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Illinois · Private foundation

Senser 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.

$416k
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
18
Grants FY2024
16
Organizations funded FY2023
38%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2024
$10,000
Largest grant, FY2024
$120,000
Organizations funded a year
10 to 23
FY2017 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024
6
Total assets, FY2024
$23k
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 38% of the organizations Senser Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 27% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 73% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $155k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23
InternationalEducationPhilanthropyCommunity ImprovementCivil RightsRecreation & SportsOther
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
FY2024still arriving17$406k35%
FY202316$564k38%
FY202221$675k24%
FY202123$647k35%
FY202022$689k41%
FY201916$525k19%
FY201813$443k46%
FY201710$157kn/a
99% classified

What it funded, over time

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

International$1.5MHuman Services$597kPhilanthropy$583kCivil Rights$376kReligion$262kHealth$256kEducation$147kCommunity Improvement$110kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
IL
NY
OH
PA
NJ
CA
VA
DC
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 43 grantees
All grantees of Senser Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
The Shalom Hartman Institute of North America$415,00061%
America Gives Inc$405,00042%
Shalva Inc$330,000810%
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Inc$277,50081%
Jewish Women International$265,00045%
Planned Parenthood of Illinois$232,50060%
American Friends of Kolot Inc$215,000330%
The Good People Fund Inc$207,50054%
Avodah the Jewish Service Corps Inc$185,00042%
American Israel Education Foundation Inc$102,51250%
A Wider Bridge$100,00024%
American Friends of Tel Aviv Univ$90,00030%
Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago$80,00080%
American Jewish Committee$60,00060%
Organization for the Resolution of Agunot Inc$55,00017%
Bright Star Community Outreach Corp$50,00011%
Shalom Task Force Inc$45,00013%
Fuente Latina Inc$40,00011%
Moving Traditions$40,00011%
Hear Scholarship Foundation Inc$40,00042%
Little Village Environmental Justice Org$40,00040%
American Friends of Kidum Inc$40,000112%
Washington Institute for Near East Policy$31,00030%
Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago Inc$30,00012%
Red Tent Fund$30,00012%
The Working World Inc$25,00010%
The Jewish Pocet$25,0001n/a
Neighbors for Environmental Justice$20,00022%
Everthrive Illinois$18,00020%
Camp Young Judaea Midwest Inc$15,00021%
Physicians for Human Rights Inc$15,00030%
Rabbinical Assembly of America$10,8002n/a
Jumpstart Labs Inc DBA Jewish JUMPSTART JSLABS$10,00011%
Culinary Care$5,00011%
Jewish Free Loan Chicago Inc$5,00012%
United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc$5,00010%
Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago$3,6001n/a
Sefaria Inc$2,00010%
World Council of Synagogues Inc$1,8001n/a
Cantor's Assembly$1,00010%
Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel$1,0001n/a
Zioness Movement Inc$1,00010%
Hamakom$5001n/a

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 10 recipients with no EIN on record ($536k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Senser Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 37 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetThe Shalom Hartman Institute of North America: $415,000 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetAmerica Gives Inc: $405,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetShalva Inc: $330,000 over 8y, 9.9% of budgetFoundation for the Defense of Democracies Inc: $277,500 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetJewish Women International: $265,000 over 4y, 4.7% of budgetPlanned Parenthood of Illinois: $232,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetAmerican Friends of Kolot Inc: $215,000 over 3y, 30% of budgetThe Good People Fund Inc: $207,500 over 5y, 3.8% of budgetAvodah the Jewish Service Corps Inc: $185,000 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetAmerican Israel Education Foundation Inc: $102,512 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetA Wider Bridge: $100,000 over 2y, 3.7% of budgetAmerican Friends of Tel Aviv Univ: $90,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetJewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago: $80,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Jewish Committee: $60,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetOrganization for the Resolution of Agunot Inc: $55,000 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetBright Star Community Outreach Corp: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetShalom Task Force Inc: $45,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetFuente Latina Inc: $40,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMoving Traditions: $40,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetHear Scholarship Foundation Inc: $40,000 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetLittle Village Environmental Justice Org: $40,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetAmerican Friends of Kidum Inc: $40,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetWashington Institute for Near East Policy: $31,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMaot Chitim of Greater Chicago Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetRed Tent Fund: $30,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetThe Working World Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNeighbors for Environmental Justice: $20,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetEverthrive Illinois: $18,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCamp Young Judaea Midwest Inc: $15,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetPhysicians for Human Rights Inc: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetJumpstart Labs Inc DBA Jewish JUMPSTART JSLABS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCulinary Care: $5,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetJewish Free Loan Chicago Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetUnited Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSefaria Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCantor's Assembly: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetZioness Movement Inc: $1,000 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 37.

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.

Jewish Federation of Metropolitan ChicagoIL30.8× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · Jewish Communal Fund · Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · United Jewish Appeal-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York Inc · Fjc · Hochberg Family Foundation · The Shimon Ben Joseph Foundation Dba Jim Joseph Foundation · New Venture Fund · Greater Miami Jewish Federation Inc · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · The Chicago Community Trust

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 Senser Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Senser Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Senser 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 Senser Foundation

How much does Senser Foundation give?
Senser Foundation reported 18 grants totaling $416,400 in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 10 and 23 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2023.
What does Senser Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2024, its largest causes are International (35%), Human Services (14%), Philanthropy (14%).
Who are Senser Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2024: The Shalom Hartman Institute of North America ($415k), America Gives Inc ($405k), Shalva Inc ($330k).
Does Senser Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 38% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Senser 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 Senser Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Jewish Communal Fund, Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles.
Where is Senser Foundation based?
Senser 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 54 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

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