Skip to content

Illinois · Private foundation

Robert G Weiss Family 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.

$72k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
21
Grants FY2025
22
Organizations funded FY2024
36%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$500
Largest grant, FY2025
$60,000
Organizations funded a year
16 to 28
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
3
Total assets, FY2025
$46k
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 36% of the organizations Robert G Weiss Family Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 2% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEnvironmentHealthPhilanthropyReligionOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving21$72k38%
FY202422$146k36%
FY202324$52k46%
FY202226$59k50%
FY202119$36k21%
FY202016$48k19%
FY201920$117k5%
FY201828$178k21%
94% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$432kHealth$134kReligion$103kEducation$73kInternational$12kCivil Rights$9kRecreation & Sports$6kEnvironment$5kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
OH
CA
NE
MO
MD
NM
DC
GA
TX

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Meryl Suzanne Weiss Fund$188,5003n/a
Lyric Opera of Chicago$168,70030%
The Santa Fe Opera$103,77630%
University of Chicago$60,00040%
Ravinia Festival Association$59,09670%
Chicago Symphony Orchestra$57,45090%
Temple Isaiah$30,9506n/a
Chicago Sinai Congregation$15,1253n/a
Temple Aliyah Inc$11,8036n/a
Anshe Emet Synagogue$11,2658n/a
Show all 64 grantees
All grantees of Robert G Weiss Family Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Meryl Suzanne Weiss Fund$188,5003n/a
Lyric Opera of Chicago$168,70030%
The Santa Fe Opera$103,77630%
University of Chicago$60,00040%
Ravinia Festival Association$59,09670%
Chicago Symphony Orchestra$57,45090%
Temple Isaiah$30,9506n/a
Chicago Sinai Congregation$15,1253n/a
Temple Aliyah Inc$11,8036n/a
Anshe Emet Synagogue$11,2658n/a
Chicago Humanities Festival$9,45050%
Old Town School of Folk Music$8,87570%
Claremont McKenna College$8,85070%
Khecari$6,12571%
Chicago Opera Theater$6,0001n/a
Chabad of Hyde Park$5,0002n/a
Grant Park Orchestral Association$4,50030%
Kenyon College$3,70020%
Chicago Dancemakers Forum$3,25040%
Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago$3,00030%
Museum of New Mexico Foundation$2,50010%
Los Angeles Philharmonic Association$2,24540%
Window to the World Communications Inc$2,00020%
Rush University Medical Center$2,00040%
Chicago Horticultural Society$1,90630%
Growing Home Inc$1,6202n/a
Friends of the Chicago River$1,6001n/a
Lensic Performing Arts Center$1,20010%
International Council for Small Business George Wash Univ Sch of Business$1,20011%
Franciscan Community Benefit Services$1,20020%
Camp Thunderbird Charitable Foundation$1,0501n/a
Normal Moments Inc$1,00022%
Chicago Cubs Charities$1,00010%
World Central Kitchen Inc$1,00010%
Blood Cancer United Inc$1,00020%
Opera America Inc$1,00010%
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center$1,00010%
Merit School of Music$1,00010%
Assistance in Healthcare Inc$79510%
American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois$70030%
Steppenwolf Theatre Company$67810%
North Shore Senior Center$65030%
The Morton Arboretum$59020%
Alzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders Association Inc$50010%
Hope Chicago Inc$50010%
Our House Inc$50010%
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago$4651n/a
Libenu$45020%
Jewish Child and Family Services$40020%
Tree House Humane Society Inc$25010%
Links Hall Inc$25020%
Friends of the Forest Preserves$20020%
Pro Publica Inc$20010%
The Selfhelp Home Inc$20010%
Foundation for Hearing and Speech Resources$17510%
Depaul University$15010%
Denver Botanic Gardens Inc$13510%
Skirball Cultural Center$12610%
Young People's Theatre of Chicago$10010%
Strides for Peace Inc$10010%
Keshet$10010%
Valley Beth Shalom$1001n/a
Montgomery Place$10010%
National Parks Conservation Association$2510%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 21 recipients with no EIN on record ($121k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Robert G Weiss Family Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLyric Opera of Chicago: $168,700 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Santa Fe Opera: $103,776 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $60,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetRavinia Festival Association: $59,096 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $57,450 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Humanities Festival: $9,450 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetOld Town School of Folk Music: $8,875 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetClaremont McKenna College: $8,850 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetKhecari: $6,125 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetGrant Park Orchestral Association: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetKenyon College: $3,700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Dancemakers Forum: $3,250 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetJewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMuseum of New Mexico Foundation: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLos Angeles Philharmonic Association: $2,245 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWindow to the World Communications Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRush University Medical Center: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Horticultural Society: $1,906 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLensic Performing Arts Center: $1,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Council for Small Business George Wash Univ Sch of Business: $1,200 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetFranciscan Community Benefit Services: $1,200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNormal Moments Inc: $1,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetChicago Cubs Charities: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWorld Central Kitchen Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBlood Cancer United Inc: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOpera America Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMerit School of Music: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAssistance in Healthcare Inc: $795 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Civil Liberties Union of Illinois: $700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSteppenwolf Theatre Company: $678 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNorth Shore Senior Center: $650 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Morton Arboretum: $590 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAlzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders Association Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHope Chicago Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOur House Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLibenu: $450 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJewish Child and Family Services: $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTree House Humane Society Inc: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLinks Hall Inc: $250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of the Forest Preserves: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPro Publica Inc: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Selfhelp Home Inc: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFoundation for Hearing and Speech Resources: $175 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDepaul University: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDenver Botanic Gardens Inc: $135 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSkirball Cultural Center: $126 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYoung People's Theatre of Chicago: $100 over 1y, 0.1% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 52.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

The Chicago Community TrustIL25.3× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation · Walder Foundation · Robert R McCormick Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Arkes Family Foundation · Builders Vision Foundation · Lloyd a Fry Foundation · Field Foundation of Illinois · Arie and Ida Crown Memorial

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.

Compare Robert G Weiss Family Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Robert G Weiss Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Robert G Weiss Family 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.

About Robert G Weiss Family Foundation

How much does Robert G Weiss Family Foundation give?
Robert G Weiss Family Foundation reported 21 grants totaling $72,496 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 16 and 28 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does Robert G Weiss Family Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Arts & Culture (51%), Health (16%), Religion (12%).
Who are Robert G Weiss Family Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Meryl Suzanne Weiss Fund ($189k), Lyric Opera of Chicago ($169k), The Santa Fe Opera ($104k).
Does Robert G Weiss Family Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 36% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Robert G Weiss Family Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Robert G Weiss Family Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Chicago Community Trust, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation.
Where is Robert G Weiss Family Foundation based?
Robert G Weiss Family Foundation is based in IL.

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 87 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 Robert G Weiss Family’s filings →

More from the funding graph