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Joseph and Helen Komarek Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Joseph and Helen Komarek 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.

$62k
Granted FY2025still arriving
35
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$6k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Health$98kHuman Services$77kArts & Culture$56kYouth Development$47kInternational$38kCivil Rights$21kCommunity Improvement$18kEducation$15kOther$0
02FY2025 · 35 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$1.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRIENDS OF ISRAEL DEFENSE FORC$6,000
LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$5,000
CRADLES TO CRAYONS$4,000
WTTW-CHANNEL 11$4,000
CHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS$4,000
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE$4,000
THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION O$4,000
WILLOW HOUSE$3,000
CAWC$3,000
FAMILY RESCUE$2,000
SHELTER INC$2,000
NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION$2,000
OMNI YOUTH SERVICES$2,000
MAGEN DAVID ADOM$2,000
ELIZABETH GLAZER PEDIATRIC AIDS$1,500
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 (FY20–25, $70k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 97% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%OMNI YOUTH SERVICES: $2k → 8%FAMILY RESCUE: $2k → 14%FAMILY RESCUE: $2k → 14%FAMILY RESCUE: $2k → 14%FAMILY RESCUE: $2k → 14%FAMILY RESCUE: $2k → 14%FAMILY RESCUE: $1k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $6k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $5k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $4k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $4k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $4k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $4k → 14%CAWC: $3k → 14%CAWC: $3k → 14%CAWC: $3k → 14%CAWC: $3k → 14%JEWISH CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES: $2k → 14%JEWISH CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES: $2k → 14%JEWISH CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES: $2k → 14%JEWISH CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES: $2k → 14%JEWISH CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES: $1k → 14%JEWISH CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES: $1k → 14%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICES: $500 → 14%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICES: $500 → 14%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICES: $500 → 14%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICES: $500 → 14%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICES: $500 → 14%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICES: $500 → 14%CHRISTOPHER HOUSE: $1k → 14%CHRISTOPHER HOUSE: $1k → 14%CHRISTOPHER HOUSE: $1k → 14%CHRISTOPHER HOUSE: $1k → 14%CHRISTOPHER HOUSE: $500 → 14%CHRISTOPHER HOUSE: $500 → 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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$374k · 39 repeat orgs$14k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +30% since the first grant, against -2% for those funded once.

39 repeat relationships: 30 still active in FY2025, 9 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

39
5

Total granted

$374k
$8k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
-2%

Still filing today

54%
20%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthInternationalEducationArts & CultureEnvironmentOther
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

  • CY
    CHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $29k · revenue +5%
  • CT
    CRADLES TO CRAYONS INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $27k · revenue +81%
  • AL
    ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE
    6× · 2020–2025 · $21k · revenue +48%

Funded once

  • PA
    PEDIATRIC AIDS FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $4k
  • MD
    MAGEN DAVID ADOM
    one grant, 2020 · $1k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $1k
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
University of Chicago Medical Center

Our mission at the university of chicago medicine is to provide superior health care through rigorous research, innovative education, and comprehensive care and healing. in partnership with our colleagues, we pursue life-changing…

Health
2
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The children's hospital of philadelphia, the oldest hospital in the united states dedicated exclusively to pediatrics, strives to be the world leader in the advancement of health care for children by integrating excellent patient care,…

Health
3
Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Ann & robert h. lurie children's hospital of chicago is dedicated to the health and well-being of all children. as the pediatric teaching facility for northwestern university feinberg school of medicine, this commitment drives us to be a…

Health
4
Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group

Northwestern memorial healthcare is an integrated healthcare system, consisting of multiple hospitals (including northwestern memorial hospital, an academic medical center) and networks of physicians and healthcare professionals, where the…

Health
5
The Family Institute

Our mission is to strengthen and heal families and individuals from all walks of life through clinical service, education and research.

—
6
Children's Home & Aid Society of Ill

Founded in 1883, brightpoint (formerly known as children's home & aid) is a leading statewide organization supporting families so children can thrive.

Human Services
7
Chicago Historical Society

The Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration, and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, programs, digital resources, and special events, the Museum connects people to Chicago's history…

Arts & Culture
8
Loyola University of Chicago

We are chicago's jesuit, catholic university - a diverse community seeking god in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.

Education
9
Stanley Manne Childrens Research Institute

Stanley manne children's research institute strives to generate new knowledge and advance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of pediatric diseases.

Health
10
Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute

The chicago psychoanalytic institute transforms the lives of individuals, families and communities, using psychoanalytic knowledge to help them grow and thrive.

Social Science
11
Loyola University Medical Center

We, loyola university health system and trinity health, serve together in the spirit of the gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities.lumc is a member of loyola university health system and trinity…

Health
12
Children's Museum of Oak Park

To spark curiosity and creativity in all young children through positive, play-based learning experiences.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Family Rescue Inc; the most unlike its peers is Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. 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 49 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
19/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $30,000 · OtherLURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALCHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS INC: $29,000 · OtherCHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS INCWTTW-CHANNEL 11: $26,000 · OtherWTTW-CHANNEL 11THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION O: $23,000 · OtherTHE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION OFRIENDS OF ISRAEL DEFENSE FORC: $18,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCNORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $15,500 · OtherNORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONOMNI YOUTH: $11,000 · OtherELIZABETH GLAZER PEDIATRIC AIDS: $11,000 · OtherPEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOR FOUNDATION OF: $9,000 · Other+23 more: $67,000 · Other+23 moreCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $27,000 · Human ServicesCRADLES TO CRAYONS I…CONNECTIONS FOR ABUSED WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN: $12,000 · Human ServicesCONNECTIONS FOR ABUS…FAMILY RESCUE INC: $11,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY RESCUE INCJewish Child and Family Services: $10,000 · Human ServicesJewish Child and Fam…CHRISTOPHER HOUSE: $5,000 · Human ServicesCHRISTOPHER HOUSEMetropolitan Family Services: $3,000 · Human Services+1 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $21,000 · Civil RightsFRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $14,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $3,500 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $2,000 · InternationalWILLOW HOUSE: $18,000 · Community ImprovementSHELTER INC: $11,000 · Housing & ShelterLa Rabida Children's Hospital: $4,500 · HealthCANCER WELLNESS CENTER: $3,000 · HealthBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $1,000 · HealthRehabilitation Institute of Chicago: $500 · Health
Other$239,500Human Services$70,000Civil Rights$21,000International$19,500Community Improvement$18,000Housing & Shelter$11,000Health$9,000

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 budgetCHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS INC: $29,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $27,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $21,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWILLOW HOUSE: $18,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $14,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCONNECTIONS FOR ABUSED WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN: $12,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFAMILY RESCUE INC: $11,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSHELTER INC: $11,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetJewish Child and Family Services: $10,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCHRISTOPHER HOUSE: $5,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLa Rabida Children's Hospital: $4,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER: $4,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $3,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHADLEY INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED: $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMetropolitan Family Services: $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCANCER WELLNESS CENTER: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetOMNI YOUTH SERVICES INCORPORATED: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MORTON ARBORETUM: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $1,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $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.

  • Who funds CHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS INC ↗
  • Who funds CRADLES TO CRAYONS INC ↗
  • Who funds ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds WILLOW HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES ↗
  • Who funds CONNECTIONS FOR ABUSED WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY RESCUE INC ↗
  • Who funds SHELTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Jewish Child and Family Services ↗
  • Who funds CHRISTOPHER HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds La Rabida Children's Hospital ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds HADLEY INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED ↗
  • Who funds Metropolitan Family Services ↗
  • Who funds CANCER WELLNESS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ↗
  • Who funds OMNI YOUTH SERVICES INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM ↗
  • Who funds THE MORTON ARBORETUM ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗

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.

United Way of Metropo…AbbVie FoundationThe Blackbaud Giving …George M Eisenberg Fo…Trustmark FoundationPolk Bros Foundation …Circle of Service Fou…Greater Chicago Food …The Chicago Community…Gs Donor Advised Phil…American Endowment Fo…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…
United Way of Metropolitan Chicago IncIL17.7× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · AbbVie Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · George M Eisenberg Foundation for Charities · Trustmark Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Circle of Service Foundation · Greater Chicago Food Depository · The Chicago Community Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase 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 Joseph and Helen Komarek Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Joseph and Helen Komarek 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%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 49 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

Play a game based on Joseph and Helen Komarek’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