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Lakshmi Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Lakshmi 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.

$173k
Granted FY2025still arriving
21
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$16k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Human Services$294kHealth$284kArts & Culture$246kFood & Nutrition$110kPhilanthropy$104kCivil Rights$100kRecreation & Sports$75kEmployment$65kOther$0
02FY2025 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k9 grants · $45k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $128k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$1.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHESHIRE PROJECT DBA ZENO MOUNTAIN FARM$16,000
ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS$12,000
CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN$10,000
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO$10,000
ACCESS LIVING OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO$10,000
VOICES AND FACES PROJECT$10,000
TOTALLINK2 COMMUNITY$10,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ILLINOIS$10,000
I AM ALS$10,000
SPECIAL OLYMPICS OF ILLINOIS$10,000
WBEZ - CHICAGO PUBLIC RADIO$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE$5,000
CHICAGO ALLIANCE AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION$5,000
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR DOWN SYNDROME$5,000
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 (FY17–25, $329k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 85% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%BELLE CHILDREN SERVICE OF ST LOUIS ARC: $10k → 11%BELLE CHILDREN SERVICE OF ST LOUIS ARC: $10k → 11%Belle Children Service of St Louis Arc: $10k → 11%Lincoln Park Village: $5k → 14%BELLE CHILDREN SERVICE OF ST LOUIS ARC: $10k → 11%BELLE CHILDREN SERVICE OF ST LOUIS ARC: $10k → 11%LINCOLN PARK VILLAGE: $3k → 14%VOICES AND FACES PROJECT: $10k → 14%THE VOICES AND FACES PROJECT: $5k → 14%THE VOICES AND FACES PROJECT: $5k → 14%THE VOICES AND FACES PROJECT: $5k → 14%Aspire of Illinois: $25k → 14%VOICES AND FACES PROJECT: $5k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $20k → 14%The Voices and Faces Project: $5k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $20k → 14%VOICES AND FACES PROJECT: $5k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $10k → 14%THE VOICES AND FACES PROJECT: $5k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $10k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $12k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $12k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $5k → 14%TOTALLINK2 COMMUNITY: $10k → 14%TOTALLINK2 COMMUNITY: $10k → 14%TOTALLINK2 COMMUNITY: $10k → 14%TOTALLINK2 COMMUNITY: $5k → 14%Orchard Village: $5k → 14%CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $50k → 14%CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $10k → 14%CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $8k → 14%Center for Independent Futures: $5k → 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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.2M · 26 repeat orgs$110k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

26 repeat relationships: 16 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
7

Total granted

$1.2M
$80k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+11%

Still filing today

73%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $30k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthArts & CultureCivil RightsCrime & LegalFood & 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

  • AO
    ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS
    8× · 2017–2025 · $114k · revenue +124%
  • AL
    Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago
    9× · 2017–2025 · $90k · revenue +25%
  • PP
    Planned Parenthood of Illinois
    8× · 2017–2025 · $80k · revenue +64%

Funded once

  • BB
    Best Buddies of Illinois
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
  • LA
    LESTER AND ROSALIE ANIXTER CENTER
    one grant, 2017 · $20k · revenue +4%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
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
Equality Illinois

Equality illinois builds a better illinois by advancing equal treatment and social justice through education, advocacy and protection of the rights of the lgbt community.

Philanthropy
2
Goodwill Industries of Northern Il and Wi Stateline Area Inc

The mission of goodwill is to create opportunities for individuals with barriers to enhance their lives. barriers include physical or mental disabilities, lack of education and job preparation, socio-economic disadvantages, and others.…

—
3
The Arc of Illinois

The Arc of Illinois is committed to empowering persons with disabilities to achieve full participation in community life through informed choices.

—
4
Arise Chicago

Arise chicago builds partnerships between faith communities and workers to fight workplace injustice through education, organizing, and advocating for public policy changes.

Employment
5
Legal Aid Chicago

At legal aid chicago, we work together to provide high quality civil legal aid to people living in poverty and other vulnerable groups.through advocacy, education, collaboration, and litigation we empower individuals, protect fundamental…

Crime & Legal
6
Disability Rights Wisconsin Inc

Legal protection and advocacy to protect the rights of people with disabilities in wisconsin.

—
7
The Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence

The Network is a group of 40+ member organizations dedicated to improving the lives of those impacted by gender-based violence through education, public policy and advocacy, and connecting community members with direct service providers.…

Human Services
8
Center for Living & Working Inc

We work to ensure that individuals with disabilities can live independently as equal members of society.

Human Services
9
Equip for Equality

Advance the human & civil rights of children and adults with disabilities in illinois. administer federally mandated protection & advocacy system for state; exercise statutory powers, and serve as legal advocate and independent watchdog…

—
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
Alternatives Inc

Alternatives, inc.'s mission is to facilitate personal development,strengthen family relationships and enhance the community's well being. serving over 3,000 youth and families annually, the organization offers a range of counseling and…

Health
12
Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Inc

Secure racial equity and economic opportunity for all

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago; the most unlike its peers is The Voices & Faces Project. 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

28 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. 28 of the 38 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)
26/28
Grantees still filing
18/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN: $104,250 · OtherCHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMENAccess Living of Metropolitan Chicago: $90,000 · OtherAccess Living of Metropolitan ChicagoWBEZ - CHICAGO PUBLIC RADIO: $90,000 · OtherWBEZ - CHICAGO PUBLIC RADIOSPECIAL OLYMPICS ILLINOIS: $75,000 · OtherSPECIAL OLYMPICS ILLINOISCHESHIRE PROJECT DBA ZENO MOUNTAIN FARM: $70,000 · OtherCHESHIRE PROJECT DBA ZENO MOUNTAIN FARMNATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: $50,000 · OtherNATIONAL PUBLIC RADIOWEI AT DEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $35,000 · OtherWOMEN EMPLOYED: $30,000 · Other+10 more: $113,000 · Other+10 moreASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $114,000 · Human ServicesASPIRE OF ILLINOISCENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $72,500 · Human ServicesCENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUT…ST LOUIS ARC INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesST LOUIS ARC INCTHE VOICES & FACES PROJECT: $45,000 · Human ServicesTHE VOICES & FACES PROJECTTOTALLINK TO COMMUNITY INC: $35,000 · Human ServicesTOTALLINK TO COMMUNITY INC+2 more: $12,500 · Human ServicesPlanned Parenthood of Illinois: $80,000 · HealthPlanned Paren…Repro TLC: $35,000 · HealthRepro TLCTHE JOSSELYN CENTER NFP: $18,500 · HealthTHE JOSSELYN …NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR DOWN SYNDROME: $15,000 · HealthNATIONAL ASSO…I AM ALS: $10,000 · HealthI AM ALS+1 more: $5,000 · HealthNATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureOLD TOWN SCHOOL OF FOLK MUSIC: $35,000 · Arts & CultureTELLIN TALES THEATRE: $12,500 · Arts & CultureChicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation: $50,000 · Civil RightsEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $25,000 · Civil RightsSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $50,000 · Crime & LegalGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $40,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$657,250Human Services$329,000Health$163,500Arts & Culture$87,500Civil Rights$75,000Crime & Legal$50,000Food & Nutrition$40,000

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 budgetASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $114,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetCHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN: $104,250 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetAccess Living of Metropolitan Chicago: $90,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetPlanned Parenthood of Illinois: $80,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS ILLINOIS: $75,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetCENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES: $72,500 over 4y, 3.6% of budgetChicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation: $50,000 over 9y, 0.7% of budgetST LOUIS ARC INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $50,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE VOICES & FACES PROJECT: $45,000 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetNATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $40,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetRepro TLC: $35,000 over 7y, 1.6% of budgetTOTALLINK TO COMMUNITY INC: $35,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetOLD TOWN SCHOOL OF FOLK MUSIC: $35,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWOMEN EMPLOYED: $30,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLESTER AND ROSALIE ANIXTER CENTER: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE JOSSELYN CENTER NFP: $18,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR DOWN SYNDROME: $15,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetTELLIN TALES THEATRE: $12,500 over 5y, 3.5% of budgetDEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetI AM ALS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetEDGE of Orion: $8,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetTHE NORA PROJECT: $5,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetORCHARD VILLAGE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetL'ARCHE CHICAGO INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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 ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN ↗
  • Who funds Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago ↗
  • Who funds Planned Parenthood of Illinois ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL OLYMPICS ILLINOIS ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT FUTURES ↗
  • Who funds Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation ↗
  • Who funds ST LOUIS ARC INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE VOICES & FACES PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INC ↗
  • Who funds GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY ↗
  • Who funds Repro TLC ↗
  • Who funds TOTALLINK TO COMMUNITY INC ↗
  • Who funds OLD TOWN SCHOOL OF FOLK MUSIC ↗
  • Who funds WOMEN EMPLOYED ↗
  • Who funds EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE ↗
  • Who funds LESTER AND ROSALIE ANIXTER CENTER ↗
  • Who funds THE JOSSELYN CENTER NFP ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR DOWN SYNDROME ↗
  • Who funds TELLIN TALES THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds DEPAUL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds I AM ALS ↗
  • Who funds EDGE of Orion ↗
  • Who funds LINCOLN PARK VILLAGE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE NORA PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds ORCHARD VILLAGE ↗
  • Who funds L'ARCHE CHICAGO INC ↗

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…Baxter International …AbbVie FoundationPolk Bros Foundation …The Coleman Foundatio…Circle of Service Fou…Jewish Federation of …First Bank Chicago Fo…George M Eisenberg Fo…John D and Catherine …Chicago Foundation fo…Arthur J Gallagher Fo…
The Chicago Community TrustIL22.2× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Baxter International Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · The Coleman Foundation Inc · Circle of Service Foundation · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · First Bank Chicago Foundation · George M Eisenberg Foundation for Charities · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Chicago Foundation for Women · Arthur J Gallagher 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 Lakshmi Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lakshmi 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%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 38 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 Lakshmi’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