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Matriarch Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Matriarch 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.

$76k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$60k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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$114kReligion$112kHuman Services$32kYouth Development$25kCivil Rights$20kArts & Culture$16kAnimals$6kEnvironment$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $6k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $60k
$10,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$779k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION$60,000
UTAH FILM CENTER$10,000
LAKE FOREST GARDEN CLUB$5,000
TRI COMMUNITY AND YOUTH AGENCY$500
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 52% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 9%TRI COMMUNITY AND YOUTH AGENCY: $500 → 7%UTAH FILM CENTER: $10k → 8%MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING: $2k → 7%LAKE COUNTY SPONSORS: $40k → 8%PAWS: $2k → 14%CSAB: $2k → 11%LAKE COUNTY SPONSORS: $20k → 8%WTTW: $2k → 14%LAKE COUNTY UNITED: $20k → 8%WTTW: $2k → 14%LAKE COUNTY SPONSORS: $20k → 8%GENEVA FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $12k → 8%GENEVA FOUNDATION: $2k → 14%GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $10k → 8%GENEVA FOUNDATION: $2k → 14%VP GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $5k → 8%GENEVA FOUNDATION: $2k → 14%BH MH: $5k → 8%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $60k → 14%GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $5k → 8%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $20k → 14%LAKE FOREST GARDEN CLUB: $5k → 8%AMERICAN HEART ASSN: $10k → 14%CITADEL THEATER COMPANY: $2k → 8%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $10k → 14%PAWS CHICAGO: $2k → 8%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $2k → 14%ANTI CRUELTY SOCIETY: $2k → 14%THE SALVATION ARMY: $3k → 14%SALVATION ARMY: $2k → 14%GENEVA FOUNDATION: $14k → 14%CHILD SERV: $10k → 14%GENEVA FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $10k → 14%CHILD SERVE: $10k → 14%SALVATION ARMY: $2k → 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.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$282k · 8 repeat orgs$55k to everyone else

8 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
9

Total granted

$282k
$39k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+30%

Still filing today

50%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $16k 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
AnimalsArts & CultureHealthCivil RightsReligionEnvironmentOther
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

  • AH
    American Heart Association Inc
    6× · 2017–2024 · $112k · revenue +33%
  • LC
    LAKE COUNTY SPONSORS
    3× · 2019–2021 · $80k · revenue +29% · 29% of their budget
  • KA
    Kids Above All Illinois
    2× · 2018–2019 · $20k · revenue +91%

Funded once

  • LC
    LAKE COUNTY UNITED INC
    one grant, 2017 · $20k · revenue -55%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $5k
  • CI
    CSAB INC
    one grant, 2020 · $2k · 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
Lake Area United Way Inc

Uniting people and resources to advance the health, education, and financial stability of our communities.

Philanthropy
2
Progressive Animal Welfare Society aka Paws

A champion for animals since 1967, PAWS is a nationally recognized leader - rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife, sheltering and adopting homeless cats and dogs, and educating people to make a better world for animals and people.

Animals
3
Lake County Center for Independent Living

To empower people with disabilities to lead self-directed lives as valued members of the community.

Human Services
4
Lake County in Economic Alliance Inc

Lcea is organized for the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding of economics; matters of public concern; finance; education and training; science and technology; economic planning and development; and other subjects…

—
5
Animal Care Sanctuary

Animal care sanctuary's lifesaving mission as a no kill organization envisions a community that promotes turning compassion into action for companion animals by: 1.) adopting healthy pet companions into loving homes. 2.) promoting the…

Animals
6
University Center of Lake County

The university center of lake county provides facilities and support services for its member colleges and universities in delivering higher education programs to lake county students.

Education
7
Lincoln Park Zoological Society

Lincoln park zoo is dedicated to connecting people with nature by providing a free, family-oriented wildlife experience in the heart of chicago and by advancing the highest quality of animal care, horticulture, education, science and…

Animals
8
Los Angeles County Bar Association (Lacba)

Meeting the professional needs of los angeles lawyers, and improving the administration of justice.

—
9
Lakeshore Legal Aid

Standing with our neighbors, Lakeshore Legal Aid fights poverty and injustice through advocacy and by providing meaningful and dignified access to the legal system.

Crime & Legal
10
Lake County Animal Services Dba Orphan Dog Rescue

We provide emergency medical services, spays ands neuters for animals in need.

—
11
Humane Society of Lake County Inc

The Humane Society of Lake County is a non-profit corporation organized solely for charitable purposes and has the general responsibility to operate for the advancement of humane treatment and the prevention of cruelty to animals. Founded…

Animals
12
Lake County Partnership for Economic Dev

To maintain economic vitality and quality of life in lake county, illinois by creating and retaining quality jobs, stimulating capital investment, pursuing economic diversity and improving the county's business climate.

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Kids Above All Illinois; the most unlike its peers is American Heart Association Inc. 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

13 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. 13 of the 20 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/13
Grantees still filing
9/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

American Heart Association Inc: $112,000 · HealthAmerican Heart Association IncGRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $32,138 · OtherGRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCHGENEVA FOUNDATION: $24,104 · OtherGENEVA FOUNDATIONKids Above All Illinois: $20,000 · OtherKids Above All IllinoisTHE SALVATION ARMY: $7,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYIndividual grant recipient: $5,000 · Other+6 more: $11,500 · Other+6 moreLAKE COUNTY SPONSORS: $80,000 · ReligionLAKE COUNTY SPONSORSLAKE COUNTY UNITED INC: $20,000 · Civil RightsUTAH FILM CENTER: $10,000 · Arts & CultureWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $4,000 · Arts & CulturePAWS CHICAGO: $2,000 · AnimalsThe Anti-Cruelty Society: $2,000 · AnimalsPAWS INC: $2,000 · AnimalsLAKE FOREST GARDEN CLUB: $5,000 · Environment
Health$112,000Other$99,742Religion$80,000Civil Rights$20,000Arts & Culture$14,000Animals$6,000Environment$5,000

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 budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $112,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLAKE COUNTY SPONSORS: $80,000 over 3y, 29% of budgetGENEVA FOUNDATION: $24,104 over 4y, 3.2% of budgetKids Above All Illinois: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUTAH FILM CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLAKE FOREST GARDEN CLUB: $5,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCSAB INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPAWS CHICAGO: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Anti-Cruelty Society: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAWS INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTRI COMMUNITY AND YOUTH AGENCY INC: $500 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Matriarch Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Matriarch Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get 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 · 0–15%
    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 20 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

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    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