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 92% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Cradles to Crayons: $500 → 8%DETOIT PHOENIX CENTER: $3k → 21%THE WOMAN'S CENTER: $5k → 5%DETOIT PHOENIX CENTER: $2k → 21%SHARK LITERACY: $5k → 17%DETOIT PHOENIX CENTER: $1k → 21%DETOIT PHOENIX CENTER: $385 → 21%HMONG AMERICAN WOMENNS ASSOCIATION: $2k → 17%COVENANT HOUSE ILLINOIS INC: $13k → 14%COVENANT HOUSE ILLINOIS INC: $4k → 14%Calebs Kids: $5k → 21%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $13k → 14%FREEDOM HOUSE: $2k → 21%PATHFINDERS MILWAUKEE INC: $2k → 17%BRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $10k → 14%Brave Space Alliance: $1k → 14%Figueroa Wu Family Foundation: $409 → 14%SHALVA: $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.
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.

15%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$149k · 10 repeat orgs$830k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 18 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
62

Total granted

$149k
$665k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+7%

Still filing today

90%
79%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 14% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $165k went to new ones.

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

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthYouth DevelopmentEmploymentCivil RightsCommunity 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.

Backed again, and grew

  • GH
    GROWING HOME INC
    2× · 2021–2025 · $30k · revenue +29%
  • CH
    COVENANT HOUSE ILLINOIS INC
    2× · 2023–2025 · $16k · revenue +58%
  • KEEP GROWING DETROIT
    2× · 2022–2025 · $12k · revenue +81%

Funded once

  • NN
    NAMI Nationalgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $71k · revenue +211%
  • A LONG WALK HOME INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $47k · revenue +118%
  • EF
    EVERYONE FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND
    one grant, 2023 · $42k
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 United for Equity

Connecting and amplifying the power of individuals to build a just, equitable, and inclusive city.

Civil Rights
2
Live Free Chicago

Live Free Illinois is a statewide organization partnering with over 120 congregations and directly impacted individuals to build safer more equitable communities across Illinois. Operating at the intersection of criminal justice reform and…

—
3
Chicago Refugee Coalition

The Chicago Refugee Coalition is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated ot the alleviation of human suffering through innovative partnerships, advocacy and community empowerment.

Human Services
4
A Better Chicago

A better chicago is changing how chicago fights poverty by investing in bold ideas that create opportunity for our youth.

Human Services
5
The Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence

The Network is a group of 40+ member organizations dedicated to improving the lives of those impacted by gender-based violence through education, public policy and advocacy, and connecting community members with direct service providers.…

Human Services
6
Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness

Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness (CCH) builds community power and advances racial equity through organizing, advocacy, legal assistance, and education to prevent and end homelessness because housing is a human right.

Housing & Shelter
7
Latino Union of Chicago

Latino Union works to defend the rights and dignity of contingent workers, including the right to immigrate, work, live free of oppression and violence, and provide for oneself and one's family.

Human Services
8
Chicago Votes

Chicago Votes is a non-partisan, non-profit organization building a more inclusive democracy by putting power in the hands of young Chicagoans. We're engaging and developing a new generation of leaders by opening the doors of government,…

Civil Rights
9
Chicago Workers' Collaborative Nfp

Chicago Workers' Collaborative's mission is to promote full employment and equality for the lowest wage-earners, primarily temporary staffing workers, in the Chicago region through leadership and skills training, critical assistance and…

Education
10
Erie Neighborhood House

Erie neighborhood house provides the most comprehensive support to immigrant and low-income families in chicago. our mission is to empower our communitylatinx immigrants alongside individuals and families of all backgroundsthrough…

Human Services
11
Alternatives Inc

Alternatives, inc.'s mission is to facilitate personal development,strengthen family relationships and enhance the community's well being. serving over 3,000 youth and families annually, the organization offers a range of counseling and…

Health
12
Chicago Heightening Opportunity and Potential for

Providing academic support to children experiencing homelessness in Chicago and providing resources and services to families experiencing homelessness in Chicago.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Alternatives for Girls; the most unlike its peers is Sharp Literacy Inc. 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

67 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. 67 of the 90 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)
20
Early backer (in before they grew)
67/67
Grantees still filing
39/67
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EVERYONE FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND: $42,252 · OtherEVERYONE FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUNDGrocery Run Club: $36,429 · OtherGrocery Run ClubDIGS WITH DIGNITY CORPORATION: $33,321 · OtherDIGS WITH DIGNITY CORPORATIONIndividual grant recipient: $25,000 · OtherTHE HEALING CHICAGO: $21,607 · OtherPEOPLE FOR COMMUNITY RECOVERY: $20,022 · OtherCOALITION TO SAVE OUR MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS: $18,708 · OtherBy The Hand Club For Kids: $17,782 · OtherLittle Village Environmental Justice Org: $20,022 · OtherURBAN GROWERS COLLECTIVE INC: $17,782 · Other+43 more: $238,153 · Other+43 moreRole Model Movement Inc (NFP): $42,378 · Youth DevelopmentRole Model Mo…EMBARC INC: $32,420 · Youth DevelopmentEMBARC INCTFK Chicago Voyagers: $21,607 · Youth DevelopmentTFK Chicago V…Chicago Learning Exchange: $13,736 · Youth DevelopmentChicago Learn…New Life Centers of Chicagoland: $5,477 · Youth Development+1 more: $2,976 · Youth DevelopmentNAMI National: $70,765 · HealthNAMI NationalHOPE FOR THE DAY: $18,708 · HealthHOPE FOR THE …CENTRO SANAR: $16,692 · HealthCENTRO SANARDETROITERS WORKING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: $4,223 · Health+3 more: $6,824 · Health+3 moreHealing to Action: $37,676 · EmploymentHealing t…GROWING HOME INC: $30,106 · EmploymentGROWING H…FARMWORKER AND LANDSCAPER ADVOCACY PROJECT: $11,500 · EmploymentFARMWORKE…+1 more: $500 · EmploymentCOVENANT HOUSE ILLINOIS INC: $16,457 · Human ServicesTHE NIGHT MINISTRY: $13,053 · Human ServicesBRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $11,129 · Human ServicesDETROIT PHOENIX CENTER: $6,597 · Human ServicesTHE WOMEN'S CENTER INC: $5,383 · Human ServicesSHALVA INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesCalebs Kids: $4,795 · Human ServicesSHARP LITERACY INC: $4,516 · Human Services+5 more: $6,978 · Human ServicesA LONG WALK HOME INC: $47,421 · Arts & CultureTRUE SKOOL INC: $4,501 · Arts & CultureINSIDEOUT LITERARY ARTS PROJECT: $3,579 · Arts & CultureRAISE YOUR HAND FOR ILLINOIS PUBLIC EDUCATION: $21,758 · EducationGyrls In The HOOD Foundation: $12,605 · EducationPearls for Teen Girls Inc: $7,589 · Education+1 more: $755 · Education
Other$491,078Youth Development$118,594Health$117,212Employment$79,782Human Services$73,908Arts & Culture$55,501Education$42,707

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 budgetNAMI National: $70,765 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetA LONG WALK HOME INC: $47,421 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetRole Model Movement Inc (NFP): $42,378 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetHealing to Action: $37,676 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetDIGS WITH DIGNITY CORPORATION: $33,321 over 1y, 8.0% of budgetEMBARC INC: $32,420 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetGROWING HOME INC: $30,106 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetRAISE YOUR HAND FOR ILLINOIS PUBLIC EDUCATION: $21,758 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetTFK Chicago Voyagers: $21,607 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetPEOPLE FOR COMMUNITY RECOVERY: $20,022 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetLittle Village Environmental Justice Org: $20,022 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetURBAN GROWERS COLLECTIVE INC: $17,782 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBy The Hand Club For Kids: $17,782 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCENTRO SANAR: $16,692 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE ILLINOIS INC: $16,457 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCHICAGO WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTER: $15,093 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetChicago Learning Exchange: $13,736 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetTHE NIGHT MINISTRY: $13,053 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGyrls In The HOOD Foundation: $12,605 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetTHE FREE ROOT OPERATION INC: $12,291 over 1y, 6.5% of budgetKEEP GROWING DETROIT: $11,840 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetFARMWORKER AND LANDSCAPER ADVOCACY PROJECT: $11,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetBRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $11,129 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY FIRST INC: $10,976 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetVICTORY GARDEN INITIATIVE INC: $10,207 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetILLINOIS COALITION FOR IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS: $7,900 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPearls for Teen Girls Inc: $7,589 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetRESTORING THE PATH: $7,419 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetREFLO INC: $6,842 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetDETROIT PHOENIX CENTER: $6,597 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetHOPE VILLAGE REVITALIZATION: $6,411 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetOUR NEXT GENERATION INC: $5,633 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetNew Life Centers of Chicagoland: $5,477 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WOMEN'S CENTER INC: $5,383 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSHALVA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWOMEN OF BANGLATOWN: $4,886 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetCalebs Kids: $4,795 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetSHARP LITERACY INC: $4,516 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTRUE SKOOL INC: $4,501 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetDETROITERS WORKING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: $4,223 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetWOMEN'S MEDICAL FUND INC: $3,644 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetACTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $3,602 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINSIDEOUT LITERARY ARTS PROJECT: $3,579 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMILWAUKEE HOMELESS VETERANS INITIATIVE INC: $3,439 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFORGOTTEN HARVEST INC: $3,300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSafe & Sound Inc: $2,983 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Konnection: $2,976 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetRUTH ELLIS CENTER: $2,936 over 2y, 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.

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.

Greater Milwaukee Fou…Polk Bros Foundation …John D and Catherine …The Chicago Community…United Way of Greater…Reva and David Logan …Chicago Foundation fo…Circle of Service Fou…Herbert H Kohl Charit…Julian Grace Foundati…Crossroads Fund IncThe Skillman Foundati…
Greater Milwaukee Foundation IncWI30.7× affinity14 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Milwaukee Foundation Inc · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County Inc · Reva and David Logan Foundation · Chicago Foundation for Women · Circle of Service Foundation · Herbert H Kohl Charities Inc · Julian Grace Foundation · Crossroads Fund Inc · The Skillman Foundation

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 Flowers for Dreams Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Flowers for Dreams 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%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
27report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 Flowers for Dreams Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Flowers for Dreams 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 90 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 Flowers for Dreams’ 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