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Leahy Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Leahy 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.

$55k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$360kYouth Development$71kRecreation & Sports$55kEducation$7kArts & Culture$5kFood & Nutrition$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$982k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NSSRA FOUNDATION$50,000
RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 72% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING: $2k → 8%HELIX ILLINOIS NFP: $1k → 14%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF LAKE COUNTY: $15k → 8%NORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION: $56k → 14%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF LAKE COUNTY: $15k → 8%NORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION: $55k → 14%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF LAKE COUNTY: $10k → 8%NORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION: $35k → 14%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF LAKE COUNTY: $10k → 8%NORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF LAKE COUNTY: $10k → 8%NORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION: $20k → 14%LAMBS FARM: $1k → 8%NORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION: $20k → 14%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF LAKE COUNTY: $10k → 8%NORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%READING POWER: $1k → 8%NORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%Reading Power Inc: $3k → 8%H FOUNDATION: $20k → 14%Reading Power Inc: $3k → 8%H FOUNDATION: $20k → 14%GREAT LAKES ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $2k → 8%H FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%GREAT LAKES ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $2k → 8%H FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%BENNY'S WORLD: $1k → 8%H FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%BENNY'S WORLD: $1k → 8%UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%GREAT LAKES ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $1k → 8%H FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%NSSRA FOUNDATION: $50k → 8%LEMONS OF LOVE: $5k → 14%RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $5k → 8%UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%Gateway For Cancer Research: $7k → 14%Gateway For Cancer Research: $6k → 14%Gateway For Cancer Research: $5k → 14%BEST BUDDIES: $1k → 14%LUNGEVITY FOUNDATION: $4k → 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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$433k · 8 repeat orgs$69k to everyone else

8 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 8 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
6

Total granted

$433k
$14k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+63%
+70%

Still filing today

88%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $55k 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
HealthYouth DevelopmentEmploymentRecreation & SportsArts & CultureOther
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

  • TH
    THE H FOUNDATION
    6× · 2017–2022 · $90k · revenue +58%
  • BG
    Boys & Girls Club of Lake County
    6× · 2017–2022 · $70k · revenue +215%
  • GF
    GATEWAY FOR CANCER RESEARCH
    3× · 2017–2019 · $18k · revenue +63%

Funded once

  • LO
    LEMONS OF LOVE INC
    one grant, 2018 · $5k · revenue +9%
  • LF
    LUNGEVITY FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $4k · revenue +87%
  • TC
    THE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $2k · revenue +70%
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
Gastro Intestinal Research Foundation Inc

The GI Research Foundation works to treat, prevent, and cure digestive diseases. In collaboration with the physicians and scientists at the University of Chicago Digestive Diseases Center, we fund innovative clinical and laboratory…

Health
2
Cancer Research and Life Foundation

The organization supports development of novel and compassionate therapies and treatment for the poor, the needy, the hopeless and the forgotten stricken with the deadly disease of cancer.

Health
3
Gilda's Club Chicago

To ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community.

Health
4
Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation

The hairy cell leukemia foundation is dedicated to improving outcomes for patients by advancing research into the causes and treatment of hairy cell leukemia, as well as by providing educational resources and comfort to all those affected…

—
5
Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation

The Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation's mission is to eradicate breast cancer by investing in early career doctors and innovative research. Investments are directed locally within the Chicago area, but drive impact globally.

Housing & Shelter
6
Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation

The samuel waxman cancer research foundation (the "foundation") funds innovative research to bring faster cures to patients. in addition to supporting ongoing collaborative research in specific cancers, our scientists are investigating the…

—
7
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.

—
8
Celebrity Fight Night Foundation Inc

The foundation supports gateway for cancer research and its efforts to battle cancer by funding phase i and phase ii cancer trials.

Philanthropy
9
Leukemia Research Foundation

To cure leukemia by funding innovative research, and to support patients and families.

Health
10
The Lexington Cancer Foundation Inc

The mission of the lexington cancer foundation, inc. organization is to create awareness and raise funds in the fight against cancer. the organization is also dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare for cancer patients.

Philanthropy
11
National Foundation for Cancer Research

To support cancer research and public education relating to prevention, earlier diagnosis, better treatments and ultimately, a cure for cancer.

Health
12
Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation

Cparf funds us-based research to change what's possible for people with cerebral palsy, implements proven science, and advances innovation to benefit all people with disabilities around the world.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Benny's World. 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

14 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. 14 of the 16 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
10/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION: $236,000 · OtherNORTHERN SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION FOUNDATION+2 more: $3,000 · OtherTHE H FOUNDATION: $90,000 · HealthTHE H FOUNDATIONGATEWAY FOR CANCER RESEARCH: $17,680 · HealthGATEWAY FOR CANCER RESEARCHUniversity of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation: $5,000 · HealthLEMONS OF LOVE INC: $5,000 · HealthGREAT LAKES ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · Health+2 more: $5,500 · HealthBoys & Girls Club of Lake County: $70,000 · Youth DevelopmentBoys & Girls Club…READING POWER INC: $7,000 · Youth DevelopmentREADING POWER INC+1 more: $1,000 · Youth DevelopmentNSSRA FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Recreation & SportsNSSRA FOUND…RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · Arts & CultureTHE LAMBS FARM INC: $1,000 · Employment
Other$239,000Health$128,180Youth Development$78,000Recreation & Sports$50,000Arts & Culture$5,000Employment$1,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE H FOUNDATION: $90,000 over 6y, 11% of budgetBoys & Girls Club of Lake County: $70,000 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetNSSRA FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 7.5% of budgetGATEWAY FOR CANCER RESEARCH: $17,680 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetREADING POWER INC: $7,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetLEMONS OF LOVE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetGREAT LAKES ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLUNGEVITY FOUNDATION INC: $3,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBENNY'S WORLD: $2,000 over 2y, 32% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHelix Illinois NFP: $1,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE LAMBS FARM INC: $1,000 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.

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.

AbbVie FoundationGs Donor Advised Phil…The Ayco Charitable F…The Pfizer Foundation…Charities Aid Foundat…Network for GoodThe Bank of America C…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
AbbVie FoundationIL14× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: AbbVie Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Charities Aid Foundation America · Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Leahy Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Leahy Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 16 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 Leahy 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