Skip to content
Sargent Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sargent Family Foundation

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.

$1.5M
Granted FY2024still arriving
61
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$350k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$2.4MEducation$859kHuman Services$469kHealth$321kEnvironment$266kYouth Development$227kAnimals$207kFood & Nutrition$143kOther$0
02FY2024 · 61 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $15k
  • $10k–50k52 grants · $770k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $395k
  • $250k+1 grant · $350k
$10,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$39M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LOYOLA ACADEMY$350,000
LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS$125,000
CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$120,000
DING' DARLING WILDLIFE SOCIETY$50,000
CRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL$50,000
BOYS HOPE GIRLS HOPE OF ILLINOIS$50,000
LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$45,000
PENINSULA SCHOOL OF ART$40,000
MERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC$40,000
LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO$30,000
CHICAGO MARITIME SOCIETY$30,000
CHI ARTS$25,000
MISERCORDIA$25,000
ERIKSON INSTITUTE$25,000
CRADLE FOUNDATION$20,000
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 (FY20–24, $268k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 85% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%EVERFREE: $15k → 10%THORN: $2k → 14%EVERFREE: $12k → 10%EVERFREE: $12k → 10%FISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC: $20k → 11%FISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC: $20k → 11%FISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC: $20k → 11%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $10k → 14%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $6k → 14%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $6k → 14%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $5k → 14%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $2k → 14%HAVEN YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 14%HAVEN YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES: $6k → 14%HAVEN YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES: $6k → 14%HAVEN YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES: $5k → 14%HAVEN YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES: $3k → 14%CRADLE FOUNDATION: $24k → 14%CRADLE FOUNDATION: $24k → 14%CRADLE FOUNDATION: $20k → 14%CRADLE FOUNDATION: $20k → 14%CRADLE FOUNDATION: $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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
WY
IA
CA
TN
TX
FL
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.

100%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.2M · 64 repeat orgs$25k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +41% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

64 repeat relationships: 60 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

64
7

Total granted

$5.2M
$20k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
0%

Still filing today

70%
29%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationAnimalsEnvironmentHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • CS
    Chicago Symphony Orchestra
    5× · 2020–2024 · $580k · revenue +71%
  • HI
    HOPE IGNITES CHICAGO
    5× · 2020–2024 · $227k · revenue +45%
  • MS
    MERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $190k · revenue ×16

Funded once

  • RH
    RENALIS HEALTH
    one grant, 2022 · $6k
  • BY
    BELOW YOUR BELT
    one grant, 2021 · $5k · revenue 0%
  • T
    THORN
    one grant, 2021 · $2k · revenue -14%
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
Chicago Opera Theater

Chicago opera theater expands the tradition of opera as a living art form by engaging lovers of music and storytelling through innovative experiences, predominantly of new and rarely performed works.

Arts & Culture
2
Music Institute of Chicago

The music institute of chicago ("music institute") leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music, by providing widely accessible resources for high quality music teaching, performing, and service activities.

Arts & Culture
3
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
4
Chicago Zoological Society

To inspire conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature.

Animals
5
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Inc

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University ("The Auditorium"), an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, is committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community and educational programming to Chicago and to the…

Arts & Culture
6
Columbia College Chicago

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

Education
7
Classical Music Chicago

Presenting free high-quality classical music performances and music education experiences in the Chicago metropolitan area for people of all ages and degrees of musical awareness so they can experience how music enriches life.

Arts & Culture
8
The Chicago Philharmonic Society

To excite, engage, and transform diverse audiences with the beauty and power of music.

Arts & Culture
9
Chicago Theatre Group Inc

The chicago theatre group is committed to producing both classic and contemporary works giving full voice to a wide range of artists and visions. by dedicating itself to three guiding principles - quality, equity, and community - the…

Arts & Culture
10
Children's Museum of Oak Park

To spark curiosity and creativity in all young children through positive, play-based learning experiences.

Arts & Culture
11
University of Chicago

The mission of the university of chicago has been to sustain at the highest level of excellence, the communication of knowledge, the creation of knowledge and the fostering of a dynamic community of scholars and students.

Education
12
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago; the most unlike its peers is Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife Inc. 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

50 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. 50 of the 72 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)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
48/50
Grantees still filing
36/50
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS: $621,000 · OtherLEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRASLOYOLA ACADEMY: $505,000 · OtherLOYOLA ACADEMYHOPE IGNITES CHICAGO: $226,700 · OtherHOPE IGNITES CHICAGOCRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL: $182,000 · OtherCRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOLCHICAGO MARITIME SOCIETY: $162,000 · OtherCHICAGO MARITIME SOCIETYLURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $160,000 · OtherLURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALMISERCORDIA: $115,000 · OtherCHI ARTS: $98,000 · Other+28 more: $742,000 · Other+28 moreChicago Symphony Orchestra: $580,000 · Arts & CultureChicago Symphony OrchestraMERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $190,000 · Arts & CultureMERIT SCHOOL OF MUSICPENINSULA SCHOOL OF ART INC: $165,000 · Arts & CulturePENINSULA SCHOOL OF ART INCLyric Opera of Chicago: $140,000 · Arts & CultureLyric Opera of Chicago+11 more: $335,000 · Arts & Culture+11 moreThe Cradle Foundation: $108,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $86,000 · Human ServicesFISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC: $60,000 · Human ServicesWillow International Everfree: $39,000 · Human ServicesHAVEN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES INC: $30,000 · Human ServicesTHE NIGHT MINISTRY: $29,000 · Human Services+1 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesErikson Institute: $113,000 · EducationWellesley College: $59,000 · EducationHADLEY INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED: $45,000 · EducationTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $31,000 · EducationDoor County YMCA INC: $29,000 · EducationDING DARLING WILDLIFE SOCIETY INC: $87,000 · AnimalsCLINIC FOR THE REHABILITATION OF WILDLIFE INC: $40,000 · AnimalsLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $31,000 · AnimalsSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $31,000 · AnimalsHOOVED ANIMAL HUMANE SOCIETY: $18,000 · AnimalsSANIBEL-CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $37,000 · EnvironmentCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $30,000 · EnvironmentNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL: $29,000 · EnvironmentGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $57,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$2,811,700Arts & Culture$1,410,000Human Services$354,000Education$277,000Animals$207,000Environment$96,000Food & Nutrition$57,000

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 budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $580,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHOPE IGNITES CHICAGO: $226,700 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetMERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $190,000 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetPENINSULA SCHOOL OF ART INC: $165,000 over 5y, 4.4% of budgetLyric Opera of Chicago: $140,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetErikson Institute: $113,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetThe Cradle Foundation: $108,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetDING DARLING WILDLIFE SOCIETY INC: $87,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetNatures Farm Camp LLC: $86,000 over 5y, 45% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $86,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetWellesley College: $59,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $57,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHADLEY INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED: $45,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCLINIC FOR THE REHABILITATION OF WILDLIFE INC: $40,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetWillow International Everfree: $39,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetJUDD GOLDMAN ADAPTIVE SAILING FOUNDATION: $38,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetSANIBEL-CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $37,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCHICAGO YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS: $32,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCHICAGO SINFONIETTA INC: $32,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetMUSIC AND DANCE THEATER CHICAGO INC: $32,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHIRD COAST PERCUSSION NFP: $32,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetKenneth C Griffin Museum of Science and Industry: $31,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $31,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ADLER PLANETARIUM: $31,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $31,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $31,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $31,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $31,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $31,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHAVEN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES INC: $30,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetAccess Living of Metropolitan Chicago: $30,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $30,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $29,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE SOLTI FOUNDATION US CO Fiona Queen: $29,000 over 5y, 19% of budgetDoor County YMCA INC: $29,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL: $29,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe People's Music School: $29,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetTHE NIGHT MINISTRY: $29,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHOUSING OPPORTUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP: $28,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTHE WOMAN'S BOARD OF NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: $28,000 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetSPHINX ORGANIZATION INC: $23,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPAT TILLMAN FOUNDATION: $19,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHOOVED ANIMAL HUMANE SOCIETY: $18,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budget10 THOUSAND WINDOWS INC: $11,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetGIBRALTAR HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetBELOW YOUR BELT: $5,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetTHORN: $2,000 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.

  • Who funds Chicago Symphony Orchestra ↗
  • Who funds HOPE IGNITES CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds MERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC ↗
  • Who funds PENINSULA SCHOOL OF ART INC ↗
  • Who funds Lyric Opera of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds Erikson Institute ↗
  • Who funds The Cradle Foundation ↗
  • Who funds DING DARLING WILDLIFE SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds Natures Farm Camp LLC ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds FISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC ↗
  • Who funds Wellesley College ↗
  • Who funds GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY ↗
  • Who funds HADLEY INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED ↗
  • Who funds CLINIC FOR THE REHABILITATION OF WILDLIFE INC ↗
  • Who funds Willow International Everfree ↗
  • Who funds JUDD GOLDMAN ADAPTIVE SAILING FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SANIBEL-CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO SINFONIETTA INC ↗
  • Who funds MUSIC AND DANCE THEATER CHICAGO INC ↗
  • Who funds THIRD COAST PERCUSSION NFP ↗
  • Who funds Kenneth C Griffin Museum of Science and Industry ↗
  • Who funds LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds THE ADLER PLANETARIUM ↗
  • Who funds RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗

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…John D and Catherine …Ncrc Community Develo…The Ayco Charitable F…John R Halligan Chari…The Siragusa Family F…Fifth Third Chicagola…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…AbbVie FoundationBaird Foundation IncNational Philanthropi…Gs Donor Advised Phil…
The Chicago Community TrustIL21.3× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Ncrc Community Development Fund Inc · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · John R Halligan Charitable Fund · The Siragusa Family Foundation · Fifth Third Chicagoland Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · Baird Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc

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 Sargent Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sargent Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation: 4% of income from government
  • Wellesley College: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
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 72 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 Sargent Family’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