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Illinois · Private foundation

Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc

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.

$148k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
35
Grants FY2025
25
Organizations funded FY2024
24%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$1,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$50,000
Organizations funded a year
15 to 29
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
9
Total assets, FY2025
$656k
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 24% of the organizations Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc funded were first-time grantees, receiving 49% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 51% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $64k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropyCommunity ImprovementEducationOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving33$128k27%
FY202425$131k24%
FY202327$81k11%
FY202229$57k31%
FY202122$95k45%
FY202016$82k38%
FY201916$85k56%
FY201815$95k60%
94% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Philanthropy$208kHealth$198kArts & Culture$133kHuman Services$129kEducation$127kReligion$39kCivil Rights$37kYouth Development$17kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
IL
NY
NV
NJ
CT
AZ
TN
SC
DC
OK

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 49 grantees
All grantees of Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago$130,00070%
Jewish Child and Family Services$106,00080%
Ravinia Festival Association$67,00090%
Congregation Solel$38,4004n/a
National Council of Jewish Women Incorporated$33,45040%
Briarwood Scholarship Foundation$25,00053%
Joyce Theater Foundation Inc$20,00010%
Global Lyme Alliance Inc$13,50070%
Lake County Crisis Center$12,10060%
Ballet Arizona$12,10050%
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago$10,75020%
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum$10,00060%
Cancer Wellness Center$10,00070%
Bernie's Book Bank$9,00030%
Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois Inc$7,00070%
St Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc$6,50070%
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Educational Foundation In$5,0001n/a
Anti-Defamation League$4,00030%
Honorhealth Foundation$4,00040%
Desert Botanical Garden Inc$2,70050%
Storycatchers$2,50050%
Northern Illinois Food Bank$2,50040%
Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Education Inc$2,500114%
Jewish Family and Children's Service Inc$2,50030%
The First Tee of Chicago Foundation$2,00040%
Tourette Association of America Inc$2,00020%
Foothills Food Bank$1,50030%
Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation$1,0001n/a
Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival Inc$1,00011%
Sandy Hook Promise Foundation$1,00010%
The Art Center of Highland Park$1,00020%
Musical Instrument Museum$1,0001n/a
Keshet$1,00010%
Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities Inc$1,00012%
Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Inc$1,0001n/a
Helping Hands Network Inc$1,0001n/a
Blood Cancer United Inc$1,00010%
Share Our Strength$1,00020%
Our Rescue$1,00010%
The Lambs Farm Inc$50010%
Feed the Children Inc$50010%
Second Round Foundation Inc$5001n/a
Phoenix Youth Theatre$5001n/a
Window to the World Communications Inc$50010%
Lookingglass Theatre Company$50010%
Congregation Kehillah$5001n/a
I Grow Chicago NFP$50010%
Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation$50010%
Rory David Deutsch Foundation$50010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 24 recipients with no EIN on record ($280k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetJewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago: $130,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetJewish Child and Family Services: $106,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetRavinia Festival Association: $67,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetNational Council of Jewish Women Incorporated: $33,450 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetBriarwood Scholarship Foundation: $25,000 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetJoyce Theater Foundation Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGlobal Lyme Alliance Inc: $13,500 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetLake County Crisis Center: $12,100 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetBallet Arizona: $12,100 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHubbard Street Dance Chicago: $10,750 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $10,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCancer Wellness Center: $10,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetBernie's Book Bank: $9,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHolocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois Inc: $7,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSt Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc: $6,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetAnti-Defamation League: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHonorhealth Foundation: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDesert Botanical Garden Inc: $2,700 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetStorycatchers: $2,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNorthern Illinois Food Bank: $2,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetInstitute for Integrative Cancer Research and Education Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 14% of budgetJewish Family and Children's Service Inc: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe First Tee of Chicago Foundation: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTourette Association of America Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFoothills Food Bank: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGreater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSandy Hook Promise Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Art Center of Highland Park: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKeshet: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Baseball Cancer Charities Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetBlood Cancer United Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetShare Our Strength: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOur Rescue: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Lambs Farm Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFeed the Children Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWindow to the World Communications Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLookingglass Theatre Company: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetI Grow Chicago NFP: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetStephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRory David Deutsch Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 40.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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 Metropolitan ChicagoIL17× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Ncrc Community Development Fund Inc · The Chicago Community Trust · National Philanthropic Trust · American Endowment Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Network for Good

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.

Compare Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation 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.

About Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc

How much does Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc give?
Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc reported 35 grants totaling $148,100 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 15 and 29 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Philanthropy (21%), Health (20%), Arts & Culture (13%).
Who are Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago ($130k), Jewish Child and Family Services ($106k), Ravinia Festival Association ($67k).
Does Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 24% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation, Ncrc Community Development Fund Inc.
Where is Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc based?
Jane and Michael Strauss Family Foundation Inc is based in IL.

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 77 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

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