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Invest for Kids Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Invest for Kids Inc

To raise funds that will benefit Chicago-area children's charities.

$1.8M
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$200k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$4.5MYouth Development$1.5MHuman Services$410kArts & Culture$250kHealth$220kRecreation & Sports$220kPublic Benefit$200kHousing & Shelter$200kOther$0
02FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k4 grants · $76k
  • $50k–250k9 grants · $1.7M
$200,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$719k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Great Lakes Academy Inc$200,000
Atlas Fellows Inc$200,000
Legal Prep Charter Academies$200,000
College Possible Chicago$200,000
Chicago Eco HouseNehemiahGrp$200,000
Metro Squash$200,000
Ingenuity Incorporated Chicag$200,000
Camp For All Kids$200,000
Chicago Scholars$73,600
IL Network of Charter Schools$35,500
DePaul University-Division of$20,000
CareerSpring Foundation$10,000
Harris Theater-ATP$10,000
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 (FY21–23, $810k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%Juvenile Protective Associati: $190k → 14%Juvenile Protective Associati: $10k → 14%Friends Of The Children-Chic: $190k → 14%Friends Of The Children-Chic: $10k → 14%The Bloc: $200k → 14%The Bloc: $10k → 14%Ignite Org: $200k → 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.

40%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.1M · 17 repeat orgs$4.6M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +18% for those funded once.

17 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
26

Total granted

$3.1M
$3.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+18%

Still filing today

94%
96%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 31% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.2M went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyOther
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

  • TC
    THE CHICAGO SCHOLARS FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $354k · revenue +21%
  • CP
    COLLEGE POSSIBLE INC
    2× · 2020–2024 · $220k · revenue +37%
  • MN
    METROSQUASH NFP
    2× · 2020–2024 · $220k · revenue +56%

Funded once

  • NF
    NETWORK FOR TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
    one grant, 2022 · $200k · revenue -28%
  • CI
    COMP-U-DOPT INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $200k · revenue +65%
  • BT
    BEAT THE STREETS CHICAGO
    one grant, 2023 · $200k · revenue +11%
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
Kipp Chicago Schools

The team at kipp chicago schools is guided by a simple, yet powerful mission: to create a network of excellent schools in chicago that teach our students the character and academic skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond, and to…

Education
2
Students Run Chicago
Health
3
The Chicago High School for the Arts

The chicago high school for the arts (chiarts) develops the next generation of diverse, artistically promising scholar-artists through intensive pre-professional training in the arts, combined with a comprehensive college preparatory…

Education
4
Chicago Education Partnership

To create a school that dramatically transforms the lives of k-8 students and prepares them for success in college and in life through: the delivery of a rigorous and personalized academic program, a focus on holistic education, and the…

Education
5
Chicago Public Education Fund

The chicago public education fund (the fund) is a nonprofit organization that improves public schools in chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them.

Education
6
Epic Academy

EPIC Academy has a shared commitment for our students to pursue excellence and high expectations for postsecondary success, working towards college and career readiness through a variety of pathways.

Education
7
The University of Chicago Charter School Corporation

To Prepare Students for Success in Four-Year Colleges.

Education
8
Ingenuity Prep

Ingenuity prep public charter school was formed to prepare students to succeed in college and beyond as impactful civiic leaders.

Education
9
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
10
Highsight

To provide academic & social support to inner-city chicago high school students. program provides scholarships, mentors & tutors to enable students to succeed in the high school of their choice.

Community Improvement
11
Communities in Schools of Chicago

Communities in schools of chicago (cis of chicago) connects social, health, and enrichment programs and services to chicago public school students. cis of chicago helps schools address students' most pressing needs by training them to…

—
12
Junior Achievement of Chicago

To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Thrive Scholars; the most unlike its peers is Camp for All Kids. 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

50 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
48/50
Grantees still filing
37/50
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CHICAGO SCHOLARS FOUNDATION: $353,600 · EducationTHE CHICAGO SCHOLARS FOUNDATIONCOLLEGE POSSIBLE INC: $220,000 · EducationATLAS FELLOWS INC: $200,000 · EducationCOMP-U-DOPT INC: $200,000 · EducationYoung Mens Educational Network: $200,000 · EducationNOBLE NETWORK OF CHARTER SCHOOLS: $200,000 · EducationPROVIDENCE ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL CORPORATION: $200,000 · EducationLEGAL PREP CHARTER ACADEMIES: $200,000 · EducationSCRIPTED INC DBA CODE NATION: $200,000 · EducationCATALYST SCHOOLS: $200,000 · EducationLINK Unlimited Scholars: $200,000 · EducationCHICAGO COLLEGIATE INC: $200,000 · EducationONE MILLION DEGREES: $200,000 · EducationMIKVA CHALLENGE GRANT FOUNDATION: $200,000 · EducationUrban Prep Academies: $200,000 · EducationGREAT LAKES ACADEMY INC: $200,000 · EducationHIGH JUMP: $200,000 · EducationILLINOIS NETWORK OF CHARTER SCHOOLS: $177,500 · Education+8 more: $520,000 · Education+8 moreNETWORK FOR TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP: $200,000 · Youth DevelopmentNETWORK FOR TEACH…BEAT THE STREETS CHICAGO: $200,000 · Youth DevelopmentBEAT THE STREETS …Camp for All Kids: $200,000 · Youth DevelopmentCamp for All KidsPROJECT VISION INC: $200,000 · Youth DevelopmentPROJECT VISION IN…Vocel Viewing our Children as Emerging Leaders: $200,000 · Youth DevelopmentVocel Viewing our…BRAVEN INC: $190,000 · Youth DevelopmentBRAVEN INCTHE BLOC: $210,000 · Human ServicesTHE BLOCJUVENILE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION: $200,000 · Human ServicesJUVENILE PR…IGNITE: $200,000 · Human ServicesIGNITEFRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - CHICAGO: $200,000 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF …THE BOTTOM LINE INC: $200,000 · Community ImprovementNehemiah Group dba Chicago Eco House: $200,000 · Community ImprovementCHILDREN'S RESEARCH TRIANGLE: $200,000 · OtherGEM-IFK Venture for Educational Support NFP: $134,000 · OtherGARFIELD PARK CONSERVATORY ALLIANCE: $200,000 · OtherREFLECTION FOUNDATION: $24,840 · OtherErie Family Health Center Inc: $20,000 · Other+2 more: $20,000 · OtherINGENUITY INCORPORATED CHICAGO: $200,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC AND DANCE THEATER CHICAGO INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureINTONATION MUSIC WORKSHOP: $20,000 · Arts & CultureTRUE STAR FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · Arts & CultureMETROSQUASH NFP: $220,000 · Recreation & Sports
Education$4,271,100Youth Development$1,190,000Human Services$810,000Community Improvement$400,000Other$598,840Arts & Culture$270,000Recreation & Sports$220,000

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 budgetTHE CHICAGO SCHOLARS FOUNDATION: $353,600 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetCOLLEGE POSSIBLE INC: $220,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetMETROSQUASH NFP: $220,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetTHE BLOC: $210,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetNETWORK FOR TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP: $200,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetATLAS FELLOWS INC: $200,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetCOMP-U-DOPT INC: $200,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetBEAT THE STREETS CHICAGO: $200,000 over 1y, 9.6% of budgetTHE BOTTOM LINE INC: $200,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetCamp for All Kids: $200,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetYoung Mens Educational Network: $200,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetNOBLE NETWORK OF CHARTER SCHOOLS: $200,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPROVIDENCE ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL CORPORATION: $200,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetLEGAL PREP CHARTER ACADEMIES: $200,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetSCRIPTED INC DBA CODE NATION: $200,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetPROJECT VISION INC: $200,000 over 1y, 10.0% of budgetCATALYST SCHOOLS: $200,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetJUVENILE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION: $200,000 over 2y, 6.8% of budgetIGNITE: $200,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetLINK Unlimited Scholars: $200,000 over 2y, 6.5% of budgetCHICAGO COLLEGIATE INC: $200,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetONE MILLION DEGREES: $200,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - CHICAGO: $200,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetMIKVA CHALLENGE GRANT FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetVocel Viewing our Children as Emerging Leaders: $200,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetUrban Prep Academies: $200,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetINGENUITY INCORPORATED CHICAGO: $200,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetCHILDREN'S RESEARCH TRIANGLE: $200,000 over 1y, 6.8% of budgetGREAT LAKES ACADEMY INC: $200,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetNehemiah Group dba Chicago Eco House: $200,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetHIGH JUMP: $200,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetGARFIELD PARK CONSERVATORY ALLIANCE: $200,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetBRAVEN INC: $190,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetILLINOIS NETWORK OF CHARTER SCHOOLS: $177,500 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetGEM-IFK Venture for Educational Support NFP: $134,000 over 3y, 78% of budgetTHE CHICAGO MATH & SCIENCE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL: $130,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetCHAMPS MALE MENTORING PROGRAM - CHIRISE: $100,000 over 1y, 10.0% of budgetTHRIVE SCHOLARS: $100,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHEAR SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetDEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMUSIC AND DANCE THEATER CHICAGO INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetREFLECTION FOUNDATION: $24,840 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetFUTURE FOUNDERS FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetINTONATION MUSIC WORKSHOP: $20,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetErie Family Health Center Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUE STAR FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetUNITED WAY OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $10,000 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.

The Chicago Community…Circle of Service Fou…Imc Chicago Charitabl…Robert R McCormick Fo…Polk Bros Foundation …United Way of Metropo…Finnegan Family Found…Cme Group FoundationArie and Ida Crown Me…Jewish Federation of …John D and Catherine …Vivo Foundation
The Chicago Community TrustIL36.6× affinity24 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Circle of Service Foundation · Imc Chicago Charitable Foundation · Robert R McCormick Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · Finnegan Family Foundation · Cme Group Foundation · Arie and Ida Crown Memorial · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Vivo 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 Invest for Kids Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Invest for Kids Inc. 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 0%
  • The Bottom Line Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
24report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Invest for Kids Inc?

Find your warmest path to Invest for Kids Inc 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 50 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Invest for Kids’ 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