Skip to content
Leonard and Diane Sherman Family Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Leonard and Diane Sherman Family Foundation

The foundation is organized to foster, promote, support, develop, encourage and maintain the broad charitable, educational and/or religious purpose of, the jewish federation of metropolitan chicago, and the foundation as authorized in their by-laws.

$783k
Granted FY2025still arriving
17
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$149k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Philanthropy$3.8MInternational$1.4MScience & Tech$1.1MHuman Services$472kReligion$214kEducation$200kEnvironment$75kPublic Safety & Disaster$61kOther$0
02FY2025 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 17 grants below total $764,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $783,000 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $19,000 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $197k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $559k
$25,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$44M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO$148,500
JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO$130,500
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE FOR TECHNOLOGY$118,000
BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION$60,000
ISRAEL POLICY FORUM INC$51,800
COUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY (CJE SENIORLIFE)$50,000
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND - KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL INC$46,000
SOCIAL GOOD FUND$25,000
SECURE COMMUNITY NETWORK INC$25,000
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE HESCHEL CENTER$25,000
ABRAHAMIC HOUSE$18,000
ONETABLE$18,000
INTERFAITH AMERICA$10,000
SCHOLARS FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST$10,000
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM$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 (FY17–25, $462k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Jewish Child and Family Services: $11k → 14%Council for Jewish Elderly (CJE SeniorLife): $51k → 14%Council for Jewish Elderly: $50k → 14%Council for Jewish Elderly (CJE SeniorLife): $50k → 14%COUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY (CJE SENIORLIFE): $50k → 14%Council for Jewish Elderly: $50k → 14%Council for Jewish Elderly: $50k → 14%Council for Jewish Elderly: $50k → 14%COUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY (CJE SENIORLIFE): $50k → 14%Council for Jewish Elderly: $50k → 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

NH
IL
NY
PA
CA
AZ
DC
TX
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.3M · 11 repeat orgs$226k to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
8

Total granted

$3.3M
$196k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+13%
+20%

Still filing today

100%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% 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
InternationalReligionHuman ServicesArts & CulturePhilanthropyPublic Safety & DisasterOther
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

  • JU
    JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.7M · revenue +13%
  • CF
    COUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY
    9× · 2017–2025 · $451k · revenue +8%
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $200k · revenue +19%

Funded once

  • NS
    NORTH SUBURBAN SYNAGOGUE BETH EL
    one grant, 2022 · $110k
  • AJ
    Arizona Jewish Historical Society
    one grant, 2024 · $25k · revenue 0%
  • JC
    Jewish Child and Family Services
    one grant, 2023 · $11k · revenue +15%
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 Judaism Foundation
—
2
Sherit Isroel
—
3
The Jerusalem Connection
—
4
Foundation for Conservative Judiasm of South Florida
—
5
Eastern European Jewish Heritage Foundation
Philanthropy
6
Yeshiva University

The university is composed of several colleges and schools providing undergraduate, graduate, professional and post-doctoral education and training and research and clinical programs.

Education
7
Connect Israel

Connect israel is a life-long program that aims to strengthen the gap between american jews and israelis through business, creative teamwork, and developing personal relationships.

International
8
The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life Inc
Religion
9
Delegation of Jewish American Students (Dojas)
—
10
National Council of Jewish Women Inc Jersey Hills Section
—
11
The Jewish Agency for Israel

The jewish agency binds jews across ideologies and civilizations together in a worldwide jewish family with israel at its center. it provides the global framework for aliyah, ensures global jewish safety, strengthens jewish identity and…

—
12
Bar Ilan University in Israel Inc

Biu produces students who excel in the sciences, humanities, law, engineering, business & the arts.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is American Friends of Hebrew University Inc; the most unlike its peers is Abrahamic House. 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 28 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
18/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $1,873,100 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGOJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $1,703,340 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO+1 more: $70,000 · PhilanthropyAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TECHNION ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY INC: $1,065,200 · InternationalAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TECHNION ISRAEL INSTI…JEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL) INC: $788,660 · InternationalJEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISR…BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION: $480,000 · InternationalBIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATIONAMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INC: $200,000 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INCISRAEL POLICY FORUM INC: $132,200 · International+3 more: $95,000 · InternationalCOUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY: $451,200 · Human Services+1 more: $10,500 · Human ServicesNORTH SUBURBAN SYNAGOGUE BETH EL: $110,180 · OtherJEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM SPRINGS AND DESERT AREA: $30,000 · OtherArizona Jewish Historical Society: $25,000 · OtherAM SHALOM: $10,000 · Other4G44 ESports Inc Lost Tribe: $60,000 · OtherNAVY PIER INC: $10,000 · OtherThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $10,000 · OtherB'NAI B'RITH YOUTH ORGANIZATION: $18,200 · OtherAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $10,000 · OtherThe Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America Foundation: $10,000 · OtherABRAHAMIC HOUSE: $46,000 · ReligionONETABLE INC: $38,000 · ReligionINTERFAITH AMERICA: $10,000 · ReligionSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $75,000 · EducationSECURE COMMUNITY NETWORK INC: $61,000 · Public Safety & Disaster
Philanthropy$3,646,440International$2,761,060Human Services$461,700Other$293,380Religion$94,000Education$75,000Public Safety & Disaster$61,000

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 budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $1,873,100 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $1,703,340 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TECHNION ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY INC: $1,065,200 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetJEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL) INC: $788,660 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetBIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION: $480,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCOUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY: $451,200 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INC: $200,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetISRAEL POLICY FORUM INC: $132,200 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $75,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE HESCHEL CENTER INC: $75,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetTHE JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA INC: $70,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSECURE COMMUNITY NETWORK INC: $61,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budget4G44 ESports Inc Lost Tribe: $60,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetABRAHAMIC HOUSE: $46,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetONETABLE INC: $38,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM SPRINGS AND DESERT AREA: $30,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetArizona Jewish Historical Society: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetB'NAI B'RITH YOUTH ORGANIZATION: $18,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJewish Child and Family Services: $10,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNAVY PIER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINTERFAITH AMERICA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetISRAEL EMERGENCY ALLIANCE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSCHOLARS FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetThe Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 6.5% 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.

Jewish Federation of …Jewish Community Fede…National Philanthropi…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan ChicagoIL13.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · National Philanthropic Trust · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · 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 Leonard and Diane Sherman Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Leonard and Diane Sherman 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%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Leonard and Diane Sherman Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Leonard and Diane Sherman Family Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    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 28 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 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 Leonard and Diane Sherman 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