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Forefront at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Forefront

We mobilize our members to work collectively around issues that are important to them and to the sector by enhancing the effectiveness of (a) the organizations and individuals who are the members of the corporation and (b) all nonprofit organizations in the state of illinois through development of educational programs and informational…

$4.6M
Granted FY2025still arriving
49
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$543k
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, FY2019 to 2025.

Food & Nutrition$7.8MCommunity Improvement$7.1MYouth Development$3.9MEducation$2.7MHealth$2.6MEnvironment$2.5MHuman Services$2.5MEmployment$2.1MOther$0
02FY2025 · 49 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $16k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $328k
  • $50k–250k31 grants · $2.7M
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.5M
$62,500
Median grant
5
States reached
$19M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AUSTIN COMING TOGETHER$543,031
YMEN$450,000
WESTSIDE HEALTH AUTHORITY$260,000
DION'S CHICAGO DREAM$253,000
GARDENEERS$221,000
CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY$200,000
GROW GREATER ENGLEWOOD$150,000
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST$150,000
ENLACE CHICAGO$125,000
CIRCLE URBAN MINISTRIES$120,000
ILLINOIS STEWARDSHIP ALLLIANCE(ILLINOIS FOOD JUSTICE ALLIANCE INFRASTRUCTUR$100,000
THE HACK FOUNDATION - HACK CLUB$100,000
AMERICAN INDIAN CENTER$100,000
GSJ FAMILY LIFE CENTER$100,000
TRICKSTER ART GALLERY NFP$78,000
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 (FY19–25, $3.1M) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 90% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%COMMON MARKET: $100k → 22%ILLINOIS WORKERS IN ACTION: $50k → 8%AKWAABA QC: $25k → 15%OUTREACH HOUSE: $27k → 7%AFFORDABLE HOUSING CORPORATION OF LAKE COUNTY: $30k → 8%MANO A MANO FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER: $30k → 8%MANO A MANO FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER: $25k → 8%THE ROBERTI COMMUNITY HOUSE: $25k → 8%THE ROBERTI COMMUNITY HOUSE: $25k → 8%TELPOCHCALLI COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROJECT: $25k → 14%YWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $50k → 14%YWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $38k → 14%YWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $38k → 14%YWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $25k → 14%CHINESE MUTUAL AID ASSOCIATION: $28k → 14%ENVISIONS UNLIMITED: $25k → 14%CAROLE ROBERTSON CENTER FOR LEARNING: $25k → 14%ENVISIONS UNLIMITED: $25k → 14%ASPIRE: $36k → 14%BRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $90k → 14%BRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $75k → 14%KOREAN AMERICAN SENIOR CENTER DBA HANUL FAMILY ALLIANCE: $25k → 14%BRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $25k → 14%EQUITY AND TRANSFORMATION (EAT): $100k → 14%INSTITUTE FOR POSITIVE LIVING: $25k → 14%ALL FAMILY ACTIVE ALFA: $25k → 14%CENTER ON HALSTED: $150k → 14%DARREN B EASTERLING CENTER FOR RESTORATIVE PRACTICES: $75k → 14%THE ENDELEO INSTITUTE INC: $63k → 14%THE ENDELEO INSTITUTE INC: $63k → 14%HANA CENTER: $42k → 14%HANA CENTER: $25k → 14%BETHEL NEW LIFE INC: $100k → 14%BETHEL NEW LIFE INC: $100k → 14%ADA S MCKINLEY COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $75k → 14%YWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $57k → 14%FAMILY FOCUS: $50k → 14%FEDERACION DE CLUBESMICHOACANOS EN ILLINOIS: $50k → 14%OPTIONS FOR YOUTH: $80k → 14%BRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $75k → 14%BRIGHTPOINT: $75k → 14%BLUE ISLAND CITIZENS FOR PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILIT: $25k → 14%NORTHWESTERN SETTLEMENT: $75k → 14%NEW ECLIPSE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE: $50k → 14%NEW ECLIPSE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE: $50k → 14%NEW ECLIPSE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE: $50k → 14%CIRCLE URBAN MINISTRIES: $120k → 14%HENRY WILLIAMS FOUNDATION OF LOVE: $145k → 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
MI
NY
MA
IN
PA
CA
CO
VA
MD
DC
TX
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.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$29M · 145 repeat orgs$8.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

145 repeat relationships: 41 still active in FY2025, 104 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

145
160

Total granted

$29M
$7.7M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+8%

Still filing today

89%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $494k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesFood & NutritionCommunity ImprovementEducationHealthHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • YM
    Young Mens Educational Network
    4× · 2022–2025 · $2.0M · revenue +36% · 27% of their budget
  • University of Illinois Foundation
    5× · 2021–2025 · $1.9M · revenue +57%
  • WH
    WESTSIDE HEALTH AUTHORITY
    5× · 2019–2025 · $1.4M · revenue +155%

Funded once

  • NC
    NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
    one grant, 2022 · $672k · revenue -2% · 63% of their budget
  • FA
    FOOD ACCESS PROJECT
    one grant, 2024 · $250k · revenue 0%
  • FF
    FAIR FOOD NETWORK INC
    one grant, 2024 · $150k · revenue 0%
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
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
3
Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants

Serving recently arrived migrants and asylum seekers in the Chicagoland area and is committed to upholding the dignity and human rights of immigrants.

Human Services
4
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
5
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
6
True Chicago
Arts & Culture
7
I Grow Chicago Nfp

The mission of I Grow Chicago is to grow Englewood from surviving to thriving through community connection, skill building, and opportunity.

—
8
Chicago Jobs Council

Chicago Jobs Council (CJC) pursues its mission through advocacy, applied research, public education and capacity-building initiatives focused on influencing the development or reform of public policies and programs. From 18 original…

—
9
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
10
United Way of Illinois

Strengthen United Way movement in Illinois

Philanthropy
11
Local Economic and Employment Development Council Inc

North Branch Works is a membership-supported nonprofit neighborhood organization that for more than three decades has promoted balanced, job-creating economic development along the North Branch of the Chicago River.

Employment
12
Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Inc

Secure racial equity and economic opportunity for all

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Together Chicago Inc; the most unlike its peers is Independent Film Alliance F/K/a Stage 18. 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

276 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 276 of the 314 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.

21
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
86
Early backer (in before they grew)
262/276
Grantees still filing
180/276
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Young Mens Educational Network: $2,045,000 · EducationYoung Mens Educational …University of Illinois Foundation: $1,897,596 · EducationUniversity of Illinois …Austin Coming Together: $1,443,031 · EducationAustin Coming TogetherGARDENEERS: $628,600 · EducationGARDENEERSChicago Workers' Collaborative NFP: $400,000 · EducationChicago Workers' Collab…+8 more: $895,500 · Education+8 moreChicago Food Policy Action Council: $940,000 · Food & NutritionChicago Food Poli…ILLINOIS STEWARDSHIP ALLIANCE: $675,000 · Food & NutritionILLINOIS STEWARDS…ADVOCATES FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE NFP: $549,650 · Food & NutritionADVOCATES FOR URB…DIONS CHICAGO DREAM INC NFP: $363,000 · Food & NutritionDIONS CHICAGO DRE…URBAN GROWERS COLLECTIVE INC: $300,000 · Food & NutritionURBAN GROWERS COL…GROW GREATER ENGLEWOOD INC: $275,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD ACCESS PROJECT: $250,000 · Food & NutritionNWI FOOD COUNCIL INC: $225,000 · Food & NutritionJUST ROOTS JUST ROOTS CHICAGO: $196,000 · Food & NutritionAdelante Center for Entrepreneurship: $193,000 · Food & NutritionPlant Chicago NFP: $189,500 · Food & NutritionBEYOND HUNGER: $183,500 · Food & Nutrition+11 more: $963,500 · Food & Nutrition+11 moreNEW COVENANT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $672,000 · Community ImprovementNEW COVENANT C…NEIGHBORSPACE: $672,000 · Community ImprovementNEIGHBORSPACEMOVEMENT STRATEGY CENTER: $588,000 · Community ImprovementMOVEMENT STRAT…INNER-CITY MUSLIM ACTION NETWORK: $350,000 · Community ImprovementINNER-CITY MUS…DEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENS: $314,250 · Community ImprovementDEKALB COUNTY …CHINESE AMERICAN SERVICE LEAGUE INC: $270,000 · Community ImprovementCHINESE AMERIC…THE EXPERIMENTAL STATION: $225,000 · Community ImprovementEnlace Chicago: $225,000 · Community ImprovementFuller Park Community Development Corp: $185,000 · Community ImprovementALLIES FOR COMMUNITY BUSINESS INC: $150,000 · Community Improvement+11 more: $762,000 · Community Improvement+11 moreBUILD INC: $570,000 · OtherFAITH IN PLACE: $783,425 · OtherFAITH IN PLACELittle Village Environmental Justice Org: $726,000 · OtherLittle Village Environmental Justice …Warehouse Workers Justice Center Inc: $415,000 · Other+91 more: $9,215,696 · Other+91 moreBRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $265,000 · Human ServicesBRAVE SPA…BETHEL NEW LIFE INC: $200,000 · Human ServicesBETHEL NE…NEW ECLIPSE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE: $175,000 · Human ServicesNEW ECLIP…Center on Halsted: $165,000 · Human ServicesCenter on…YWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $150,000 · Human ServicesHENRY WILLIAMS FOUNDATION OF LOVE: $145,000 · Human ServicesTHE ENDELEO INSTITUTE INC: $125,000 · Human ServicesCIRCLE URBAN MINISTRIES: $120,000 · Human ServicesEQUITY AND TRANSFORMATION: $120,000 · Human ServicesCOMMON MARKET PHILADELPHIA INC: $100,000 · Human Services+23 more: $1,251,631 · Human Services+23 moreWESTSIDE HEALTH AUTHORITY: $1,403,000 · Housing & ShelterHOUSING HELPERS INC: $175,000 · Housing & ShelterGRACE HOUSING COMPLEX: $170,000 · Housing & ShelterAPNA GHAR INC: $100,000 · Housing & ShelterHere to Stay CLT Inc: $100,000 · Housing & ShelterGAP COMMUNITY CENTER: $75,000 · Housing & ShelterELAWA FARM FOUNDATION: $375,000 · Arts & CultureMIDWEST CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING INC: $241,000 · Arts & CultureGSJ FAMILY LIFE CENTER: $218,500 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN INDIAN CENTER: $185,000 · Arts & CultureTRICKSTER ART GALLERY: $163,000 · Arts & CultureCOMMON THREADS: $106,000 · Arts & CultureCHICAGO INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL CHANGE FILM FESTIVAL: $100,000 · Arts & CultureFacets Film Forum: $67,860 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $50,000 · Arts & Culture
Education$7,309,727Food & Nutrition$5,303,150Community Improvement$4,413,250Other$11,710,121Human Services$2,816,631Housing & Shelter$2,023,000Arts & Culture$1,506,360

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetYoung Mens Educational Network: $2,045,000 over 4y, 27% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $1,897,596 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetAustin Coming Together: $1,443,031 over 3y, 16% of budgetWESTSIDE HEALTH AUTHORITY: $1,403,000 over 5y, 8.9% of budgetChicago Food Policy Action Council: $940,000 over 5y, 16% of budgetFAITH IN PLACE: $783,425 over 4y, 11% of budgetLittle Village Environmental Justice Org: $726,000 over 5y, 6.7% of budgetILLINOIS STEWARDSHIP ALLIANCE: $675,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetNEW COVENANT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $672,000 over 1y, 63% of budgetNEIGHBORSPACE: $672,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetGARDENEERS: $628,600 over 4y, 6.0% of budgetMOVEMENT STRATEGY CENTER: $588,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetBUILD INC: $570,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetADVOCATES FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE NFP: $549,650 over 3y, 26% of budgetWarehouse Workers Justice Center Inc: $415,000 over 4y, 15% of budgetChicago Workers' Collaborative NFP: $400,000 over 4y, 7.7% of budgetCHICAGO COMMUNITY AND WORKERS RIGHTSNFP: $375,000 over 3y, 27% of budgetELAWA FARM FOUNDATION: $375,000 over 4y, 17% of budgetDIONS CHICAGO DREAM INC NFP: $363,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetINNER-CITY MUSLIM ACTION NETWORK: $350,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetLITTLE VILLAGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $326,000 over 5y, 12% of budgetDEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENS: $314,250 over 5y, 6.3% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $314,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetGLOBAL PHILANTHROPY PARTNERSHIP: $310,000 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetURBAN GROWERS COLLECTIVE INC: $300,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetFARMWORKER AND LANDSCAPER ADVOCACY PROJECT: $288,000 over 4y, 3.7% of budgetGROW GREATER ENGLEWOOD INC: $275,000 over 3y, 4.2% of budgetCHINESE AMERICAN SERVICE LEAGUE INC: $270,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetLatin Center: $270,000 over 4y, 9.5% of budgetBRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $265,000 over 4y, 4.7% of budgetPUERTO RICAN CULTURAL CENTER: $250,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetFOOD ACCESS PROJECT: $250,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetMIDWEST CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING INC: $241,000 over 3y, 17% of budgetBLACK OAKS CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE RENEWABLE LIVING: $235,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetTHE EXPERIMENTAL STATION: $225,000 over 2y, 6.0% of budgetNWI FOOD COUNCIL INC: $225,000 over 4y, 3.4% of budgetEnlace Chicago: $225,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetGSJ FAMILY LIFE CENTER: $218,500 over 3y, 84% of budgetSISTERS WORKING IT OUT: $200,000 over 3y, 31% of budgetJUST ROOTS JUST ROOTS CHICAGO: $196,000 over 4y, 27% of budgetAdelante Center for Entrepreneurship: $193,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetPlant Chicago NFP: $189,500 over 4y, 10% of budgetGROWING HOME INC: $188,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetFuller Park Community Development Corp: $185,000 over 4y, 56% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN CENTER: $185,000 over 3y, 8.3% of budgetBEYOND HUNGER: $183,500 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetGARY COMER YOUTH CENTER INC: $178,600 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetCHICAGO LIGHTS: $175,000 over 2y, 5.7% 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.

United Way of Metropo…Polk Bros Foundation …Field Foundation of I…Chicago Foundation fo…Robert R McCormick Fo…Builders Vision Found…Woods Fund of ChicagoJohn D and Catherine …The Chicago Community…Crossroads Fund IncCircle of Service Fou…Illinois Coalition fo…
United Way of Metropolitan Chicago IncIL132× affinity88 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Field Foundation of Illinois · Chicago Foundation for Women · Robert R McCormick Foundation · Builders Vision Foundation · Woods Fund of Chicago · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Crossroads Fund Inc · Circle of Service Foundation · Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

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 Forefront funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Forefront. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 67%
  • World Relief Corp of National Association of Evangelicals: 67% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
88report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 314 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 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 Forefront’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