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· Public charity

Robert U and Roberta Goldman Family Foundation

The foundation is organized to foster, promote, support, develop, and maintain the broad charitable, educational, and/or religious purpose or functions as authorized by the charter of the jewish federation of metropolitan chicago and the by-laws of the foundation.

$180k
Granted FY2025still arriving
11
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$20k
Largest
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 2025.

Philanthropy$175kEducation$152kFood & Nutrition$113kYouth Development$110kHuman Services$98kHealth$85kArts & Culture$60kCommunity Improvement$35kOther$0
02FY2025 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 11 grants below total $119,500, the rows itemized in this filing. The $180,000 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $60,500 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k5 grants · $38k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $82k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$2.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
INSTITUTE FOR CURRICULUM SERVICES$20,000
HONEST REPORTING COM INC$15,000
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF LEKET ISRAEL INC$15,000
JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO$11,500
GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY$10,000
ROSECRANCE FOUNDATION$10,000
CHICAGO HOPES FOR KIDS$8,000
INTERFAITH AMERICA$7,500
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL) INC$7,500
NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK$7,500
CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING$7,500
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 (FY17–24, $85k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 47% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 9%Alternatives INC: $10k → 5%Alternatives INC: $8k → 5%CHICAGO METROPOLITAN BATTERED WOMEN'S NETWORK: $10k → 14%Alternatives INC: $8k → 5%Tri-Con Child Care Center: $20k → 8%CONNECTIONS FOR ABUSED WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN: $15k → 14%JEWISH CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES: $8k → 14%The ARK: $8k → 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.

55%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$462k · 9 repeat orgs$374k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
16

Total granted

$462k
$316k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+9%
+12%

Still filing today

89%
88%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 43% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $58k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesPhilanthropyArts & CultureEducationFood & NutritionReligionOther
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

  • CH
    Chicago Heightening Opportunity and Potential for
    5× · 2019–2025 · $132k · revenue +103%
  • BI
    BUILD INC
    5× · 2019–2023 · $95k · revenue +332%
  • TC
    THE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INC
    3× · 2023–2025 · $30k · revenue +44%

Funded once

  • JU
    JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
    one grant, 2024 · $100k · revenue -5%
  • JV
    Jewish Vocational Service & Employment Center
    one grant, 2017 · $25k
  • AL
    ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE
    one grant, 2024 · $25k · revenue -17%
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
Jewish Family Service

Jewish Family Service is a nonprofit social service organization that supports people of all faiths as they navigate through lifes's challenges - illness, aging , finanical uncertainty, mental health concerns, family problems, or personal…

—
2
Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants

Serving recently arrived migrants and asylum seekers in the Chicagoland area and is committed to upholding the dignity and human rights of immigrants.

Human Services
3
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…

—
4
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs

The Jewish Council on Urban Affair's (JCUA) longstanding mission is to combat poverty, racism and antisemitism working in partnership with diverse communities. JCUA uses a community organizing model to engage the Jewish community in the…

Community Improvement
5
Child Link Inc

Child Link provides foster care, family counseling, and therapy services to Chicago area adolescents who are at risk of homelessness. Child Link also refers adolescents to other agencies that are able to provide additional resources and…

Human Services
6
Center for Family Services

Administering an array of critical, intensive therapeutic interventions and/or facilitation services to emotionally and behaviorally disturbed clients for whom DCFS is legally responsible in order to stabilize their traditional or home of…

Human Services
7
Chicago Refugee Coalition

The Chicago Refugee Coalition is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated ot the alleviation of human suffering through innovative partnerships, advocacy and community empowerment.

Human Services
8
A Better Chicago

A better chicago is changing how chicago fights poverty by investing in bold ideas that create opportunity for our youth.

Human Services
9
Chicago Chesed Fund

To raise and distribute funds, goods, food, and assistance to the poverty-stricken in the jewish community.

Human Services
10
Chicago United for Equity

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

Civil Rights
11
Chicago Jobs Council

Chicago Jobs Council (CJC) pursues its mission through advocacy, applied research, public education and capacity-building initiatives focused on influencing the development or reform of public policies and programs. From 18 original…

—
12
Nijc Nfp

The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) is a leader in advancing immigrant rights through its unique strategy drawing on its legal services to promote legal reform through litigation, advocacy and strategic communications.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Jewish Child and Family Services; the most unlike its peers is Moraine Township Charitable Fund Charitable Fund. 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

31 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.

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)
28/31
Grantees still filing
18/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BUILD INC: $95,000 · OtherBUILD INCI Grow Chicago NFP: $35,000 · OtherI Grow Chicago NFPTHE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INC: $30,000 · OtherTHE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INCJewish Vocational Service & Employment Center: $25,000 · OtherJewish Vocational Service & Employ…ESPERANZA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $22,500 · OtherESPERANZA COMMUNITY SERVICESFAMILY SERVICE OF LAKE COUNTY: $12,500 · OtherREFUGEEONE: $15,000 · OtherREFUGEEONEYOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS: $15,000 · OtherYOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS+4 more: $28,000 · Other+4 moreJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $100,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METR…JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $69,500 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION OF METRO…ROSECRANCE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · PhilanthropyROSECRANCE FOUNDATION INCAMERICAN FRIENDS OF LEKET ISRAEL INC: $15,000 · PhilanthropyAMERICAN FRIENDS OF LEKET …+1 more: $5,650 · PhilanthropyChicago Heightening Opportunity and Potential for: $131,720 · EducationChicago Heightenin…INSTITUTE FOR CURRICULUM SERVICES: $20,000 · EducationINSTITUTE FOR CURR…GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $55,000 · Food & NutritionGREATER CHIC…NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $42,500 · Food & NutritionNORTHERN ILL…Alternatives Inc: $25,000 · Human ServicesAlternativ…TRI-CON CHILD CARE CENTER INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesTRI-CON CH…CONNECTIONS FOR ABUSED WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN: $15,000 · Human ServicesCONNECTION…THE NETWORK ADVOCATING AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: $10,000 · Human ServicesTHE NETWOR…THE ARK: $7,500 · Human ServicesTHE ARKJewish Child and Family Services: $7,500 · Human ServicesJewish Chi…The People's Music School: $25,000 · Arts & CultureUNITING VOICES: $20,000 · Arts & CultureHONESTREPORTINGCOM INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $25,000 · Civil Rights
Other$278,000Philanthropy$215,150Education$151,720Food & Nutrition$97,500Human Services$85,000Arts & Culture$60,000Civil Rights$25,000

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 budgetChicago Heightening Opportunity and Potential for: $131,720 over 5y, 6.1% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBUILD INC: $95,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $69,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $55,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $42,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetI Grow Chicago NFP: $35,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetJewish Vocational Service & Employment Center: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe People's Music School: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetROSECRANCE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetAlternatives Inc: $25,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetESPERANZA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $22,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetUNITING VOICES: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR CURRICULUM SERVICES: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetREFUGEEONE: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetYOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS: $15,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCONNECTIONS FOR ABUSED WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHONESTREPORTINGCOM INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFAMILY SERVICE OF LAKE COUNTY: $12,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE NETWORK ADVOCATING AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ARK: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL) INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNAMI Chicago: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJewish Child and Family Services: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINTERFAITH AMERICA: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMORAINE TOWNSHIP CHARITABLE FUND CHARITABLE FUND: $5,650 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetTHE BOULEVARD OF CHICAGO INC: $5,500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

United Way of Metropolitan Chicago IncIL21.6× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · The Chicago Community Trust · AbbVie Foundation · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · Impact Grants Chicago · Circle of Service Foundation · Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago (Aka) Vna Foundation · Michael Reese Health Trust · All Chicago Making Homelessness History · First Bank Chicago Foundation · Reva and David Logan Foundation · Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group

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 Robert U and Roberta Goldman Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert U and Roberta Goldman Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Alternatives Inc: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
11report 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, 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 Robert U and Roberta Goldman Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Robert U and Roberta Goldman 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.

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 31 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 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

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