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Project Projects Chicago NFP at a glance

· Private foundation

Project Projects Chicago NFP

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.

$57k
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$46k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0186% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Food & Nutrition$49kHuman Services$5kCivil Rights$3kHealth$3kHousing & Shelter$3kArts & Culture$2kEnvironment$1kCrime & Legal$1kOther$0
02FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k12 grants · $11k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $46k
$512
Median grant
3
States reached
$7k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BEYOND HUNGER$46,219
PLUS1$2,764
THE ALLY COALITION$2,418
ARTS OF LIFE INC$1,479
Individual grant recipient$1,100
CRITICAL RESISTANCE$945
BANDWITH MUSIC$512
KITCHEN POSSIBLE$505
Individual grant recipient$500
Individual grant recipient$296
Individual grant recipient$265
CHICAGO WILDERNESS ALLIANCE$200
Individual grant recipient$200
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 (FY18–23, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SOCIAL WORKS: $204 → 14%WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: $149 → 14%ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGO: $674 → 14%PILSEN FOOD PANTRY: $232 → 14%BRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $763 → 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 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
True Chicago
Arts & Culture
2
United Way of Illinois

Strengthen United Way movement in Illinois

Philanthropy
3
Chicago Freedom Trust
Philanthropy
4
Chicago Jobs With Justice

The mission of Chicago Jobs with Justice is to build a strong and progressive labor movement that works in coalition with student, faith and community organizations to win important campaigns for workers' rights and social and economic…

Civil Rights
5
Chicago United for Equity

Connecting and amplifying the power of individuals to build a just, equitable, and inclusive city.

Civil Rights
6
Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance

Cafha provides training and technical assistance to a wide array of stakeholders combating housing discrimination and promoting equitable place-based opportunity through education, advocacy, and collaborative action.

—
7
Heal Chicago

To strengthen communities through educational dialogue, leadership development, emotional resilience, and intercultural competence programs that help people bridge differences and build trust.

Public Benefit
8
Students Run Chicago
Health
9
Live Free Chicago

Live Free Illinois is a statewide organization partnering with over 120 congregations and directly impacted individuals to build safer more equitable communities across Illinois. Operating at the intersection of criminal justice reform and…

—
10
The Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence

The Network is a group of 40+ member organizations dedicated to improving the lives of those impacted by gender-based violence through education, public policy and advocacy, and connecting community members with direct service providers.…

Human Services
11
Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition

Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition's Guaranteed Green Sustainability Education Program educates foodservice operators about assessing the present state of their operation's environmental sustainability and helps them to develop a plan to…

—
12
Raise the Floor Alliance

To ensure that low-wage workers have access to quality jobs and are empowered to uphold and improve workplace standards.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Inc; the most unlike its peers is Meals On Wheels. 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

24 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. 24 of the 35 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/24
Grantees still filing
15/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BEYOND HUNGER: $46,219 · Food & NutritionBEYOND HUNGER+2 more: $1,658 · Food & NutritionPLUS1: $2,764 · OtherPLUS1Individual grant recipient: $1,100 · OtherIndividual grant…ALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES: $920 · OtherALLIANCE FOR THE…Individual grant recipient: $802 · OtherIndividual grant…REBUILD FOUNDATION: $639 · OtherREBUILD FOUNDATI…AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF ILLINOIS: $595 · OtherAMERICAN CIVIL L…Individual grant recipient: $500 · OtherGrocery Run Club: $433 · OtherMUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC: $853 · OtherMUSCULAR DYSTROP…Kitchen Possible Inc: $505 · Other+9 more: $1,645 · Other+9 moreTHE ALLY COALITION INC: $2,418 · Civil RightsTHE CLINIC VEST PROJECT: $2,197 · Civil RightsCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $3,178 · Housing & ShelterBRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $763 · Human ServicesASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGO: $674 · Human ServicesFIGUEROA WU FAMILY FOUNDATION: $232 · Human ServicesSOCIALWORKS: $204 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $149 · Human ServicesTHE ARTS OF LIFE INC: $1,479 · Arts & CultureBANDWITH MUSIC LTD: $512 · Arts & CultureCritical Resistance: $945 · Crime & LegalChicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Inc: $285 · Crime & LegalEVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY ACTION FUND INC: $131 · Crime & Legal
Food & Nutrition$47,877Other$10,756Civil Rights$4,615Housing & Shelter$3,178Human Services$2,022Arts & Culture$1,991Crime & Legal$1,361

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 budgetBEYOND HUNGER: $46,219 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $3,178 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ALLY COALITION INC: $2,418 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE CLINIC VEST PROJECT: $2,197 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetTHE ARTS OF LIFE INC: $1,479 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $1,041 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCritical Resistance: $945 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES: $920 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC: $853 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE: $763 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGO: $674 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF ILLINOIS: $595 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBANDWITH MUSIC LTD: $512 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKitchen Possible Inc: $505 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetChicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Inc: $285 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFIGUEROA WU FAMILY FOUNDATION: $232 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $149 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP: $146 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $141 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRESILIENCE: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUSIC FOR RELIEF: $70 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.

John D and Catherine …The Chicago Community…United Way of Metropo…The Blackbaud Giving …Charities Aid Foundat…American Endowment Fo…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Network for GoodPaypal Charitable Giv…American Online Givin…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…
John D and Catherine T Macarthur FoundationIL16.7× affinity6 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 · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America · American Endowment Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Network for Good · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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 Project Projects Chicago NFP funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Project Projects Chicago NFP. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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.
    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Project Projects Chicago NFP?

    Find your warmest path to Project Projects Chicago NFP 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 35 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 Project Projects Chicago NFP’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