· Private foundation
Gregg Aaron Zale Family Foundation
Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Read this first · the figures below need context
100% of Gregg Aaron Zale Family Foundation’s FY2023 grant dollars went to Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, not to grantees.
Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2023 names 1 organization directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2022, the last year Gregg Aaron Zale Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 5 organizations, $70k. It is dated, not current.
Organizations named directly on the return
Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2023.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2022
- Under $10k8 grants · $22k
- $10k–50k2 grants · $48k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| JEWISH UNITED FUND | $30,000 |
| FRIENDS OF THE IDF | $18,000 |
| UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION | $7,500 |
| ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL | $5,000 |
| THE JOFFREY BALLET | $3,000 |
| CHABAD JEWISH LEARNING SOCIETY | $2,500 |
| THE JEWISH WOMEN'S FOUNDATION | $2,000 |
| HIAS | $1,000 |
| DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS ERF | $1,000 |
| Individual grant recipient | $250 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY21–21, $1k) 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.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
6 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2022, 1 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2022 (too recent to call). Read against FY2022, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2023, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- JUJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO3× · 2020–2022 · $70k · revenue +13%
- TJTHE JOFFREY BALLET3× · 2021–2023 · $11k · revenue +215%
- CHCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY2× · 2020–2021 · $550 · revenue +27%
Funded once
THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INCgraduatedone grant, 2021 · $5k · revenue +159%- BRBRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDATIONgraduatedone grant, 2020 · $2k · revenue +60%
- TGTHE GROWING SEASON INCone grant, 2021 · $1k · revenue -509%
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.
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.
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.
We are chicago's jesuit, catholic university - a diverse community seeking god in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.
To engage in scientific research and educational activities throughout the world on behalf of and in conjunction with the university of chicago.
Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.
Unlocking the secrets of life itself is the driving force behind the salk institute. our team of world-class, award-winning scientists pushes boundaries of knowledge in areas such as neuroscience, cancer research, aging, immunobiology,…
Our mission is to expand scientific knowledge and improve public health by designing and conducting world-class clinical trials and epidemiologic research.
Federation amplifies our collective strength to make the world a better place for everyone. we assist people in need, impact chicagoans of all faiths; support israel and the jewish people worldwide; respond swiftly to crises; cultivate…
Education and Research
University of the sciences prepares students to become leaders, innovators, and skilled practitioners in the sciences, the health professions, and related disciplines. we deliver excellence in teaching, research, and service through a safe…
See schedule ocri is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing cancer immunotherapy through scientific discovery and global collaboration. since 1953, cri has funded research that deepens understanding of the immune system and its…
The mission of the institute is to translate basic genetic and molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia and related developmental brain disorders into clinical advances that change the lives of affected individuals. it is catalyzing a new…
To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy
How this is measured
10 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. 10 of the 15 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ↗
- Who funds JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO ↗
- Who funds University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation ↗
- Who funds THE JOFFREY BALLET ↗
- Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
- Who funds THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC ↗
- Who funds BRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds HIAS INC ↗
- Who funds THE GROWING SEASON INC ↗
- Who funds CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Gregg Aaron Zale Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gregg Aaron Zale Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
- Hias Inc: 88% of income from government
How this is measured
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