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Katherine L Olson Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Katherine L Olson Charitable Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$397k
Granted FY2024still arriving
58
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$410kEducation$378kHealth$327kReligion$155kHousing & Shelter$150kInternational$109kFood & Nutrition$109kHuman Services$58kOther$0
02FY2024 · 58 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k37 grants · $118k
  • $10k–50k21 grants · $279k
$5,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$4.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNICEF$25,000
Greater Chicago Food Depository$24,000
WBEZ Chicago Public Radio$15,000
Greater Chicago Food Depository$15,000
WTTW$15,000
Women's Board of Northwestern Mem Hosp$15,000
Sarah's Circle$15,000
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violen$15,000
Kenilworth Union Church$15,000
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Advancement Offic$15,000
University of Wisconsin Foundation$10,000
Women's Board Art Institute$10,000
Habitat for Humanity International$10,000
Teach for America$10,000
Scripps College$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 (FY19–24, $116k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 66% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Montecito Retirement Association: $5k → 14%American Red Cross: $5k → 14%Solihten Institute Inc: $20k → 12%Main Stay Therapeutic Farm: $8k → 6%North Shore Senior Center: $2k → 14%American Red Cross: $5k → 14%Solihten Institute Inc: $20k → 12%Main Stay Therapeutic Farm: $8k → 6%American Red Cross: $5k → 14%Mainstay Therapeutic Farm: $8k → 6%North Shore Senior Center: $2k → 14%American Red Cross: $5k → 14%Mainstay Therapeutic Farm: $8k → 6%North Shore Senior Center: $2k → 14%MAINSTAY THERAPEUTIC FARM: $5k → 6%North Shore Senior Center: $2k → 14%Mainstay Therapeutic Farm: $5k → 6%Parenting for Non Violence: $1k → 14%North Shore Senior Center: $1k → 14%Parenting for Non Violence: $1k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 14%Parenting for Non Violence: $1k → 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

VT
MT
IL
WI
NY
MA
IA
NJ
CA
CO
VA
MD
AR
DC
GA
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 62 repeat orgs$62k to everyone else

62 repeat relationships: 51 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

62
6

Total granted

$1.8M
$46k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
+82%

Still filing today

84%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $16k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationHealthHuman ServicesInternationalFood & 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

  • GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY
    6× · 2019–2024 · $92k · revenue +78%
  • SC
    SARAH'S CIRCLE
    6× · 2019–2024 · $85k · revenue +133%
  • WT
    WINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $70k · revenue +19%

Funded once

  • SI
    Samaritan Interfaith Counseling Centergraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $20k · revenue +260%
  • MS
    MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ENDOWMENTgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $11k · revenue +539%
  • HYDE PARK ART CENTER
    one grant, 2022 · $6k · revenue +17%
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
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
2
Lake Forest College

Provide post-secondary education leading to a baccalaureate degree. Program service expenditures are made in conjunction with the operation of a liberal arts college spread over 107 acres with approximately 63 educational and support…

Education
3
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
4
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

The Chicago School educates the next generation of change-makers in innovative theory and culturally competent practice to strengthen the integrated health of individuals, organizations, and communities.

Education
5
Lyric Opera of Chicago

We believe in the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great art and opera. Lyric Opera of Chicago exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to the Chicago region and the nation, and to advance the…

Arts & Culture
6
Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago

Achieving international impact through world-class research and education in fundamental computer science and information technology.

Education
7
New York School of Interior Design

New york school of interior design provides the most innovative, immersive, and transformative interior design education in the world, demonstrating the impact of professionally designed interiors on the health, happiness, and well-being…

Education
8
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
9
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management

Lake Forest Graduate School of Management's mission is to bring the real world to business education and leadership development.

—
10
National Opinion Research Center

See schedule onorc at the university of chicago conducts research and data science on critical societal issues to guide decision-making and the development of programs and public policy. our experts identify relationships and trends, and…

Social Science
11
Illinois College

Illinois college is a co-educational institution of higher education learning providing a four-year educational program leading to the baccalaureate degree. illinois college is a community committed to the highest standards of scholarship…

Education
12
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Theatre Group Inc; the most unlike its peers is C J Jung Center. 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

60 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. 60 of the 72 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
59/60
Grantees still filing
45/60
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

KENILWORTH UNION CHURCH: $80,000 · OtherKENILWORTH UNION CHURCHWBEZ Chicago Public Radio: $66,000 · OtherWBEZ Chicago Public RadioWomen's Board Art Institute: $60,000 · OtherWomen's Board Art InstituteMisericordia: $45,000 · OtherMisericordiaMCCORMICK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 22-22148: $30,000 · OtherShirley Ryan AbilityLab Advancement Offic: $25,000 · OtherGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $91,500 · OtherGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORYGIFFORDS LAW CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: $40,000 · OtherGIFFORDS LAW CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLE…The Anti-Cruelty Society: $30,000 · OtherNorthwestern University: $28,500 · Other+17 more: $170,756 · Other+17 moreWilliams College: $70,000 · EducationWilliams CollegeTeach for America Inc: $60,000 · EducationTeach for America IncScripps College: $60,000 · EducationScripps CollegeUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $60,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN …THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $50,000 · EducationTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHI…CHICAGO WALDORF SCHOOL: $34,000 · EducationCHICAGO WALDORF SCHOOLNOBLE NETWORK OF CHARTER SCHOOLS: $30,000 · EducationNOBLE NETWORK OF CHARTER…ROGERS PARK MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $15,000 · Education+2 more: $21,000 · EducationWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $70,000 · Arts & CultureWINDOW TO THE…Chicago Symphony Orchestra: $55,000 · Arts & CultureChicago Symph…Writers Theatre Inc: $18,000 · Arts & CultureWriters Theat…CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER: $16,000 · Arts & CultureCHICAGO SHAKE…CHICAGO THEATRE GROUP INC: $13,500 · Arts & CultureCHICAGO THEAT…MUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $12,500 · Arts & CultureMUSIC INSTITU…MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ENDOWMENT: $11,000 · Arts & CultureTHE HATCH INC: $9,000 · Arts & CultureMERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $8,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $18,000 · Arts & Culture+5 moreTHE WOMAN'S BOARD OF NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: $50,000 · HealthTHE WOMAN'S B…Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago: $45,000 · HealthRehabilitatio…PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $30,000 · HealthPLANNED PAREN…FRIENDS OF KAFIKA HOUSE F/K/A FRIENDS OF THE PLASTER HOUSE: $30,000 · HealthFRIENDS OF KA…C J JUNG CENTER: $26,000 · HealthC J JUNG CENT…Samaritan Interfaith Counseling Center: $20,000 · HealthSamaritan Int…AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS ASSN: $10,000 · HealthALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $8,000 · HealthUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $75,000 · InternationalHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL INC: $40,000 · InternationalAfrican Mission Healthcare Foundation: $15,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $8,000 · InternationalMAIN STAY THERAPEUTIC FARM INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesSAMARITAN INSTITUTE INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $25,000 · Human ServicesNORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $8,000 · Human ServicesMONTECITO RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · Human Services+2 more: $5,000 · Human ServicesSARAH'S CIRCLE: $85,000 · Housing & ShelterCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $25,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$666,756Education$400,000Arts & Culture$231,000Health$219,000International$138,000Human Services$123,000Housing & Shelter$110,000

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 budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $91,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSARAH'S CIRCLE: $85,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $75,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $70,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWilliams College: $70,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $60,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetScripps College: $60,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $55,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WOMAN'S BOARD OF NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: $50,000 over 4y, 3.1% of budgetRehabilitation Institute of Chicago: $45,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMAIN STAY THERAPEUTIC FARM INC: $40,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL INC: $40,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN INSTITUTE INC: $40,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetGIFFORDS LAW CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: $40,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCHICAGO WALDORF SCHOOL: $34,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Anti-Cruelty Society: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF KAFIKA HOUSE F/K/A FRIENDS OF THE PLASTER HOUSE: $30,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetNOBLE NETWORK OF CHARTER SCHOOLS: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $28,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetC J JUNG CENTER: $26,000 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSamaritan Interfaith Counseling Center: $20,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetWriters Theatre Inc: $18,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetBOZEMAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC: $18,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS ILLINOIS: $17,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER: $16,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetROGERS PARK MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSafer Foundation: $15,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAfrican Mission Healthcare Foundation: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCHICAGO THEATRE GROUP INC: $13,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetASSOCIATION FOR ANTHROPOSOPHIC PSYCHOLOGY: $13,000 over 4y, 8.4% of budgetMUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $12,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ENDOWMENT: $11,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetChicago Foundation for Education: $10,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetAMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS ASSN: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HATCH INC: $9,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetANGELIC ORGANICS LEARNING CENTER INC: $9,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetThe Hap Foundation Inc (F/K/A Journeycare Foundation): $9,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $8,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLAKELAND UNIVERSITY: $8,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS: $8,000 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $8,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $8,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetThe Family Institute: $8,000 over 6y, 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 GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY ↗
  • Who funds SARAH'S CIRCLE ↗
  • Who funds UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF ↗
  • Who funds WINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC ↗
  • Who funds Williams College ↗
  • Who funds Teach for America Inc ↗
  • Who funds Scripps College ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Chicago Symphony Orchestra ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds THE WOMAN'S BOARD OF NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL ↗
  • Who funds Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds MAIN STAY THERAPEUTIC FARM INC ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL INC ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds GIFFORDS LAW CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO WALDORF SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds The Anti-Cruelty Society ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF KAFIKA HOUSE F/K/A FRIENDS OF THE PLASTER HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds NOBLE NETWORK OF CHARTER SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds C J JUNG CENTER ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS ↗
  • Who funds Samaritan Interfaith Counseling Center ↗
  • Who funds Writers Theatre Inc ↗
  • Who funds BOZEMAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL OLYMPICS ILLINOIS ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER ↗
  • Who funds ROGERS PARK MONTESSORI SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds Safer Foundation ↗
  • Who funds African Mission Healthcare Foundation ↗

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…Dr Scholl FoundationCaerus Foundation IncCharles H and Beverly…Ceres FoundationAndrew and Alice Fisc…Jewish Federation of …The Ayco Charitable F…AbbVie FoundationNational Philanthropi…Baird Foundation IncMorgan Stanley Global…
The Chicago Community TrustIL22.7× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Dr Scholl Foundation · Caerus Foundation Inc · Charles H and Beverly E Shaw Foundation · Ceres Foundation · Andrew and Alice Fischer Charitable Trust · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Baird Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc

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 Katherine L Olson Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Katherine L Olson Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Williams College: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
12report 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 72 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Katherine L Olson’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