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Nib Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Private foundation

Nib Foundation

Its FY2018 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2.7M
Granted FY2018
28
Grants FY2018
7
States reached
$560k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2018.

Arts & Culture$3.2MAnimals$280kEnvironment$90kFood & Nutrition$15k
02FY2018 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k6 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $327k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $410k
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.9M
$15,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JOFFREY BALLET$560,000
LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO$550,000
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE$495,000
METROPOLITAN OPERA$300,000
AUDITORIUM THEATRE OF ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY$200,000
PAWS$150,000
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER$60,000
Individual grant recipient$45,000
RUTH PAGE CIVIC BALLET OF CHICAGO$40,000
Individual grant recipient$40,000
MUSIC THEATER WORKS$37,000
REAL CRUZAN CATS$35,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
LAKESIDE PRIDE MUSIC ENTERPRISE$15,000
CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY$15,000
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 (FY17–18) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 98% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%REAL CRUZAN CATS: $35k → 8%JOYCE THEATRE FOUNDATION: $5k → 17%PEACEFUL VALLEY DONKEY RESCUE: $10k → 13%NATIONAL PARK FEDERATION: $10k → 14%MONTGOMERY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $150k → 18%FRIED'S CAT SHELTER INC: $5k → 15%CHICAGO FESTIVAL BALLET: $5k → 7%RAVINIA FESTIVAL: $10k → 8%PAWS: $150k → 14%REAL CRUZAN CATS: $5k → 8%METROPOLITAN OPERA: $300k → 17%MONTGOMERY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $45k → 18%PAWS: $50k → 14%AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE: $495k → 17%BALLET CHICAGO: $40k → 14%AUDITORIUM THEATRE OF ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY: $200k → 14%BALLET CHICAGO: $10k → 14%AUDITORIUM THEATRE OF ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY: $100k → 14%OPENLANDS PROJECT: $5k → 14%CEDILLE RECORDS: $25k → 14%FELINES AND CANINES: $5k → 14%ENSEMBLE ESPAGNOLE: $15k → 14%FELINES AND CANINES: $5k → 14%ENSEMBLE ESPAGNOLE: $10k → 14%THE PAGE RUTH FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%RUTH PAGE CIVIC BALLET OF CHICAGO: $40k → 14%MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO: $15k → 14%CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATRE: $5k → 14%LAKESIDE PRIDE MUSIC ENTERPRISE: $15k → 14%LAKESIDE PRIDE MUSIC ENTERPRISE: $10k → 14%TOUCHED BY AN ANIMAL: $5k → 14%MERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $10k → 14%MUSIC THEATER WORKS: $37k → 14%DANCE FOR LIFE: $3k → 14%CHICAGO DANCERS UNITED: $3k → 14%LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO: $550k → 14%LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO: $200k → 14%CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $15k → 14%CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $10k → 14%JOFFREY BALLET: $560k → 14%JOFFREY BALLET: $250k → 14%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER: $60k → 14%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER: $25k → 14%CHICAGO OPERA THEATRE: $10k → 14%HARRIS THEATRE FOR MUSIC AND DANCE: $10k → 14%HARRIS THEATRE FOR MUSIC AND DANCE: $10k → 14%RED DOOR ANIMAL SHELTER: $5k → 14%CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $15k → 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.

71%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.5M · 13 repeat orgs$1.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +66% since the first grant, against +53% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
8

Total granted

$2.5M
$58k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+66%
+53%

Still filing today

77%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 63% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $975k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18
Arts & CultureAnimalsEnvironmentOther
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

  • TJ
    THE JOFFREY BALLET
    2× · 2017–2018 · $810k · revenue +90%
  • LO
    Lyric Opera of Chicago
    2× · 2017–2018 · $750k · revenue +33%
  • AT
    Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Inc
    2× · 2017–2018 · $300k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • MO
    MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
    one grant, 2017 · $15k · revenue +0%
  • TP
    THE PAGE RUTH FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +53%
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
Chamber Opera of Chicago
—
2
Classical Music Chicago

Presenting free high-quality classical music performances and music education experiences in the Chicago metropolitan area for people of all ages and degrees of musical awareness so they can experience how music enriches life.

Arts & Culture
3
Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

Creating innovative puppetry performances utilizing musical, literary, and puppetry traditions.

Arts & Culture
4
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra

Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra's mission as a professional orchestra is to utilize the universal expression of music to create profound, inspiring, and personal connections between the people and communities of Chicagos Southland.

Arts & Culture
5
A Red Orchid Theatre

A Red Orchid Theatre is an ensemble of artists dedicated to the proliferation of live theatre in the modern world.

Arts & Culture
6
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre

To use multiple artistic forms (primarily dance and music) and the combined talents of our diverse company to convey intense personal narratives. We are proudly and visibly multicultural, exploring the intersection of heritage, culture,…

Arts & Culture
7
Chicago Sinfonietta Inc

Chicago Sinfonietta is a professional orchestra dedicated to modeling and promoting diversity, inclusion, and both racial and cultural equity in the arts through the universal language of symphonic music. Our core values are built around…

Arts & Culture
8
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Opera theatre's mission is to shape a vibrant future for opera by connecting, inspiring, and entertaining our communities through the power and beauty of the art form; to foster the next generation by empowering a diverse group of artists,…

Arts & Culture
9
Natya Dance Theatre

Preserves and perpetuates bharata natyam, one of the great classical dance forms of india, in all its classical rigor, and moves the art form in innovative directions to foster cultural exchange through dance.

Arts & Culture
10
Chicago Theatre Group Inc

The chicago theatre group is committed to producing both classic and contemporary works giving full voice to a wide range of artists and visions. by dedicating itself to three guiding principles - quality, equity, and community - the…

Arts & Culture
11
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) creates intimate, transformative experiences that connect the musically curious.

Arts & Culture
12
Cedille Chicago Nfp

Cedille Chicago, NFP is devoted to the activity of producing and marketing recordings of classical music by Chicago-area musicians and composers.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Shakespeare Theater; the most unlike its peers is Real Cruzan Cats. 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

25 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. 25 of the 36 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/25
Grantees still filing
21/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE JOFFREY BALLET: $810,000 · Arts & CultureTHE JOFFREY BALLETLyric Opera of Chicago: $750,000 · Arts & CultureLyric Opera of ChicagoBALLET THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $495,000 · Arts & CultureBALLET THEATRE FOUNDATION INCAuditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Inc: $300,000 · Arts & CultureAuditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Inc+10 more: $139,500 · Arts & Culture+10 moreMETROPOLITAN OPERA: $300,000 · OtherMETROPOLITAN OPERAIndividual grant recipient: $195,000 · OtherIndividual grant recip…Individual grant recipient: $50,000 · OtherIndividual grant recip…RUTH PAGE CIVIC BALLET OF CHICAGO: $40,000 · OtherRUTH PAGE CIVIC BALLET…Individual grant recipient: $25,000 · OtherEnsemble Espanol: $25,000 · OtherLAKESIDE PRIDE MUSIC ENTERPRISE: $25,000 · Other+6 more: $48,000 · Other+6 morePAWS INC: $200,000 · AnimalsREAL CRUZAN CATS: $40,000 · AnimalsPeaceful Valley Donkey Rescue Inc: $10,000 · AnimalsFelines Inc: $10,000 · Animals+4 more: $20,000 · AnimalsENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST: $85,000 · Environment
Arts & Culture$2,494,500Other$708,000Animals$280,000Environment$85,000

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 JOFFREY BALLET: $810,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetLyric Opera of Chicago: $750,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetBALLET THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $495,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetAuditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Inc: $300,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetPAWS INC: $200,000 over 2y, 58% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST: $85,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetREAL CRUZAN CATS: $40,000 over 2y, 60% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEnsemble Espanol: $25,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetMUSIC AND DANCE THEATER CHICAGO INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFelines Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetMERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOPENLANDS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Dance Health Fund: $2,500 over 1y, 1.8% 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.

John D and Catherine …The Chicago Community…Ncrc Community Develo…Elizabeth F Cheney Fo…Arthur J Gallagher Fo…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…American Endowment Fo…The Bank of America C…Paypal Charitable Giv…Network for GoodDonor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
John D and Catherine T Macarthur FoundationIL19× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Ncrc Community Development Fund Inc · Elizabeth F Cheney Foundation · Arthur J Gallagher Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Network for Good · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Nib Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Nib Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get 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 · 0–40%
    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 36 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Nib’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