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Morton S Abelson Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Morton S Abelson 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.

$93k
Granted FY2025still arriving
23
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$25k
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, FY2019 to 2025.

Health$95kCivil Rights$57kPhilanthropy$55kArts & Culture$16kEducation$8kFood & Nutrition$6kPublic Safety & Disaster$5kCrime & Legal$4kOther$0
02FY2025 · 23 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k21 grants · $48k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $45k
$1,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$176k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ANN & ROBERT H LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO FOUNDATION$25,000
NORTHWEST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION$20,000
FISTULA FOUNDATION$7,500
SPARKY PRODUCTIONS$7,500
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER$5,000
ANTI DEFAMATION LEAGUE$5,000
JEWISH UNITED FUND$5,000
BACK BAY RINGERS$5,000
NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK$3,250
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN$2,000
ACLU$1,000
TELLURIDE MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION$1,000
SONIA SHANKMAN ORTHOGENIC SCHOOL$1,000
AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE$1,000
ST JUDE'S CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL$1,000
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 (FY19–24, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 50% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%MOUNTAIN SEED FOUNDATION: $1k → 6%YOUNG CENTER FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: $1k → 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

MT
IL
NY
MA
PA
CT
CA
CO
VA
TN
DC
AL
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.

67%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$174k · 21 repeat orgs$86k to everyone else

21 repeat relationships: 16 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
11

Total granted

$174k
$28k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
+39%

Still filing today

76%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 37% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $58k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHealthCrime & LegalHuman ServicesCivil RightsFood & 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

  • The Fistula Foundation
    7× · 2019–2025 · $45k · revenue +74%
  • JU
    JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
    7× · 2019–2025 · $35k · revenue +57%
  • SP
    SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC
    6× · 2019–2025 · $27k · revenue +28%

Funded once

  • LC
    LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO
    one grant, 2023 · $15k
  • S
    SPARKY
    one grant, 2024 · $8k
  • MS
    MOUNTAIN SEED FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $1k · revenue +512%
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
Lyric Opera of Chicago

We believe in the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great art and opera. Lyric Opera of Chicago exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to the Chicago region and the nation, and to advance the…

Arts & Culture
2
Simon Wiesenthal Center Inc

Simon wiesenthal center, inc. (the center) is a global jewish human rights activist organization that confronts anti-semitism, hate, stands with israel, defends the safety of jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the holocaust for…

Arts & Culture
3
Chicago Sun-Times Media Inc

Chicago sun-times serves the public interest by strengthening the well-being of our local communities and our democracy through independent local journalism.

—
4
National Opinion Research Center

See schedule onorc at the university of chicago conducts research and data science on critical societal issues to guide decision-making and the development of programs and public policy. our experts identify relationships and trends, and…

Social Science
5
Loyola University of Chicago

We are chicago's jesuit, catholic university - a diverse community seeking god in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.

Education
6
Open Transformation Lab Inc

The missions is to provide information and resources to counter disinformation, propaganda, and offer a window to trusted content about the events that are going on in the Middle East.

Science & Tech
7
Junior Achievement of Chicago

To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy

International
8
Chicago Public Education Fund

The chicago public education fund (the fund) is a nonprofit organization that improves public schools in chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them.

Education
9
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
10
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…

—
11
Open Technology Fund

The open technology fund aims to advance internet freedom globally by supporting the research, development, implementation, and maintenance of technologies that provide secure and uncensored access to the internet.

Arts & Culture
12
Southwestern Law School

For more than a century, southwestern has educated lawyers ready to serve clients, the profession, and our society with excellence. we empower students to reach their potential. we cultivate inclusion and belonging. we promote equity and…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Horticultural Society; the most unlike its peers is Sparky Productions 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

27 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 27 of the 39 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
20/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Fistula Foundation: $45,000 · HealthThe Fistula FoundationAnn & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Foundation: $25,000 · HealthAnn & Robert H Lurie Children's H…ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $3,000 · HealthTHE TELLURIDE MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $3,000 · Health+1 more: $250 · HealthNORTHWEST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $20,000 · OtherNORTHWEST MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONLURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO: $15,000 · OtherLURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CH…SONIA SHANKMAN ORTHOGENIC SCHOOL: $7,500 · OtherSONIA SHANKMAN ORTHOGENIC SCHOO…SPARKY: $7,500 · OtherSPARKYACLU: $5,750 · OtherACLUGENESYS WORKS CHICAGO: $2,500 · OtherWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $5,000 · OtherWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC+12 more: $9,380 · Other+12 moreJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $35,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNITED F…SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $26,500 · Crime & LegalSOUTHERN POVE…EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND INC: $2,750 · Crime & LegalEVERYTOWN FOR…+2 more: $1,000 · Crime & LegalANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $22,000 · Civil RightsANTI-DEFAM…AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $3,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN J…Sparky Productions Inc: $7,500 · Arts & CultureBack Bay Ringers Inc: $5,000 · Arts & CultureURBAN GATEWAYS: $750 · Arts & CultureWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $700 · Arts & CulturePeace Corps Foundation: $500 · Arts & CultureWriters Theatre Inc: $500 · Arts & CultureNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $4,000 · Food & NutritionGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $2,000 · Food & Nutrition
Health$76,250Other$72,630Philanthropy$35,000Crime & Legal$30,250Civil Rights$25,000Arts & Culture$14,950Food & Nutrition$6,000

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 budgetThe Fistula Foundation: $45,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $35,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $26,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $22,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $5,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBack Bay Ringers Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 8.4% of budgetNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TELLURIDE MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetEVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND INC: $2,750 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSunbird Initiative: $1,250 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMOUNTAIN SEED FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE YOUNG CENTER FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDRENS RIGHTS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetURBAN GATEWAYS: $750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $630 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH SUBURBAN LEGAL AID CLINIC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPeace Corps Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWriters Theatre Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JOSSELYN CENTER NFP: $250 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.

Robert & Susan Star F…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Robert & Susan Star FoundationIL13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Robert & Susan Star Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Bank of America Charitable 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 Morton S Abelson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Morton S Abelson Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Sandy Hook Promise Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 Morton S Abelson Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Morton S Abelson 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 39 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 Morton S Abelson’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