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Illinois · Private foundation

John and Margaret Sagan 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.

$156k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
48
Grants FY2025
40
Organizations funded FY2024
33%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$2,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$28,000
Organizations funded a year
28 to 40
FY2020 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
14
Total assets, FY2025
$1.6M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 33% of the organizations John and Margaret Sagan Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 31% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 69% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $42k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureInternationalEducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentPhilanthropyOther
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 arriving47$128k36%
FY202440$136k33%
FY202334$120k18%
FY202228$109k36%
FY202136$106k33%
FY202035$85kn/a
97% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$341kInternational$112kHealth$96kCrime & Legal$76kArts & Culture$69kReligion$34kYouth Development$22kHuman Services$15kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
WY
IA
OH
CT
CA
MO
VA
AZ
KS
TN
DC
OK
MS
TX
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 56 grantees
All grantees of John and Margaret Sagan Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Ohio Wesleyan University$85,00060%
World Pediatrics$60,00060%
Friends of the Grenadines Initiative$40,000212%
Millsaps College$39,00060%
San Francisco Opera Association$22,50030%
The Thresholds$17,00060%
American Academy of Arts & Sciences$14,50040%
Ploughshares Fund Inc$12,50030%
The Center for Reproductive Rights Inc$12,00020%
James B Moran Center for Youth Advocacy$11,50030%
Black Ensemble Theater Corporation$9,50060%
Grand Teton Music Festival Inc$9,50020%
The Taft School Corporation$9,00060%
University of Wisconsin Foundation$8,00020%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$6,00020%
Literacy Works$5,50060%
The Salvation Army$5,5005n/a
Chicago Tech Academy$5,00020%
Episcopal Charities$5,0005n/a
The Art Institute of Chicago$5,00060%
Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum Inc$4,50050%
Evanstonskokie District 65 Educational Foundation (Foundation 65)$4,45150%
Community Health Project Inc$4,00060%
Feeding America$3,00020%
Acute Flaccid Myelitis Association$3,0003n/a
The Labelle Foundation Inc$3,00030%
Central Michigan University$2,5004n/a
Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum$2,00010%
Springfield Area Food Shelf$2,00011%
DAP Health Inc$2,00010%
Youth & Opportunity United Inc$2,00020%
Grace Institute$2,00020%
Apopo US Inc$2,00020%
Oceana Inc$2,00010%
South Asia Institute$2,00010%
Kansas Land Trust Inc$1,5001n/a
Window to the World Communications Inc$1,25030%
Evanston School Children's Clothing Assn$1,25031%
Amazon Watch Inc$1,00010%
Days For Girls International$1,00010%
The Young Center for Immigrant Childrens Rights$1,00010%
God's Love We Deliver Inc$1,00010%
St Marks Episcopal Church$1,0001n/a
Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary$1,0001n/a
Planned Parenthood Great Plains$1,00010%
Lincoln Park Community Services$1,00010%
The American Himalayan Foundation$1,00010%
Society for the Increase of the Ministry$50010%
Greater Chicago Food Depository$50010%
Evanston Township High School District 202 Ed Foundation$50020%
Champion Women Inc$50010%
Episcopal Relief and Development$50010%
World Wildlife Fund Inc$50010%
Brooklyn Book Bodega Inc$50010%
Springfield Public Library Foundation$50010%
St James Cathedral Counseling Ctr$2501n/a

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 37 recipients with no EIN on record ($245k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget John and Margaret Sagan Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetOhio Wesleyan University: $85,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWorld Pediatrics: $60,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetFriends of the Grenadines Initiative: $40,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetMillsaps College: $39,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSan Francisco Opera Association: $22,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Thresholds: $17,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Academy of Arts & Sciences: $14,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetPloughshares Fund Inc: $12,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Center for Reproductive Rights Inc: $12,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJames B Moran Center for Youth Advocacy: $11,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetBlack Ensemble Theater Corporation: $9,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetGrand Teton Music Festival Inc: $9,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Taft School Corporation: $9,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Wisconsin Foundation: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMedecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLiteracy Works: $5,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetChicago Tech Academy: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Art Institute of Chicago: $5,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum Inc: $4,500 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetEvanstonskokie District 65 Educational Foundation (Foundation 65): $4,451 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetCommunity Health Project Inc: $4,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Labelle Foundation Inc: $3,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetJackson Hole Historical Society and Museum: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSpringfield Area Food Shelf: $2,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetDAP Health Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYouth & Opportunity United Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGrace Institute: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetApopo US Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOceana Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSouth Asia Institute: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetWindow to the World Communications Inc: $1,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetEvanston School Children's Clothing Assn: $1,250 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetAmazon Watch Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDays For Girls International: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Young Center for Immigrant Childrens Rights: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGod's Love We Deliver Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPlanned Parenthood Great Plains: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLincoln Park Community Services: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe American Himalayan Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSociety for the Increase of the Ministry: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGreater Chicago Food Depository: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEvanston Township High School District 202 Ed Foundation: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetChampion Women Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetEpiscopal Relief and Development: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWorld Wildlife Fund Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBrooklyn Book Bodega Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSpringfield Public Library Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.3% 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 48.

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.

The Chicago Community TrustIL21.2× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Evanston Community Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Northwestern University · Elizabeth Beidler Tisdahl Foundation · Field Foundation of Illinois · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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 John and Margaret Sagan Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to John and Margaret Sagan Foundation?

Find your warmest path to John and Margaret Sagan 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.

About John and Margaret Sagan Foundation

How much does John and Margaret Sagan Foundation give?
John and Margaret Sagan Foundation reported 48 grants totaling $156,000 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 28 and 40 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2024.
What does John and Margaret Sagan Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (41%), International (13%), Health (12%).
Who are John and Margaret Sagan Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2020 to FY2025: Ohio Wesleyan University ($85k), World Pediatrics ($60k), Friends of the Grenadines Initiative ($40k).
Does John and Margaret Sagan Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 33% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does John and Margaret Sagan Foundation 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 John and Margaret Sagan Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Chicago Community Trust, Evanston Community Foundation, John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation.
Where is John and Margaret Sagan Foundation based?
John and Margaret Sagan Foundation 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 96 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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