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Herbert C Wenske Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Herbert C Wenske 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.

$122k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Health$211kPhilanthropy$139kArts & Culture$80kInternational$70kReligion$38kCrime & Legal$35kHuman Services$15kYouth Development$8kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k11 grants · $42k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $80k
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$3.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JEWISH UNITED FUND$25,000
LES TURNER ALS FOUNDATION$20,000
NORTH SHORE CONGREGATION ISRAEL$15,000
A SAFE PLACE$10,000
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND$10,000
ANN & ROBERT H LURIE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO FOUNDATION$5,000
US HOLOCAUST MUSEUM$5,000
NORTH SUBURBAN LEGAL AID CLINIC$5,000
ILLINOIS HOLOCAUST MUSEUM$5,000
A SILVER LINING FOUNDATION$5,000
ELYSSA'S MISSION$5,000
Individual grant recipient$3,000
COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING$2,500
AUTISM SPEAKS$2,500
THE CHICAGO CENTER$2,500
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 (FY20–20, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%CJE SENIOR LIFE: $1k → 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

IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
IA
NJ
CA
VA
AZ
DC
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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$456k · 16 repeat orgs$108k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +33% since the first grant, against +2% for those funded once.

16 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
26

Total granted

$456k
$92k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+2%

Still filing today

50%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $16k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthCrime & LegalArts & CulturePhilanthropyEducationHuman ServicesOther
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

  • JU
    JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
    6× · 2020–2025 · $139k · revenue +13%
  • EM
    Elyssas Mission NFP
    5× · 2020–2025 · $25k · revenue +99%
  • TU
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    4× · 2020–2025 · $13k · revenue +57%

Funded once

  • RF
    RAVINIA FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $25k
  • RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +23%
  • GH
    GESHER HUMAN SERVICESgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $5k · revenue +36%
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
University of Chicago Medical Center

Our mission at the university of chicago medicine is to provide superior health care through rigorous research, innovative education, and comprehensive care and healing. in partnership with our colleagues, we pursue life-changing…

Health
2
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago

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…

Philanthropy
3
Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center

As a member of sinai health system, mount sinai hospital medical center's mission is to improve the health of the individuals and communities it serves by providing comprehensive medical, surgical, pediatric, psychiatric, and intensive…

Health
4
Jewish Family & Career Services Inc

To transform lives.

Human Services
5
Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Ann & robert h. lurie children's hospital of chicago is dedicated to the health and well-being of all children. as the pediatric teaching facility for northwestern university feinberg school of medicine, this commitment drives us to be a…

Health
6
The Adler Planetarium

The adler planetarium ('adler') is a not-for-profit cultural institution whose mission is to connect people to the universe and each other under the sky we all share. it aspires to be the world's premier center for engaging in astronomy…

Arts & Culture
7
Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago

To improve the lives of people affected by epilepsy through education, advocacy, research, and connection.

—
8
Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group

Northwestern memorial healthcare is an integrated healthcare system, consisting of multiple hospitals (including northwestern memorial hospital, an academic medical center) and networks of physicians and healthcare professionals, where the…

Health
9
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Leadership in the prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer through excellence, vision and cost effectiveness in patient care, outreach programs, research, and education.

Health
10
Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation

To provide with compassion and dedication superior quality health care and rehabilitation for adults and to directly or indirectly coordinate arrangements and provision for comprehensive health care and social support services to frail…

Health
11
Association House of Chicago

Association house's mission is to advance each person's full participation in the life of their families, communities, and society. since 1899, we have served a vibrant, multicultural community. we used a trauma informed, culturally…

Human Services
12
Jewish Family Services of Greenwich

Jewish family services of greenwich (jfs) is a nonprofit social service agency dedicated to strengthening individuals and families in fairfield and new london counties. jfs provides behavioral health counseling, food security programs,…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is After School Matters Inc; the most unlike its peers is Special Kids Network 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

21 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. 21 of the 47 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)
20/21
Grantees still filing
13/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LES TURNER ALS FOUNDATION: $140,000 · OtherLES TURNER ALS FOUNDATIONNORTH SHORE CONGREGATION ISRAEL: $31,000 · OtherNORTH SHORE CONGREGATION ISRAELRAVINIA FOUNDATION: $25,000 · OtherRAVINIA FOUNDATIONILLINOIS HOLOCAUST MUSEUM: $22,500 · OtherILLINOIS HOLOCAUST MUSEUMISRAEL CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $11,000 · Other+29 more: $91,000 · Other+29 moreJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $139,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNITED FUND OF MET…JEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL) INC: $60,500 · InternationalJEWISH NAT…Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Foundation: $17,500 · HealthA SILVER LINING FOUNDATION: $10,000 · HealthAUTISM SPEAKS INC: $5,000 · HealthUNITED CEREBRAL PALSY INC: $3,000 · HealthTHE HEKTOEN INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE: $2,000 · HealthCANCER WELLNESS CENTER: $1,500 · HealthElyssas Mission NFP: $25,000 · Crime & LegalNORTH SUBURBAN LEGAL AID CLINIC: $10,000 · Crime & LegalThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $12,500 · Arts & CultureRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $10,000 · Arts & CultureAFTER SCHOOL MATTERS INC: $7,500 · Education
Other$320,500Philanthropy$139,000International$60,500Health$39,000Crime & Legal$35,000Arts & Culture$22,500Education$7,500

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 budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $139,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL) INC: $60,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetElyssas Mission NFP: $25,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetAnn & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Foundation: $17,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $12,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH SUBURBAN LEGAL AID CLINIC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetA SILVER LINING FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetLAKE COUNTY CRISIS CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAFTER SCHOOL MATTERS INC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGESHER HUMAN SERVICES: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAUTISM SPEAKS INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBRIGHT STAR COMMUNITY OUTREACH CORP: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED CEREBRAL PALSY INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMagdalene House Chicago Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTHE HEKTOEN INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCANCER WELLNESS CENTER: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Brain Tumor Association: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO CARES INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL KIDS NETWORK INC: $1,000 over 1y, 14% 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 JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL) INC ↗
  • Who funds Elyssas Mission NFP ↗
  • Who funds Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Foundation ↗
  • Who funds The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ↗
  • Who funds NORTH SUBURBAN LEGAL AID CLINIC ↗
  • Who funds RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds A SILVER LINING FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LAKE COUNTY CRISIS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds AFTER SCHOOL MATTERS INC ↗
  • Who funds GESHER HUMAN SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds AUTISM SPEAKS INC ↗
  • Who funds BRIGHT STAR COMMUNITY OUTREACH CORP ↗
  • Who funds UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY INC ↗
  • Who funds Magdalene House Chicago Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE HEKTOEN INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE ↗
  • Who funds CANCER WELLNESS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds American Brain Tumor Association ↗
  • Who funds COUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY ↗

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.

Jewish Federation of …The Chicago Community…Sedge Plitt Charitabl…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Paypal Charitable Giv…Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…Network for GoodDonor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan ChicagoIL15.2× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · The Chicago Community Trust · Sedge Plitt Charitable Trust III · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 47 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 Herbert C Wenske’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