Skip to content

· Private foundation

Roger and Paula Leyden 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.

$40k
Granted FY2025still arriving
18
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$6k
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.

Arts & Culture$56kHealth$41kEducation$32kPhilanthropy$26kYouth Development$15kCrime & Legal$8kAnimals$5kFood & Nutrition$4kOther$0
02FY2025 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$2,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$387k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE$6,000
GULF COAST SYMPHONY$5,000
JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY$3,000
CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING$3,000
SPECIAL EQUESTRIANS INC$3,000
Individual grant recipient$2,500
NORTH CATHOLIC FOUNDATION$2,500
CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN$2,000
THE CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE$2,000
KIDS INC$2,000
RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION$1,500
UNCOMMON FRIENDS FOUNDATION$1,000
THE HEIGHTS FOUNDATION$1,000
DRESS FOR SUCCESS SW FLORIDA$1,000
ABUSE COUNSELING & TREATMENT INC$1,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY18–25, $14k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 14% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CHILD CARE OF SW FLORIDA INC: $2k → 9%WATERLEAF WOMENS CENTER: $11k → 7%THE CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE: $2k → 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.

65%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$131k · 17 repeat orgs$69k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +15% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

17 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
18

Total granted

$131k
$56k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+15%
+7%

Still filing today

65%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesFood & NutritionArts & CultureHealthEducationCrime & LegalOther
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

  • GC
    GULF COAST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $14k · revenue +25%
  • SE
    SPECIAL EQUESTRIANS INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $14k · revenue +15%
  • HI
    HOPE IGNITES CHICAGO
    4× · 2021–2024 · $12k · revenue +45%

Funded once

  • FC
    FLAGG CREEK HERITAGE SOCIETY
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
  • WW
    Waterleaf Women's Center Incgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $11k · revenue +55%
  • Exploit No More Inc
    one grant, 2021 · $5k · revenue -42%
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
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
2
Goodwill Industries of Northern Il and Wi Stateline Area Inc

The mission of goodwill is to create opportunities for individuals with barriers to enhance their lives. barriers include physical or mental disabilities, lack of education and job preparation, socio-economic disadvantages, and others.…

—
3
Florida Community Health Centers Inc

Florida community health centers, inc. (fchc) is a federally qualified health center serving medically needy populations in south florida, with an emphasis on serving rural and farm worker communities.

—
4
Nourishing Hope

Nourishing hope provides food, mental health support, and social services to help all our neighbors thrive.

—
5
The Hospice Institute of the Florida Suncoast Inc

Suncoast hospice institute is now inactive.

—
6
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management

Lake Forest Graduate School of Management's mission is to bring the real world to business education and leadership development.

—
7
Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute

The chicago psychoanalytic institute transforms the lives of individuals, families and communities, using psychoanalytic knowledge to help them grow and thrive.

Social Science
8
The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast Inc

Suncoast hospice's mission is to be the center to improve life for those touched by advanced illness, death, dying, grief, bereavement and other end-of-life issues.

Human Services
9
Hilbert College

Hilbert college is an independent institution of higher learning that embraces its catholic franciscan heritage and values. students from diverse backgrounds are educated in liberal arts and professional programs to become informed…

Education
10
Heart of Florida United Way Inc

The mission of heart of florida united way is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our communities. this is accomplished by standing up for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in central florida.

Philanthropy
11
Sinnissippi Centers Inc

It is the mission of sinnissippi centers, inc. to provide quality, coordinated and responsive behavioral healthcare services to individuals, families and the communities we serve.

Health
12
Illinois College

Illinois college is a co-educational institution of higher education learning providing a four-year educational program leading to the baccalaureate degree. illinois college is a community committed to the highest standards of scholarship…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired; the most unlike its peers is The Hilgos Foundation. 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

23 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. 23 of the 41 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/23
Grantees still filing
11/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FLAGG CREEK HERITAGE SOCIETY: $19,930 · OtherFLAGG CREEK HERITAGE SOCIETYJOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY: $19,000 · OtherJOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITYHOPE IGNITES CHICAGO: $11,750 · OtherHOPE IGNITES CHICAGOIndividual grant recipient: $10,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTHE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INC: $10,000 · OtherTHE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INCNORTH CATHOLIC FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherNORTH CATHOLIC FOUNDATIONFL REPERTORY THEATRE: $10,000 · OtherFL REPERTORY THEATREFLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE: $6,000 · Other+21 more: $33,500 · Other+21 moreGULF COAST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $13,500 · Arts & CultureGULF COAST…RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $3,000 · Arts & CultureRAVINIA FE…UNCOMMON FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 · Arts & CultureUNCOMMON F…SPECIAL EQUESTRIANS INC: $13,500 · HealthSPECIAL E…ABUSE COUNSELING & TREATMENT INC: $3,500 · HealthABUSE COU…Waterleaf Women's Center Inc: $10,710 · Human ServicesTHE CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED: $2,000 · Human ServicesCHILD CARE OF SW FLORIDA INC: $1,500 · Human ServicesGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $8,000 · EducationBRADLEY UNIVERSITY: $2,500 · EducationExploit No More Inc: $5,000 · Crime & LegalSOUTH WEST FLORIDA HORSE RESCUE INC: $4,500 · Animals
Other$130,680Arts & Culture$18,500Health$17,000Human Services$14,210Education$10,500Crime & Legal$5,000Animals$4,500

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 budgetGULF COAST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $13,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetSPECIAL EQUESTRIANS INC: $13,500 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetHOPE IGNITES CHICAGO: $11,750 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWaterleaf Women's Center Inc: $10,710 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INC: $10,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetExploit No More Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetSOUTH WEST FLORIDA HORSE RESCUE INC: $4,500 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetABUSE COUNSELING & TREATMENT INC: $3,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBRADLEY UNIVERSITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGLADIOLUS FOOD PANTRY INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNCOMMON FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCHILD CARE OF SW FLORIDA INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEVANSTON WILMETTE GOLF COURSE ASSOCIATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHARRY CHAPIN FOOD BANK OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNAMI Chicago: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Hilgos Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetPACE CENTER FOR GIRLSINC: $1,000 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.

Southwest Florida Community Foundation IncFL15.5× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Southwest Florida Community Foundation Inc · The Chicago Community Trust · Fred & Jean Allegretti Foundation · The United Way of Lee County Inc · AbbVie Foundation · Baird Foundation Inc · Enterprise Holdings Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Pace Center for Girlsinc: 2% of income from government
  • Special Equestrians Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 Roger and Paula Leyden Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Roger and Paula Leyden 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 41 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 Roger and Paula Leyden’s filings →

More from the funding graph