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Plinth

· Public charity

Northwestern University

Northwestern is committed to excellent teaching, innovative research and the personal and intellectual growth of its students in a diverse academic community.

$749M
Granted FY2024still arriving
375
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$8.6M
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Science & Tech$313MHealth$224MEducation$184MPhilanthropy$9.2MSocial Science$4.1MYouth Development$3.9MHuman Services$3.6MEnvironment$3.3MOther$0
02FY2024 · 375 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 375 grants below total $122,398,617 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $749,377,157 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $626,978,540 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k35 grants · $256k
  • $10k–50k129 grants · $3.0M
  • $50k–250k110 grants · $12M
  • $250k+101 grants · $107M
$63,068
Median grant
3
States reached
$19.2B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
University of Chicago$8,566,923
Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago$5,714,053
Stanford University$4,738,598
University of Illinois at Chicago$4,558,221
Erie Family Health Center$3,418,163
University of California Berkeley$2,524,924
Johns Hopkins University$2,446,657
Washington University in St Louis$2,240,426
University of Minnesota$2,044,985
University of California San Francisco$2,039,122
Cornell University$1,983,290
Columbia University$1,978,886
Rice University$1,951,763
University of Pittsburgh$1,840,423
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago$1,756,567
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–23, $3.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 90% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Community Action Project of Tulsa County Inc: $89k → 15%Juvenile Protective Association: $67k → 14%Community Action Project of Tulsa County Inc: $85k → 15%MMSLN: $52k → 21%Metropolitan Asian Family Services: $118k → 7%Metropolitan Asian Family Services: $98k → 7%Metropolitan Asian Family Services: $56k → 7%Center on Halsted: $71k → 14%Cradles to Crayons: $897k → 16%Metropolitan Asian Family Services: $48k → 7%Start Small Think Big: $53k → 17%Total Resource Community Development Organization: $142k → 14%Total Resource Community Development Organization: $111k → 14%Total Resource Community Development Organization: $90k → 14%CHILDRENS HOME & AID: $661k → 14%Illinois Science and Technology Institute: $71k → 14%McGaw YMCA: $259k → 14%McGaw YMCA: $181k → 14%McGaw YMCA: $137k → 14%McGaw YMCA: $56k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

ME
VT
WA
ID
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$681M · 470 repeat orgs$22M to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +41% since the first grant, against +23% for the ones you funded once.

470 repeat relationships — 253 still active in FY2024, 217 since wound down; 110 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

470
160

Total granted

$681M
$11M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+23%

Still filing today

60%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $11M 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
HealthEducationHuman ServicesScience & TechArts & CultureCivil RightsOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • University of Chicago
    8× · 2017–2024 · $83M · revenue +56%
  • Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
    8× · 2017–2024 · $36M · revenue +60%
  • EF
    Erie Family Health Center Inc
    8× · 2017–2024 · $13M · revenue +114%

Funded once

  • GP
    GIGI'S PLAYHOUSE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $958k · revenue +117% · 27% of their budget
  • CI
    COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF CHICAGO
    one grant, 2019 · $912k · revenue -35%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO
    one grant, 2019 · $723k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
University of Chicago Medical Center

Our mission at the university of chicago medicine is to provide superior health care through rigorous research, innovative education, and comprehensive care and healing. in partnership with our colleagues, we pursue life-changing…

Health
2
Stony Brook Internists University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
3
Neurology Associates of Stony Brook University Faculty Practice Corp

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
4
New York Genome Center Inc

Operate a state-of-the-art, world-class genomic research center that creates and uses advanced genomics to understand the genetic basis of disease. for more information, see schedule o.

Health
5
University of Minnesota Physicians

University of minnesota physicians serves as the integrated group practice for the university of minnesota medical school full-time faculty to provide the highest quality healthcare to patients and their families.university of minnesota…

Health
6
University Family Physicians Inc

Engage actively and continuously in medical research, education and training in the practice of medicine in conjunction with the department of family medicine of the indiana university school of medicine and indiana university…

7
Stanley Manne Childrens Research Institute

Stanley manne children's research institute strives to generate new knowledge and advance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of pediatric diseases.

Health
8
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

We educate the next generation of leaders to improve the health of our society.

Education
9
Stony Brook Urology University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
10
Uchicago Medicine Network Inc

Uchicago medicine network, inc. supports and encourages health and human service by providing support, directly or indirectly to ingalls memorial hospital, the university of chicago medical center, and other related tax-exempt…

Health
11
Indiana University Health Care Associates Inc

To deliver preeminent medical care and service to our patients and communities through outstanding and innovative medical leadership and practice, while participating in and supporting excellence in education and research. We achieve this…

Health
12
University Associates in Obstetrics and Gynecology University Faculty Pract ice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Health and Medicine Policy Research Group and the most unlike its peers is Chicago Cred Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyFaith-Based Liberal Arts Co…Cancer Support ServicesHealth Access Advocacy and …Jewish Community Organizati…Military Veterans SupportPolicy Research and AdvocacyLgbtq+ Community SupportIndependent K-12 SchoolsElementary Literacy TutoringDomestic Violence ServicesImmigrant Worker SupportOrchestra and Ensemble Perf…Child Abuse Advocacy Servic…Affordable Housing Developm…Pregnancy Support ServicesWomen & Girls Leadership De…Addiction Recovery ServicesDance Arts OrganizationsYouth Sports ProgramsYouth Development ServicesSenior Support ServicesCommunity Arts CentersPublic Library OperationsFood Banks and PantriesUnited Way AffiliatesYmca Youth DevelopmentSchool District FoundationsYouth Development CentersCommunity College Foundatio…Environmental Conservation …Community Foundations
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 41 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%1%<5yr14%4%5–10yr19%16%10–20yr16%19%20–35yr13%25%35–55yr16%34%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%0%<5yr14%2%5–10yr19%8%10–20yr16%7%20–35yr13%13%35–55yr16%69%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 1% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.8% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.8%6/757
the rest of the field
13%
240,391/1,818,808

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

499 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 499 of the 757 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

10
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
63
Early backer (in before they grew)
484/499
Grantees still filing
354/499
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS — $49,170,024 · OtherTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLI…UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL — $10,244,080 · Other+98 more — $234,335,409 · Other+98 moreUniversity of Chicago — $83,012,501 · EducationUniversity of ChicagoTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY — $13,452,451 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STA…JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY — $12,890,981 · EducationWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY — $10,624,115 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH — $10,070,293 · EducationDUKE UNIVERSITY — $9,325,733 · EducationTeachers College Columbia University — $8,886,480 · EducationVanderbilt University — $8,513,783 · Education+35 more — $87,285,897 · Education+35 moreAnn & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago — $36,383,487 · HealthAnn & Robert H Lurie C…Erie Family Health Center Inc — $13,157,225 · HealthErie Family Health Cen…Rush University Medical Center — $11,253,025 · HealthRush University Medica…THE SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE — $8,252,812 · HealthTHE SCRIPPS RESEARCH I…Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago — $5,609,804 · HealthBOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION — $5,533,972 · Health+41 more — $60,294,983 · Health+41 moreJEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO — $6,978,901 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO — $1,018,675 · PhilanthropyEvanston Community Foundation — $673,880 · PhilanthropySAGE BIONETWORKS — $5,496,851 · Science & TechThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies — $1,317,626 · Science & TechJ CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE — $555,053 · Science & TechSANTA FE INSTITUTE — $466,489 · Science & TechCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY — $1,825,000 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD TECHNOLOGY — $1,062,761 · EnvironmentNATIONAL OPINION RESEARCH CENTER — $2,694,727 · Social Science
Other$293,749,513Education$244,062,234Health$140,485,308Philanthropy$8,671,456Science & Tech$7,836,019Environment$2,887,761Social Science$2,694,727

Showing your 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetUniversity of Chicago — $83,012,501 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetAnn & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago — $36,383,487 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY — $13,452,451 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetErie Family Health Center Inc — $13,157,225 over 8y, 2.8% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY — $12,890,981 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetRush University Medical Center — $11,253,025 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY — $10,624,115 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH — $10,070,293 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetDUKE UNIVERSITY — $9,325,733 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTeachers College Columbia University — $8,886,480 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetVanderbilt University — $8,513,783 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE — $8,252,812 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College — $8,058,696 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO — $6,978,901 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA — $6,490,684 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND — $5,799,201 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University — $5,773,791 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI — $5,639,063 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetRehabilitation Institute of Chicago — $5,609,804 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetBOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION — $5,533,972 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetSAGE BIONETWORKS — $5,496,851 over 6y, 6.6% of budgetCornell University — $4,831,494 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY — $4,668,762 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology — $4,530,587 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCarnegie Mellon University — $4,457,151 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION — $3,861,177 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetTHE HEKTOEN INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE — $3,854,834 over 8y, 1.9% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER — $3,743,884 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetEmory University — $3,368,939 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University — $3,350,979 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — $3,333,464 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE J DAVID GLADSTONE INSTITUTES — $3,251,126 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetThe Broad Institute Inc — $3,212,262 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetYale University — $2,814,456 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA — $2,814,186 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORPORATION — $2,785,863 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetBaylor College of Medicine — $2,773,088 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetACCESS COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK — $2,713,053 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetNATIONAL OPINION RESEARCH CENTER — $2,694,727 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetResearch Foundation of the City University of New York — $2,691,479 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetGEISINGER HEALTH — $2,619,648 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE — $2,183,388 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Miami — $2,158,035 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER — $2,142,709 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetDEPAUL UNIVERSITY — $2,074,858 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMAGEE-WOMENS RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND FOUNDATION — $2,071,734 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetCEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER — $1,968,756 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetKAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITALS — $1,895,847 over 8y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds University of Chicago
  • Who funds Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY
  • Who funds Erie Family Health Center Inc
  • Who funds JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
  • Who funds Rush University Medical Center
  • Who funds WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
  • Who funds DUKE UNIVERSITY
  • Who funds Teachers College Columbia University
  • Who funds Vanderbilt University
  • Who funds THE SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
  • Who funds President and Fellows of Harvard College
  • Who funds JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
  • Who funds THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND
  • Who funds William Marsh Rice University
  • Who funds ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
  • Who funds Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
  • Who funds BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION
  • Who funds SAGE BIONETWORKS
  • Who funds Cornell University

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

University of ChicagoIL73.4× affinity39 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: University of Chicago · The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York · Evanston Community Foundation · University of Pittsburgh · Washington University · Trustees of Boston University · Emory University · Vanderbilt University Medical Center · Yale University · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · Johns Hopkins University · University of Miami

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Northwestern University funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 11%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology35% of income from government
  • University of Delaware30% of income from government
  • Max Planck Florida Corporation23% of income from government
  • Boston Medical Center Corporation23% of income from government
  • The Broad Institute Inc19% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University12% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University12% of income from government
  • Yale University12% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Princeton University11% of income from government
  • Children's Hospital Corporation10% of income from government
  • Baystate Medical Center Inc9% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College7% of income from government
  • Northeastern University7% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc7% of income from government
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Inc6% of income from government
  • University of Miami5% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc2% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Middlebury College1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
15report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 757 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph