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Mark Morton Memorial Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Mark Morton Memorial Fund

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$724k
Granted FY2024still arriving
12
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$102k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Health$1.4MHuman Services$1.3MHousing & Shelter$643kEducation$601kYouth Development$541kReligion$540kFood & Nutrition$231kArts & Culture$195kOther$0
02FY2024 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k4 grants · $100k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $624k
$73,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$13M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ONWARD NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE$102,000
WAYSIDE CROSS MINISTRIES$100,000
SCHEDULE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST$80,278
AVENUES TO INDEPENDENCE$75,000
MAYWOOD FINE ARTS ASSOCIATION$75,000
CIRCLE URBAN MINISTRIES$73,000
CHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS$65,000
REBUILDING TOGETHER METRO CHICAGO$53,665
OUTREACH COMMUNITY MINISTRIES$35,000
KIDS ABOVE ALL$25,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF LAKE COUNTY$20,000
SCHEDULE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST$19,683
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 (FY17–24, $1.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 65% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%THE OUTREACH HOUSE: $57k → 7%MARILLAC ST VINCENT FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 14%OUTREACH COMMUNITY MINISTRIES: $35k → 7%HESED HOUSE: $100k → 8%OUTREACH COMMUNITY MINISTRIES: $25k → 7%HESED HOUSE: $100k → 8%HESED HOUSE: $50k → 8%TURNING POINTE AUTISM FOUNDATION: $43k → 7%LITTLE FRIENDS: $26k → 7%RAVENSWOOD COMMUNITY SERVICES: $50k → 14%TURNING POINT AUTISM FOUNDATION: $20k → 7%LOAVES & FISHES COMMUNITY SERVICES: $4k → 7%RAVENSWOOD COMMUNITY SERVICES: $27k → 14%MISERICORDIA HOME: $25k → 14%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $50k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $40k → 14%CRADLES TO CRAYONS CHICAGO: $51k → 14%NEW MOMS INC: $100k → 14%ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGO: $85k → 14%NEW MOMS: $50k → 14%NEW MOMS INC: $25k → 14%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $33k → 14%ALICIA'S HOUSE: $50k → 14%ORCHARD VILLAGE: $56k → 14%COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES: $21k → 14%COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES: $21k → 14%THE CRADLE FOUNDATION: $75k → 14%COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES INC: $15k → 14%CIRCLE URBAN MINISTRIES: $73k → 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.

53%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.0M · 20 repeat orgs$2.6M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +78% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

20 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 14 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
51

Total granted

$3.0M
$2.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+78%
+24%

Still filing today

65%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 59% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $297k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationHousing & ShelterCommunity ImprovementHealthYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • PA
    PUBLIC ACTION TO DELIVER SHELTER INC D/B/A HESED HOUSE
    3× · 2017–2021 · $250k · revenue +139%
  • CY
    CHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS INC
    3× · 2017–2024 · $185k · revenue +7%
  • NM
    NEW MOMS INC
    3× · 2018–2022 · $175k · revenue +79%

Funded once

  • AH
    ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGOgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $85k · revenue +48%
  • JA
    JOSEPHINUM ACADEMY OF THE SACRED HEART
    one grant, 2022 · $85k
  • AH
    A HOUSE IN AUSTINgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $80k · revenue +277% · 63% of their budget
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
A Better Chicago

A better chicago is changing how chicago fights poverty by investing in bold ideas that create opportunity for our youth.

Human Services
2
Erie Neighborhood House

Erie neighborhood house provides the most comprehensive support to immigrant and low-income families in chicago. our mission is to empower our communitylatinx immigrants alongside individuals and families of all backgroundsthrough…

Human Services
3
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
4
Oak Leyden Developmental Services Inc

To help people with developmental disabilities meet life's challenges and reach their highest potential.

—
5
You Can Make It

Providing interim housing for men, women and children, social services, homeless services, emergency shelter, and housing in chicago community for the homeless, poor and disadvantaged.

Human Services
6
Child Link Inc

Child Link provides foster care, family counseling, and therapy services to Chicago area adolescents who are at risk of homelessness. Child Link also refers adolescents to other agencies that are able to provide additional resources and…

Human Services
7
Christopher House

Christopher house is a family of schools that helps children and families succeed in school, the workplace, and life. through our unique and innovative approach, we are effectively closing the opportunity gap through a continuum of…

Human Services
8
Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly Inc

Committed to improving the quality of life for chicago's low-income elderly, housing opportunities and maintenance for the elderly (h.o.m.e.) helps seniors remain independent and part of their community by offering opportunities for…

—
9
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.…

—
10
Chicago Heightening Opportunity and Potential for

Providing academic support to children experiencing homelessness in Chicago and providing resources and services to families experiencing homelessness in Chicago.

Education
11
Lakeside Community Committee

To enhance the quality of life for children and families by inspiring hope and empowerment and growth within all whom we serve.

Human Services
12
The Affordable Housing Corporation of Lake County

To provide decent, safe and sanitary housing that is affordable to low and moderate-income persons and to stabilize and strengthen communities by improving the local housing stock. the corporation shall administer programs that revitalize…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is New Moms Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Home 2 Home 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

55 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. 55 of the 76 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
55/55
Grantees still filing
42/55
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SCHEDULE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST: $561,075 · OtherSCHEDULE AVAILABLE UPON REQUESTWAYSIDE CROSS MINISTRIES: $252,500 · OtherWAYSIDE CROSS MINISTRIESCHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS INC: $185,000 · OtherCHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS INCONWARD NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $174,050 · OtherCHRIST THE KING JESUIT COLLEGE PREP: $172,513 · OtherKids Above All Illinois: $155,000 · OtherNAOMI'S HOUSE: $125,000 · OtherTHE FIREHOUSE COMMUNITY ART CENTER: $120,000 · OtherILLINOIS PARTNERS IN HOPE: $119,000 · Other+31 more: $1,404,928 · Other+31 morePUBLIC ACTION TO DELIVER SHELTER INC D/B/A HESED HOUSE: $250,000 · Human ServicesPUBLIC ACTION TO DELIVER S…NEW MOMS INC: $175,000 · Human ServicesNEW MOMS INCCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $90,940 · Human ServicesCRADLES TO CRAYONS INCASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGO: $85,000 · Human ServicesASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICA…RAVENSWOOD COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $77,000 · Human ServicesRAVENSWOOD COMMUNITY SERVI…The Cradle Foundation: $75,000 · Human ServicesThe Cradle FoundationCIRCLE URBAN MINISTRIES: $73,000 · Human ServicesCIRCLE URBAN MINISTRIESTURNING POINTE AUTISM FOUNDATION: $62,600 · Human ServicesOUTREACH COMMUNITY MINISTRIES: $60,000 · Human ServicesTHE OUTREACH HOUSE: $57,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES INC: $56,550 · Human ServicesORCHARD VILLAGE: $55,500 · Human ServicesALICIA'S HOUSE INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesTHE NIGHT MINISTRY: $50,000 · Human Services+5 more: $107,845 · Human Services+5 moreHOUSING FORWARD: $160,000 · Housing & ShelterREBUILDING TOGETHER METRO CHICAGO: $53,665 · Housing & ShelterTHE HOME 2 HOME PROJECT: $50,000 · Housing & ShelterSARAH'S CIRCLE: $50,000 · Housing & ShelterAPNA GHAR INC: $30,000 · Housing & ShelterYoung Mens Educational Network: $108,000 · EducationA HOUSE IN AUSTIN: $80,000 · EducationELIM CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $38,000 · EducationNORTH LAWNDALE COLLEGE PREPARATORY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL INC: $34,000 · EducationJUDSON UNIVERSITY A BAPTIST INSTITUTION: $11,200 · EducationWILL COUNTY CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CONCERNS: $75,000 · Community ImprovementSTONE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION NFP: $75,000 · Community ImprovementGREATER AUBURN GRESHAM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $50,000 · Community ImprovementAVENUES TO INDEPENDENCE: $75,000 · EmploymentNORTH LAWNDALE EMPLOYMENT NETWORK: $60,000 · EmploymentHEROIN EPIDEMIC RELIEF ORGANIZATION: $75,000 · HealthCANINE THERAPY CORPS INC: $15,000 · Health
Other$3,269,066Human Services$1,325,435Housing & Shelter$343,665Education$271,200Community Improvement$200,000Employment$135,000Health$90,000

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 budgetPUBLIC ACTION TO DELIVER SHELTER INC D/B/A HESED HOUSE: $250,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetCHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS INC: $185,000 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetNEW MOMS INC: $175,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetONWARD NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $174,050 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetHOUSING FORWARD: $160,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetKids Above All Illinois: $155,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetYoung Mens Educational Network: $108,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $90,940 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGO: $85,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetA HOUSE IN AUSTIN: $80,000 over 1y, 63% of budgetRAVENSWOOD COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $77,000 over 2y, 5.1% of budgetHEROIN EPIDEMIC RELIEF ORGANIZATION: $75,000 over 2y, 53% of budgetWILL COUNTY CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CONCERNS: $75,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH URBAN MINISTRIES INC: $75,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetMaywood Fine Arts Association: $75,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetAVENUES TO INDEPENDENCE: $75,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetThe Cradle Foundation: $75,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetSTONE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION NFP: $75,000 over 1y, 41% of budgetBEDS PLUS INC: $75,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetHEPHZIBAH CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION: $75,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCIRCLE URBAN MINISTRIES: $73,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetCHICAGO CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER: $67,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTURNING POINTE AUTISM FOUNDATION: $62,600 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetOUTREACH COMMUNITY MINISTRIES: $60,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNORTH LAWNDALE EMPLOYMENT NETWORK: $60,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE OUTREACH HOUSE: $57,000 over 1y, 9.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES INC: $56,550 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetORCHARD VILLAGE: $55,500 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetREBUILDING TOGETHER METRO CHICAGO: $53,665 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetALICIA'S HOUSE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetTHE HOME 2 HOME PROJECT: $50,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetBIG BROTHERS-BIG SISTERS OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $50,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetGREATER AUBURN GRESHAM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE NIGHT MINISTRY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetGOLDEN APPLE FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING: $50,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSARAH'S CIRCLE: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGLEN ELLYN FOOD PANTRY: $46,230 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetWEST TOWN BIKES NFP: $45,000 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetWEST SUBURBAN COMMUNITY PANTRY INC: $40,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetELIM CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $38,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORTH LAWNDALE COLLEGE PREPARATORY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL INC: $34,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $33,245 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetStorycatchers: $30,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetAPNA GHAR INC: $30,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetFRIENDS OF FISHER HOUSE - ILLINOIS INC: $26,900 over 1y, 18% of budgetLITTLE FRIENDS INC: $26,100 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMISERICORDIA HOME: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARILLAC ST VINCENT FAMILY SERVICES INC: $20,000 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.

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…United Way of Metropo…George M Eisenberg Fo…John D and Catherine …The Dupage Community …Circle of Service Fou…The Service Club of C…Advocate Health and H…Polk Bros Foundation …Greater Chicago Food …AbbVie FoundationNorthwestern Memorial…
The Chicago Community TrustIL46× affinity34 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · George M Eisenberg Foundation for Charities · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Dupage Community Foundation · Circle of Service Foundation · The Service Club of Chicago · Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Greater Chicago Food Depository · AbbVie Foundation · Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group

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 Mark Morton Memorial Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mark Morton Memorial Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
27report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Mark Morton Memorial Fund?

Find your warmest path to Mark Morton Memorial Fund 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 76 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 Mark Morton Memorial’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