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Joseph R & Helen Shaker Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Joseph R & Helen Shaker Family 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.

$548k
Granted FY2025still arriving
77
Grants FY2025still arriving
20
States reached
$236k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Health$1.2MHuman Services$230kReligion$154kInternational$104kEducation$90kPublic Safety & Disaster$35kPhilanthropy$33kEmployment$33kOther$0
02FY2025 · 77 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k65 grants · $138k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $173k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $236k
$1,300
Median grant
20
States reached
$721k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHAD TOUGH FOUNDATION$236,321
ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RES HOSPITAL$39,683
WEST SIDE SERVICE CONNECTOR$25,000
Individual grant recipient$20,000
HEPHZIBAH CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION$16,150
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FOUNDATION$11,000
LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY$11,000
SALVATION ARMY$10,200
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN$10,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION - KERR COUNTY$10,000
NEW MOMS$10,000
DIGS WITH DIGNITY$10,000
FENWICK HIGH SCHOOL$7,550
BEST BUDDIES INTERNATIONAL$7,300
TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL$7,047
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, $885k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%HALF A MILLION KIDS: $300 → 10%CHAD TOUGH FOUNDATION: $236k → 14%FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS: $3k → 21%VETERANS OUTREACH OF WISCONSIN: $5k → 10%CORE: $1k → 14%CHAD TOUGH FOUNDATION: $236k → 14%FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS: $1k → 21%CHAD TOUGH FOUNDATION: $194k → 14%CHAD TOUGH FOUNDATION: $84k → 14%WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: $552 → 14%CHAD TOUGH FOUNDATION: $43k → 14%CHAD TOUGH FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%THUMBUDDY SPECIAL: $1k → 7%MIDWEST SHELTER HOMELESS VETS: $5k → 7%MISERICORDIA HEART OF MERCY CENTER: $10k → 14%MISERICORDIA HEART OF MERCY CENTER: $1k → 14%MISERICORDIA HEART OF MERCY CENTER: $350 → 14%MISERICORDIA HEART OF MERCY CENTER: $200 → 14%SARAH'S INN: $5k → 14%NEW MOMS: $10k → 14%ARAB AMERICAN FAMILY SERVICES: $2k → 14%JOURNEY CARE: $200 → 14%OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: $7k → 14%OPPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: $4k → 14%OPPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: $3k → 14%OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: $3k → 14%CJE SENIOR LIFE: $1k → 14%OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: $200 → 14%CJE SENIOR LIFE: $1k → 14%CJE SENIOR LIFE: $1k → 14%SARAH'S INN: $4k → 14%SARAH'S INN: $4k → 14%SARAH'S INN: $3k → 14%SARAH'S INN: $1k → 14%SARAH'S INN: $200 → 14%SARAH'S INN: $200 → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
IA
IN
OH
PA
CT
CA
CO
NE
MO
VA
MD
AZ
KS
TN
NC
DC
OK
GA
TX
FL
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 72 repeat orgs$258k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against +12% for those funded once.

72 repeat relationships: 41 still active in FY2025, 31 since wound down; 31 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

72
95

Total granted

$1.8M
$160k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+12%

Still filing today

46%
37%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $99k 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
HealthHuman ServicesInternationalEducationAnimalsFood & NutritionOther
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

  • CD
    CHADTOUGH DEFEAT DIPG FOUNDATION
    6× · 2020–2025 · $807k · revenue +90%
  • ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $248k · revenue +78%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $26k · revenue +13%

Funded once

  • VF
    VIOLET FOUNDATION FOR PEDIATRIC BRAIN CAgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $12k · revenue +42%
  • TG
    THE GRAY MATTER EXPERIENCE INC
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue +8%
  • PC
    PAWS CHICAGO
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue 0%
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
Global Partners in Care

The organization's mission is to build partnerships to enhance compassionate care globally. we are dedicated to improving access to hospice and palliative care worldwide.

International
2
Uchicago Medicine Network Inc

Uchicago medicine network, inc. supports and encourages health and human service by providing support, directly or indirectly to ingalls memorial hospital, the university of chicago medical center, and other related tax-exempt…

Health
3
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
4
Management Sciences for Health Inc

(msh) saves lives and improves the health of the world's poorest (see schedule o) and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health.

International
5
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
6
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
7
American Academy of Neurology

The Academy's mission is to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all.

Community Improvement
8
America's Health Insurance Plans Inc

Ahip is the national trade association representing the health insurance industry. ahip's members provide health care coverage, services and solutions to more than 200 million americans. we are committed to market-based solutions and…

Membership Benefit
9
Lifeworks Services Inc

Lifeworks' mission is to partner with people with disabilities to drive change by increasing opportunity and access in the community.

Human Services
10
Commonwealth Care Alliance Inc

Commonwealth care alliance, inc.'s mission is to improve the health and well-being of people with significant needs by innovating, coordinating and providing the highest quality, individualized care.

Health
11
Allosource

Inspired by the gift of donation from our communities, allosource responsibly provides innovative cellular and tissue allografts to advance patient healing.

Health
12
Alight

Alight builds a meaningful life for and with the displaced. not simply addressing basic needs, but building a life filled with joy, dignity, connection, and purpose. we walk with them along their entire journey of displacement and deliver…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is New Moms Inc; the most unlike its peers is Kehe Cares Foundation Inc. 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

89 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. 89 of the 200 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
84/89
Grantees still filing
56/89
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHADTOUGH DEFEAT DIPG FOUNDATION: $807,423 · Human ServicesCHADTOUGH DEFEAT DIPG FOUNDATION+16 more: $87,607 · Human Services+16 moreST GILES CATHOLIC CHURCH: $88,518 · OtherST GILES CATHOLIC CHURCHTRINITY HIGH SCHOOL: $50,547 · OtherTRINITY HIGH SCHOOLIndividual grant recipient: $35,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientOUR LADY OF LEBANON CHURCH: $25,362 · OtherHEPHZIBAH CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION: $18,510 · OtherFENWICK HIGH SCHOOL: $17,536 · Other+124 more: $251,813 · Other+124 moreST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $247,685 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEAR…WEST SIDE CONNECTOR: $125,000 · HealthWEST SIDE CONNECTOR+20 more: $76,341 · Health+20 moreMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $26,450 · InternationalBest Buddies International Inc: $12,800 · InternationalMercy Corps: $11,500 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $10,000 · InternationalDIRECT RELIEF: $10,000 · InternationalUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $6,000 · InternationalAMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID: $5,000 · International+6 more: $7,100 · InternationalLowes Foundation: $22,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FOUNDATION: $11,000 · EducationTHE GRAY MATTER EXPERIENCE INC: $10,000 · EducationCHEF ANN FOUNDATION: $5,500 · EducationA HOUSE IN AUSTIN: $4,000 · EducationTHE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC: $2,000 · Education+3 more: $900 · EducationPAWS CHICAGO: $10,000 · AnimalsALMOST HOME FOUNDATION: $10,000 · AnimalsANIMAL CARE LEAGUE: $1,960 · Animals+3 more: $580 · AnimalsBEYOND HUNGER: $13,925 · Food & NutritionGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $2,200 · Food & NutritionFeeding America: $1,000 · Food & Nutrition
Human Services$895,030Other$487,286Health$449,026International$88,850Education$55,900Animals$22,540Food & Nutrition$17,125

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 budgetCHADTOUGH DEFEAT DIPG FOUNDATION: $807,423 over 6y, 3.1% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $247,685 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWEST SIDE CONNECTOR: $125,000 over 3y, 36% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $26,450 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLowes Foundation: $22,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHEPHZIBAH CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION: $18,510 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSARAH'S INN: $17,600 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetOPPORTUNITY KNOCKS INCORPORATED: $16,200 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetBEYOND HUNGER: $13,925 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetBest Buddies International Inc: $12,800 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMISERICORDIA HOME: $12,080 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVIOLET FOUNDATION FOR PEDIATRIC BRAIN CA: $11,850 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetDIGS WITH DIGNITY CORPORATION: $11,700 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMercy Corps: $11,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $11,210 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $11,070 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FOUNDATION: $11,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GRAY MATTER EXPERIENCE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetPAWS CHICAGO: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW MOMS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSKILLS FOR CHICAGO: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetALMOST HOME FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHOUSING FORWARD: $6,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCHEF ANN FOUNDATION: $5,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSYRIAN AMERICAN MEDICAL SOCIETY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEAD STRONG PROJECT INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUOSSM USA: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetKEHE CARES FOUNDATION INC: $4,600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetA HOUSE IN AUSTIN: $4,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $3,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS: $3,700 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCOUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRAY GRAHAM ASSOCIATION FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $2,200 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Special Hockey Inc: $2,200 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTHE JOSSELYN CENTER NFP: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetANIMAL CARE LEAGUE: $1,960 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBUILD INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHANDICAP INTERNATIONAL: $1,500 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 CHADTOUGH DEFEAT DIPG FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds WEST SIDE CONNECTOR ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds Lowes Foundation ↗
  • Who funds HEPHZIBAH CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds SARAH'S INN ↗
  • Who funds OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds BEYOND HUNGER ↗
  • Who funds Best Buddies International Inc ↗
  • Who funds MISERICORDIA HOME ↗
  • Who funds VIOLET FOUNDATION FOR PEDIATRIC BRAIN CA ↗
  • Who funds DIGS WITH DIGNITY CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds Mercy Corps ↗
  • Who funds BLOOD CANCER UNITED INC ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE GRAY MATTER EXPERIENCE INC ↗
  • Who funds PAWS CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds NEW MOMS INC ↗
  • Who funds SKILLS FOR CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC ↗
  • Who funds ALMOST HOME FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DIRECT RELIEF ↗
  • Who funds LEMONS OF LOVE INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF ↗

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.

Good Heart Work Smart…United Way of Metropo…AbbVie FoundationWestlake Health Found…Oak Park-River Forest…Robert R McCormick Fo…The Chicago Community…Arthur J Gallagher Fo…Irish Woods FoundationHealthy Communities F…The Christopher Famil…George M Eisenberg Fo…
Good Heart Work Smart FoundationIL28.2× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Good Heart Work Smart Foundation · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · AbbVie Foundation · Westlake Health Foundation · Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation · Robert R McCormick Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Arthur J Gallagher Foundation · Irish Woods Foundation · Healthy Communities Foundation · The Christopher Family Foundation · George M Eisenberg Foundation for Charities

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 R & Helen Shaker Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Joseph R & Helen Shaker Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Mercy Corps: 47% of income from government
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Best Buddies International Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • K9S for Warriors Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
19report 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.

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 200 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 R & Helen Shaker Family’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