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Russell and Josephine Kott Memorial Charitable Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Russell and Josephine Kott Memorial Charitable Trust

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.7M
Granted FY2025still arriving
45
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$380k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Human Services$3.4MEducation$1.7MHealth$1.4MPhilanthropy$898kReligion$656kCrime & Legal$488kFood & Nutrition$360kHousing & Shelter$341kOther$0
02FY2025 · 45 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $19k
  • $10k–50k31 grants · $581k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $710k
  • $250k+1 grant · $380k
$20,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$30M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AGEOPTIONS$380,000
CONCORDIA UNIVERISTY OPERATING$130,000
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT$100,000
CENTER FOR DISABILITY AND ELDER LAW$85,000
Individual grant recipient$70,000
LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR PALATINE$65,000
Individual grant recipient$60,000
AGING CARE CONNECTIONS$50,000
WEST COOK YMCA$50,000
NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER$50,000
LUTHERAN CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES$50,000
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF IL$45,000
CASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORPORATION$35,000
L'ARCHE CHICAGO$30,000
QUINN CENTER OF SAINT EULALIA$30,000
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 (FY17–25, $2.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 98% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $50k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $45k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $40k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $40k → 14%TALLER DE JOSE: $25k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $40k → 14%TALLER DE JOSE: $20k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $35k → 14%TALLER DE JOSE: $15k → 14%CHINESE MUTUAL AID ASSOCIATION INC: $25k → 14%CHINESE MUTUAL AID ASSOCIATION INC: $15k → 14%CENTER OF CONCERN: $35k → 14%CENTER OF CONCERN: $30k → 14%CENTER OF CONCERN: $25k → 14%CENTER OF CONCERN: $25k → 14%CENTER OF CONCERN: $25k → 14%DES PLAINES COMMUNITY SENIOR CENTER: $15k → 14%CENTER OF CONCERN: $15k → 14%CASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORP: $40k → 14%CASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORP: $35k → 14%CASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORPORATION: $35k → 14%CASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORP: $35k → 14%CASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORP: $35k → 14%CASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORP: $35k → 14%ILLINOIS SAINT ANDREW SOCIETY OF THE SOCITTISH OLD PEOPLES HOME: $35k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $35k → 14%AGING CARE CONNECTIONS: $75k → 14%AGING CARE CONNECTIONS: $75k → 14%AGING CARE CONNECTIONS: $60k → 14%AGING CARE CONNECTIONS: $50k → 14%AGING CARE CONNECTIONS: $45k → 14%AGING CARE CONNECTIONS: $40k → 14%AGING CARE CONNECTIONS: $40k → 14%AGEOPTIONS: $380k → 14%AGEOPTIONS: $45k → 14%AGEOPTIONS: $45k → 14%CHICAGO COMMONS ASSOCIATION: $15k → 14%AGEOPTIONS: $45k → 14%CHICAGO COMMONS ASSOCIATION: $15k → 14%AGEOPTIONS: $40k → 14%AGEOPTIONS: $40k → 14%COUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY: $20k → 14%LITTLE CITY FOUNDATION: $38k → 14%LITTLE CITY FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%LITTLE CITY FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%LITTLE CITY FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%LITTLE CITY FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%PALATINE TOWNSHIP SENIOR CITIZENS COUNCIL: $20k → 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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.8M · 41 repeat orgs$1.7M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

41 repeat relationships: 26 still active in FY2025, 15 since wound down; 19 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

41
29

Total granted

$7.8M
$1.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+9%

Still filing today

80%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 60% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $670k 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 & NutritionHousing & ShelterEducationHealthArts & CultureOther
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

  • AI
    AGEOPTIONS INC (FKA SUBURBAN AREA AGENCY ON AGING)
    6× · 2018–2025 · $595k · revenue +99%
  • CF
    Center for Disability & Elder Law Inc
    7× · 2017–2025 · $488k · revenue +217%
  • AC
    AGING CARE CONNECTIONS
    7× · 2017–2025 · $385k · revenue +59%

Funded once

  • KG
    KOTT GERONTOLOFY INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2021 · $200k
  • EL
    EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA
    one grant, 2017 · $150k
  • DU
    DEPAUL UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT LOCKBOX
    one grant, 2024 · $80k
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
Ageguide Northeastern Illinois Area On Aging

We strive to make aging easier through the development of a network of services for older persons designed to optimize the quality of their lives.

Food & Nutrition
2
Central Illinois Agency On Aging Inc

Central illinois agency on aging believes in the independence and dignity of older persons, and that each older person should be empowered to exert control over their own life & have access to needed services. we do planning, program…

—
3
Northwestern Il Area Agency On Aging

To enable older persons to live in dignity and independence.

—
4
Ailbe Senior Housing Corporation

Ailbe Senior Housing Corporation provides housing and services for the elderly, to meet their physical, social, and psycho-social needs.

Housing & Shelter
5
Meals On Wheels Chicago

Our mission is to ensure that Chicago seniors and people with disabilities benefit from nutritious meal programs that improve their quality of life and maximize independence.

Food & Nutrition
6
Norwood Crossing Association

Norwood crossing enhances the independence and well being of older adults; we provide older adults with a continuum of services and programs that are responsive to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the individual. we maintain…

Human Services
7
Lutheran Community Services for the Aged Inc

To provide community services including adult day, child care and home care .

—
8
Illinois Presbyterian Home

Operate homes for the aged and to conduct charitable and benevolent enterprises

Human Services
9
Eldercare Lake County

Promote the health and independence of lake county, il, older adults

Human Services
10
Seniors Assistance Center

Seniors Assistance Center provides necessary services to senior citizens of unincorporated Norwood Park Township, and the villages of Norridge and Harwood Heights. These services include home delivered meals, information and assistance,…

—
11
Community Care Health Plan Inc

Community care health plan's mission is to develop and demonstrate innovative, flexible, community-based approaches to care for at-risk adults, in order to optimize their quality of life and optimize the allocation of community resources.

Health
12
Hillsdale County Senior Services Center Inc

To support and promote a means for maintaining a senior center in order to achieve specific goals, based on the needs and interests of older persons, those 50 and older except for those programs that receive state and federal funding which…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is North Shore Senior Center; the most unlike its peers is Deep Roots Project. 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

57 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. 57 of the 90 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
57/57
Grantees still filing
39/57
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

KOTT GERENTOLOGY INSTITUTE: $540,000 · OtherKOTT GERENTOLOGY INSTITUTECenter for Disability & Elder Law Inc: $488,000 · OtherCenter for Disability & Elder Law IncLITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR: $395,000 · OtherLITTLE SISTERS OF THE POORTHE WEST COOK YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS INC: $355,000 · OtherTHE WEST COOK YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS INCLUTHERAN CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES OF ILLINOIS: $335,000 · OtherLUTHERAN CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES OF ILLINOISLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ILLINOIS: $280,000 · OtherLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ILLINOISPEOPLE'S RESOURCE CENTER: $201,000 · OtherKOTT GERONTOLOFY INSTITUTE: $200,000 · Other+50 more: $2,232,258 · Other+50 moreAGEOPTIONS INC (FKA SUBURBAN AREA AGENCY ON AGING): $595,000 · Human ServicesAGEOPTIONS INC (FKA SUBU…AGING CARE CONNECTIONS: $384,800 · Human ServicesAGING CARE CONNECTIONSNORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $285,000 · Human ServicesNORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTE…CASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORPORATION: $215,000 · Human ServicesCASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERV…THE CENTER OF CONCERN: $165,000 · Human ServicesTHE CENTER OF CONCERNLITTLE CITY FOUNDATION: $157,500 · Human ServicesLITTLE CITY FOUNDATION+14 more: $483,250 · Human Services+14 moreCONCORDIA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO: $1,051,787 · EducationCONCORDIA UNIVE…CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY INC: $310,000 · EducationCONCORDIA UNIVE…DEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $75,000 · EducationOAK PARK-RIVER FOREST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $898,419 · PhilanthropyOAK PARK-…WINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $340,000 · Arts & CultureL'ARCHE CHICAGO INC: $170,000 · HealthOPEN ARMS FREE CLINIC INC: $92,000 · HealthNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $88,200 · Food & NutritionWALWORTH COUNTY FOOD PANTRY INC: $46,000 · Food & NutritionGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $46,000 · Food & NutritionBEYOND HUNGER: $10,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $6,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$5,026,258Human Services$2,285,550Education$1,436,787Philanthropy$898,419Arts & Culture$340,000Health$262,000Food & Nutrition$196,200

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 budgetCONCORDIA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO: $1,051,787 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetOAK PARK-RIVER FOREST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $898,419 over 3y, 6.3% of budgetAGEOPTIONS INC (FKA SUBURBAN AREA AGENCY ON AGING): $595,000 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetCenter for Disability & Elder Law Inc: $488,000 over 7y, 11% of budgetAGING CARE CONNECTIONS: $384,800 over 7y, 2.7% of budgetTHE WEST COOK YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS INC: $355,000 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $340,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetLUTHERAN CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES OF ILLINOIS: $335,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetCONCORDIA UNIVERSITY INC: $310,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetNORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $285,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ILLINOIS: $280,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORPORATION: $215,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetPEOPLE'S RESOURCE CENTER: $201,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetL'ARCHE CHICAGO INC: $170,000 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetTHE CENTER OF CONCERN: $165,000 over 7y, 1.6% of budgetLITTLE CITY FOUNDATION: $157,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetOAK LEYDEN DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES INC: $145,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetSenior Home Sharing: $100,514 over 4y, 8.0% of budgetHOUSING OPPORTUNITIES AND MAINTENANCE FOR THE ELDERLY INC: $100,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetOPEN ARMS FREE CLINIC INC: $92,000 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $88,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $75,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPALATINE TOWNSHIP SENIOR CITIZENS COUNCIL: $75,000 over 6y, 2.5% of budgetChicago Commons Association: $70,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHoward Brown Health Center: $65,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTALLER DE JOSE: $60,000 over 3y, 4.3% of budgetMEALS AT HOME: $57,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetDES PLAINES COMMUNITY SENIOR CENTER: $57,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetWALWORTH COUNTY FOOD PANTRY INC: $46,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $46,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBARRINGTON AREA COUNCIL ON AGING INC: $45,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetEMBRACE LIVING COMMUNITIES: $40,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetCHINESE MUTUAL AID ASSOCIATION: $40,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCORNERSTONE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION NFP: $40,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetTHE ILLINOIS SAINT ANDREW SOCIETY: $35,250 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetKENNETH YOUNG CENTER: $35,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS: $30,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetNAPERVILLE ELDERLY HOMES INC: $30,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetTHE HUMANITARIAN SERVICE PROJECT: $22,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetCOUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPEOPLE CARE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 33% of budgetIndependence Health & Therapy: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetWESLEY WILLOWS: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBOONE COUNTY COUNCIL ON AGING: $14,500 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetPATHLIGHTS HUMAN SERVICES: $13,744 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNORWEGIAN LUTHERAN BETHESDA HOME ASSOCIATION: $13,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY NUTRITION NETWORK AND SENIOR SERVICES ASSOCIATION: $11,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRANCISCAN TERTIARY PROVINCE OF THE SACRED HEART INC: $11,000 over 2y, 0.2% 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.

  • Who funds CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds OAK PARK-RIVER FOREST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AGEOPTIONS INC (FKA SUBURBAN AREA AGENCY ON AGING) ↗
  • Who funds Center for Disability & Elder Law Inc ↗
  • Who funds AGING CARE CONNECTIONS ↗
  • Who funds THE WEST COOK YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS INC ↗
  • Who funds WINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC ↗
  • Who funds LUTHERAN CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES OF ILLINOIS ↗
  • Who funds CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER ↗
  • Who funds LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ILLINOIS ↗
  • Who funds CASA CENTRAL SOCIAL SERVICES CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds PEOPLE'S RESOURCE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds L'ARCHE CHICAGO INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER OF CONCERN ↗
  • Who funds LITTLE CITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds OAK LEYDEN DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds Senior Home Sharing ↗
  • Who funds HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES AND MAINTENANCE FOR THE ELDERLY INC ↗
  • Who funds OPEN ARMS FREE CLINIC INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds DEPAUL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds PALATINE TOWNSHIP SENIOR CITIZENS COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds Chicago Commons Association ↗
  • Who funds Howard Brown Health Center ↗
  • Who funds TALLER DE JOSE ↗
  • Who funds MEALS AT HOME ↗

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 Metropo…George M Eisenberg Fo…Ageoptions Inc (Fka S…Oak Park-River Forest…The Chicago Community…Healthy Communities F…Andrew and Alice Fisc…Greater Chicago Food …AbbVie FoundationThe Christopher Famil…The Dupage Community …Westlake Health Found…
United Way of Metropolitan Chicago IncIL48× affinity22 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 · George M Eisenberg Foundation for Charities · Ageoptions Inc (Fka Suburban Area Agency on Aging) · Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Healthy Communities Foundation · Andrew and Alice Fischer Charitable Trust · Greater Chicago Food Depository · AbbVie Foundation · The Christopher Family Foundation · The Dupage Community Foundation · Westlake Health Foundation

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 Russell and Josephine Kott Memorial Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Russell and Josephine Kott Memorial Charitable Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    31report 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.

    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 90 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 Russell and Josephine Kott Memorial’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