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Horizons Unlimited Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Horizons Unlimited Foundation

Its FY2020 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$100k
Granted FY2020
17
Grants FY2020
2
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2020.

Human Services$73kArts & Culture$52kHealth$43kYouth Development$41kEducation$36kAnimals$25kFood & Nutrition$20kCrime & Legal$15kOther$0
02FY2020 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k16 grants · $90k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$6,250
Median grant
2
States reached
$1.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Asheville Music School$10,000
Hope Haven$9,600
Adventure Works$8,700
Suicide Prevention Services$7,800
Archi-Treasures$7,800
Youth Engaged in Philanthropy (at DeKalb County Community Foundation$6,900
Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project$6,750
DeKalb County Community Gardens$6,600
DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau$6,250
Friends of DeKalb Regional Office of Education$5,000
DeKalb County Community Foundation$5,000
Canine Therapy Corps$4,550
Oaken Acres Wildlife Center$4,500
Shelter Care Ministries$3,300
Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley$3,150
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 (FY17–20, $78k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 69% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Turning Point: $7k → 6%Greater Peoria Family YMCA: $200 → 14%Humanitarian Service Project: $6k → 7%Humanitarian Service Project: $4k → 7%TriCity Family Services: $5k → 8%TriCity Family Services: $3k → 8%Institute For Positive Living: $5k → 14%Institute For Positive Living: $4k → 14%Safe Passage: $10k → 13%Children's Learning Center: $10k → 13%Children's Learning Center: $10k → 13%Children's Learning Center: $5k → 13%Friends of DeKalb Regional Office of Education: $5k → 13%Friends of DeKalb Regional Office of Education: $5k → 13%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.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$287k · 22 repeat orgs$59k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +61% since the first grant, against +57% for those funded once.

22 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2020, 7 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2020 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
9

Total granted

$287k
$52k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+61%
+57%

Still filing today

82%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20
Human ServicesHealthArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementRecreation & SportsYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • CL
    CHILDRENS LEARNING CENTER INC
    3× · 2017–2019 · $25k · revenue +6%
  • AW
    ADVENTURE WORKS OF DEKALB COUNTY INC
    3× · 2018–2020 · $23k · revenue +13%
  • DC
    DEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENS
    3× · 2017–2020 · $20k · revenue +795%

Funded once

  • SP
    SAFE PASSAGE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $10k · revenue +82%
  • DC
    DeKalb County History Center
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue -47%
  • TP
    Turning Point Incgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $7k · revenue +57%
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
Center for Family Services

Administering an array of critical, intensive therapeutic interventions and/or facilitation services to emotionally and behaviorally disturbed clients for whom DCFS is legally responsible in order to stabilize their traditional or home of…

Human Services
2
Family Counseling Services of No Il

To foster stronger communities by providing individuals with accessible, professional counseling and mental health care that empowers them to thrive

Human Services
3
Depaul Community Services Inc

To provide residential and rehabilitation services to clients with mental illnesses

Health
4
Child Advocacy Center of Mchenry Co Inc

Provide Counselors in Child Abuse Situations

Crime & Legal
5
Childrens Advocacy Center of East Central Illinois

To assist children who have been victims of abuse

Crime & Legal
6
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
7
Illinois Institute for Children

Providing Social Services to Families including Child Care

Human Services
8
Chicago Christian Counseling Center

To promote healing and wholeness through professional counseling, consultation and education from a Christian perspective

Health
9
Illinois Partners for Human Service

Illinois Partners for Human Service's primary activities are (1) strengthening human services in communities throughout Illinois by building a unified human services sector; (2) working with leaders, the public, and others engaged in the…

Human Services
10
DuPage Homeownership Center Inc dba Home DuPage Inc

Promote responsible sustainable homeownership, with an emphasis on serving first time homebuyers, low and moderate income households and homeowners in crisis.

Housing & Shelter
11
Youth Service Bureau

The Youth Service Bureau provides services to at-risk youth who are, or are at risk of becoming, runaway, abused, neglected and/or homeless. Services are also available for their family members.

—
12
Service Inc of Illinois

Service Inc. of Illinois was formed in 1989 to provide screening, assessment, evaluation, service planning, referral, linkage, follow-up, & related services to individuals with developmental disabilities and/or developmental delays in 17…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Adventure Works of Dekalb County Inc; the most unlike its peers is Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley. 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

26 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. 26 of the 33 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)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
22/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HOPE HAVEN INC: $23,600 · OtherHOPE HAVEN INCArchi-Treasures: $18,800 · OtherArchi-TreasuresAsheville Music School: $18,000 · OtherAsheville Music SchoolOAKEN ACRES WILDLIFE CENTER: $13,400 · OtherOAKEN ACRES WILDLIFE CENTEREquine Dreams Therapeutic Equine Activities: $11,600 · OtherEquine Dreams Therapeutic Equine ActivitiesDEKALB COUNTY YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU INC: $11,250 · OtherDEKALB COUNTY YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU INCLITERACY VOLUNTEERS FOX VALLEY: $11,150 · OtherLITERACY VOLUNTEERS FOX VALLEYDONKA INCORPORATED: $10,000 · OtherDONKA INCORPORATEDYouth Engaged in Philanthropy (at DeKalb County Community Foundation: $6,900 · OtherFOX VALLEY HANDS OF HOPE INC: $5,800 · OtherSHELTER CARE MINISTRIES: $7,300 · Other+6 more: $30,000 · Other+6 moreCHILDRENS LEARNING CENTER INC: $24,650 · Human ServicesCHILDRENS LEARNING CENTER…THE HUMANITARIAN SERVICE PROJECT: $10,000 · Human ServicesTHE HUMANITARIAN SERVICE …SAFE PASSAGE INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesSAFE PASSAGE INCFriends of Dekalb Regional Office of Education: $10,000 · Human ServicesFriends of Dekalb Regiona…Institute For Positive Living: $9,000 · Human ServicesInstitute For Positive Li…TRICITY FAMILY SERVICES: $7,500 · Human ServicesTRICITY FAMILY SERVICESTurning Point Inc: $7,000 · Human ServicesTurning Point Inc+1 more: $200 · Human ServicesSUICIDE PREVENTION SERVICES INC: $15,800 · HealthSUICIDE PR…Family Health Partnership Clinic: $11,000 · HealthFamily Hea…CANINE THERAPY CORPS INC: $6,550 · HealthCANINE THE…ADVENTURE WORKS OF DEKALB COUNTY INC: $22,700 · Youth DevelopmentDEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENS: $19,600 · Community ImprovementDeKalb County History Center: $10,000 · Arts & CultureStill Point Theatre Collective: $5,100 · Arts & CultureFARMWORKER AND LANDSCAPER ADVOCACY PROJECT: $13,750 · Employment
Other$167,800Human Services$78,350Health$33,350Youth Development$22,700Community Improvement$19,600Arts & Culture$15,100Employment$13,750

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCHILDRENS LEARNING CENTER INC: $24,650 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetADVENTURE WORKS OF DEKALB COUNTY INC: $22,700 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetDEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENS: $19,600 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetFARMWORKER AND LANDSCAPER ADVOCACY PROJECT: $13,750 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetOAKEN ACRES WILDLIFE CENTER: $13,400 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetDEKALB COUNTY YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU INC: $11,250 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetLITERACY VOLUNTEERS FOX VALLEY: $11,150 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetFamily Health Partnership Clinic: $11,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetDONKA INCORPORATED: $10,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetSAFE PASSAGE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDeKalb County History Center: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetInstitute For Positive Living: $9,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetTRICITY FAMILY SERVICES: $7,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSHELTER CARE MINISTRIES: $7,300 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTurning Point Inc: $7,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCANINE THERAPY CORPS INC: $6,550 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetFOX VALLEY HANDS OF HOPE INC: $5,800 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetStill Point Theatre Collective: $5,100 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetChicago Training Center: $5,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetFAMILY SERVICE AGENCY OF DEKALB COUNTY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetDEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER PEORIA FAMILY YMCA: $200 over 1y, 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.

Northwestern Memorial…The Bersted FoundationDekalb County Communi…Ideal Industries Foun…George E& Betty Bdutt…Douglas C & Lynn M Ro…The Chicago Community…Northern Illinois Foo…Kishwaukee United WayCommunity Foundation …Nebraska Community Fo…Cy Miller Foundation
Northwestern Memorial HealthCare GroupIL28× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group · The Bersted Foundation · Dekalb County Community Foundation · Ideal Industries Foundation · George E& Betty Bdutton Foundation · Douglas C & Lynn M Roberts Family Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Northern Illinois Food Bank · Kishwaukee United Way · Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley · Nebraska Community Foundation · Cy Miller 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 Horizons Unlimited Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Horizons Unlimited Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    16report 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 Horizons Unlimited Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Horizons Unlimited 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 33 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Horizons Unlimited’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