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Illinois Bar Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Illinois Bar Foundation

The mission of the Illinois Bar Foundation is to ensure meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means, and to assist lawyers who can no longer support themselves due to incapacity.

$611k
Granted FY2025still arriving
33
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$20k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Crime & Legal$1.4MHousing & Shelter$30kEmployment$14kCivil Rights$8kEducation$8kInternational$8k
02FY2025 · 33 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 33 grants below total $329,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $611,107 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $282,107 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k19 grants · $142k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $188k
$7,500
Median grant
3
States reached
$8.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Public Interest Law Initiative$20,000
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation$20,000
Prairie State Legal Services$20,000
Illinois Legal Aid Online$20,000
Ascend Justice$12,500
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services$12,500
CARPLS$12,500
James B Moran Center for Youth Academy$10,000
National Immigrant Justice Center$10,000
Migrant and Community Action Project$10,000
Pro Bono Network$10,000
Immigration Project$10,000
Center for Disability & Elder Law$10,000
Uptown People Law Center$10,000
Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation$8,000
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 (FY17–25, $140k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Migrant and Community Action Project: $10k → 21%Migrant and Community Action Project: $8k → 21%CARPLS: $13k → 14%CARPLS: $10k → 14%CARPLS: $10k → 14%CARPLS: $10k → 14%CARPLS: $10k → 14%CARPLS: $10k → 14%CARPLS: $10k → 14%CARPLS: $10k → 14%CARPLS: $10k → 14%Beyond Legal Aid: $8k → 14%The Village Legal and Community Project: $8k → 14%Chicago Advocate Legal NFP: $8k → 14%Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services: $8k → 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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 21 repeat orgs$126k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +70% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

21 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
2

Total granted

$1.3M
$15k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+70%
+21%

Still filing today

90%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 66% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $111k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Crime & LegalHuman ServicesPublic BenefitEducationCivil RightsInternationalOther
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

  • PI
    Public Interest Law Initiative
    9× · 2017–2025 · $178k · revenue +114%
  • LO
    LAND OF LINCOLN LEGAL AID INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $158k · revenue +66%
  • PS
    PRAIRIE STATE LEGAL SERVICES INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $158k · revenue +111%

Funded once

  • EF
    EQUIP FOR EQUALITY
    one grant, 2020 · $8k · revenue +21%
  • TF
    The Family Defense Center
    one grant, 2019 · $7k
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
Greater Chicago Legal Clinic

The organization provides community based legal services and education to the under-served and disadvantaged in Chicago metropolitan areas.

Crime & Legal
2
Legal Aid Chicago

At legal aid chicago, we work together to provide high quality civil legal aid to people living in poverty and other vulnerable groups.through advocacy, education, collaboration, and litigation we empower individuals, protect fundamental…

Crime & Legal
3
First Defense Legal Aid

First Defense Legal Aid mobilizes lawyers and community members to fill gaps in public defense and create, protect, and engage replicable alternatives to the criminal system, starting with its entry points.

Crime & Legal
4
Lakeshore Legal Aid

Standing with our neighbors, Lakeshore Legal Aid fights poverty and injustice through advocacy and by providing meaningful and dignified access to the legal system.

Crime & Legal
5
Michigan Advocacy Program

To advance the safety, independence, and economic stability of those most affected by poverty, racism, and other structurally oppressive systems by increasing access to justice and working for systemic solutions.

Crime & Legal
6
Centro Legal Por Derechos Humanos Inc

Provide low and no cost legal representation, consultation, and education to people with low incomes.

Crime & Legal
7
Legal Link

Legal Link removes legal barriers that prolong poverty by adding critically needed capacity to the legal ecosystem.

Crime & Legal
8
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area

As one of the most enduring civil rights institutions on the West Coast, we work to dismantle systems of oppression and racism, and build an equitable and just society.

—
9
Legal Aid Justice Center

The legal aid justice center partners with communities and clients to achieve justice by dismantling systems that create and perpetuate poverty.

Crime & Legal
10
Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy

Immigration Legal Services and Advocacy (ISLA) provides direct representation to indigent detained immigrants throughout Louisiana on a pro bono basis and under a universal representation model. ISLA provides information to the public to…

Crime & Legal
11
Community Lawyers Inc

Community Lawyers, Inc. provides underserved low- and no-income community members access to legal representation, pro-bono legal clinics, and community advocacy and engagement.

Crime & Legal
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 Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation; the most unlike its peers is World Relief Corp of National Association of Evangelicals. 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

35 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. 35 of the 37 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)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
34/35
Grantees still filing
19/35
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Public Interest Law Initiative: $177,500 · Crime & LegalPublic Interest Law InitiativeLAND OF LINCOLN LEGAL AID INC: $157,500 · Crime & LegalLAND OF LINCOLN LEGAL AID INCPRAIRIE STATE LEGAL SERVICES INC: $157,500 · Crime & LegalPRAIRIE STATE LEGAL SERVICES INCILLINOIS LEGAL AID ONLINE: $140,000 · Crime & LegalILLINOIS LEGAL AID ONLINECABRINI GREEN LEGAL AID: $70,000 · Crime & LegalCABRINI GREEN LEGAL AIDLaw Center for Better Housing: $53,000 · Crime & LegalLaw Center for Better HousingJAMES B MORAN CENTER FOR YOUTH ADVOCACY: $40,000 · Crime & Legal+5 more: $54,500 · Crime & Legal+5 moreCHICAGO VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES FOUNDATION: $95,000 · OtherCHICAGO VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERV…ASCEND JUSTICE: $62,500 · OtherASCEND JUSTICEHeartland Alliance for Human Needs and Rights: $62,500 · OtherHeartland Alliance for Human…Legal Council for Health Justice: $30,000 · OtherLegal Council for Health Jus…Domestic Violence Legal Clinic: $30,000 · OtherDomestic Violence Legal Clin…UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE: $17,500 · OtherCenter for Disability & Elder Law Inc: $17,500 · OtherUptown People's Law Center: $17,500 · Other+4 more: $28,000 · Other+4 moreCOORDINATED ADVICE & REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR LEGAL SERVICES: $92,500 · Human ServicesCOORDINATED…Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project: $17,500 · Human ServicesMigrant and…CHICAGO ADVOCATE LEGAL NFP: $7,500 · Human ServicesGREENLIGHT FAMILY SERVICES: $7,500 · Human ServicesBEYOND LEGAL AID: $7,500 · Human ServicesThe Village Legal and Community Project: $7,500 · Human ServicesMetropolitan Family Services: $7,500 · Human ServicesPRO BONO NETWORK: $32,500 · Public BenefitNORTHERN ILLINOIS JUSTICE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS: $7,500 · Public BenefitChicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation: $15,500 · Civil RightsWORLD RELIEF CORP OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS: $15,000 · InternationalChicago Workers' Collaborative NFP: $7,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 · Education
Crime & Legal$850,000Other$360,500Human Services$147,500Public Benefit$40,000Civil Rights$15,500International$15,000Education$15,000

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 budgetPublic Interest Law Initiative: $177,500 over 9y, 3.6% of budgetLAND OF LINCOLN LEGAL AID INC: $157,500 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetPRAIRIE STATE LEGAL SERVICES INC: $157,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetILLINOIS LEGAL AID ONLINE: $140,000 over 9y, 1.0% of budgetCHICAGO VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES FOUNDATION: $95,000 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetCOORDINATED ADVICE & REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR LEGAL SERVICES: $92,500 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetCABRINI GREEN LEGAL AID: $70,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetASCEND JUSTICE: $62,500 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetHeartland Alliance for Human Needs and Rights: $62,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetLaw Center for Better Housing: $53,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetJAMES B MORAN CENTER FOR YOUTH ADVOCACY: $40,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetPRO BONO NETWORK: $32,500 over 4y, 2.6% of budgetLegal Council for Health Justice: $30,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetMigrant and Immigrant Community Action Project: $17,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCenter for Disability & Elder Law Inc: $17,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetUptown People's Law Center: $17,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetIMMIGRATION PROJECT INC: $17,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetChicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation: $15,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetLIFE-SPAN: $15,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetWORLD RELIEF CORP OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO ADVOCATE LEGAL NFP: $7,500 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetEQUIP FOR EQUALITY: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGREENLIGHT FAMILY SERVICES: $7,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNORTH SUBURBAN LEGAL AID CLINIC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEQUITY LEGAL SERVICES INC: $7,500 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetBEYOND LEGAL AID: $7,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Village Legal and Community Project: $7,500 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetCHINESE AMERICAN SERVICE LEAGUE INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOALITION LEGAL: $7,500 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetMetropolitan Family Services: $7,500 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.

Lawyers Trust Fund of…Illinois Equal Justic…The Chicago Bar Found…Polk Bros Foundation …Public Interest Law I…The Sidley Austin Fou…Equal Justice WorksChicago Foundation fo…The Chicago Community…The Resurrection Proj…United Way of Metropo…Circle of Service Fou…
Lawyers Trust Fund of IllinoisIL62.3× affinity27 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois · Illinois Equal Justice Foundation · The Chicago Bar Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Public Interest Law Initiative · The Sidley Austin Foundation · Equal Justice Works · Chicago Foundation for Women · The Chicago Community Trust · The Resurrection Project · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · Circle of Service 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 Illinois Bar Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Illinois Bar 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 →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
23report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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.

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 37 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

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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