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Sherman & Kara Wright Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sherman & Kara Wright 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.

$3k
Granted FY2024still arriving
2
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2024.

Education$61kHealth$7kYouth Development$3kCommunity Improvement$3kAnimals$3kHuman Services$2kCivil Rights$1kPublic Benefit$1kOther$0
02FY2024 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,750
Median grant
2
States reached
$49k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
City Year Chicago Ripples of Hope$1,750
Columbia College$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%City Year Chicago Ripples of Hope: $2k → 16%Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation: $500 → 7%Texas AMU Black Former Student Netw: $3k → 11%Columbia College: $1k → 16%Jack and Jill Foundation: $250 → 14%FAMU Foundation Inc: $1k → 19%Citizenship Education Fund: $1k → 21%Camp for All Kids: $1k → 11%American Cancer Society: $500 → 8%Francis W Parker School: $3k → 14%Texas AMU Black Former Student Netw: $500 → 11%Francis W Parker School: $3k → 14%Francis W Parker School: $3k → 14%Francis W Parker School: $1k → 14%Shedd Aquarium: $3k → 14%Perspectives Charter School: $1k → 14%YWCA of Metro Chicago: $500 → 14%Friends of Children - Chicago: $1k → 14%Urban Juncture Foundation: $512 → 14%Chicago United for Equity: $1k → 14%826CHI: $5k → 14%826CHI: $5k → 14%826CHI: $1k → 14%By the Hand Club for Kids: $500 → 14%Bright Star Community Outreach Corp: $2k → 14%Lurie Children's Hospital Foundatio: $5k → 14%Northwestern Memorial Foundation: $500 → 14%Chicago Run: $1k → 14%The 20 Second Timeout Foundation: $500 → 14%Evan Joseph Gerstein Foundation: $518 → 14%Near North Montessori: $5k → 14%Near North Montessori: $2k → 14%Young Chicago Authors: $250 → 14%OneGoal: $10k → 14%OneGoal: $5k → 14%OneGoal: $5k → 14%OneGoal: $5k → 14%Women Employed: $256 → 14%Greater Auburn-Gresham Development: $300 → 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
MI
MA
PA
MO
SC
DC
GA
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.

70%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$56k · 5 repeat orgs$25k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +34% since the first grant, against +23% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
22

Total granted

$56k
$22k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
+23%

Still filing today

80%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’24
EducationYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementHealthPhilanthropyArts & 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

  • O
    ONEGOAL
    4× · 2018–2021 · $25k · revenue +7%
  • FW
    Francis W Parker School
    4× · 2018–2021 · $10k · revenue +38%
  • NN
    NEAR NORTH MONTESSORI SCHOOL
    2× · 2017–2018 · $7k · revenue +34%

Funded once

  • LC
    Lurie Children's Hospital Foundatio
    one grant, 2020 · $5k
  • SA
    SHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETYgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue +67%
  • BS
    BRIGHT STAR COMMUNITY OUTREACH CORP
    one grant, 2020 · $2k · revenue +4%
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
The University of Chicago Charter School Corporation

To Prepare Students for Success in Four-Year Colleges.

Education
2
Academy for Global Citizenship Charter School

Academy for global citizenship charter school (agc) develops mindful leaders who take action both now and in the future to positively impact their communities and the world beyond.

Education
3
Chicago Free School

Chicago Free School provides pre-kindergarten through 8th grade instruction and support activities. The faculty consists of qualified indiviuals with the appropriate education and experiende to provide students with the education that…

Education
4
Kipp Chicago Schools

The team at kipp chicago schools is guided by a simple, yet powerful mission: to create a network of excellent schools in chicago that teach our students the character and academic skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond, and to…

Education
5
Chicago Public Education Fund

The chicago public education fund (the fund) is a nonprofit organization that improves public schools in chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them.

Education
6
Junior Achievement of Chicago

To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy

International
7
Columbia College Chicago

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

Education
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
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

The Chicago School educates the next generation of change-makers in innovative theory and culturally competent practice to strengthen the integrated health of individuals, organizations, and communities.

Education
10
Students Run Chicago
Health
11
Chicago Education Partnership

To create a school that dramatically transforms the lives of k-8 students and prepares them for success in college and in life through: the delivery of a rigorous and personalized academic program, a focus on holistic education, and the…

Education
12
Chicago Collegiate Inc

To equip all students in grades six through twelve with the academic skills, intellectual habits and character traits to succeed in the college of their choice, strenghten their communities and change the world.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Near North Montessori School; the most unlike its peers is Evan Joseph Gerstein 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

20 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. 20 of the 29 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/20
Grantees still filing
13/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

826CHI INC: $11,000 · Education826CHI INCFrancis W Parker School: $10,075 · EducationFrancis W Parker SchoolNEAR NORTH MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $6,600 · EducationNEAR NORTH MONTESSORI SCHOOLPERSPECTIVES CHARTER SCHOOLS: $1,039 · EducationFlorida Agricultural & Mechanical Univ Foundation Inc: $1,026 · Education+1 more: $1,000 · EducationONEGOAL: $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentONEGOALBRIGHT STAR COMMUNITY OUTREACH CORP: $2,000 · Youth DevelopmentBRIGHT STAR COMMUNITY OUTREACH CORPCamp for All Kids: $1,062 · Youth DevelopmentLurie Children's Hospital Foundatio: $5,000 · OtherLurie Children's Hospi…Texas AMU Black Former Student Netw: $3,500 · OtherTexas AMU Black Former…City Year Chicago Ripples of Hope: $1,750 · OtherCity Year Chicago Ripp…Friends of Children - Chicago: $1,050 · OtherFriends of Children - …Citizenship Education Fund: $1,000 · OtherCitizenship Education …+10 more: $4,068 · Other+10 moreSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $2,500 · AnimalsEVAN JOSEPH GERSTEIN FOUNDATION: $518 · HealthAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $500 · HealthChicago Run: $1,000 · PhilanthropyChicago United for Equity: $1,000 · Civil Rights
Education$30,740Youth Development$28,062Other$16,368Animals$2,500Health$1,018Philanthropy$1,000Civil Rights$1,000

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 budgetONEGOAL: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budget826CHI INC: $11,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetFrancis W Parker School: $10,075 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNEAR NORTH MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $6,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBRIGHT STAR COMMUNITY OUTREACH CORP: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCamp for All Kids: $1,062 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPERSPECTIVES CHARTER SCHOOLS: $1,039 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFlorida Agricultural & Mechanical Univ Foundation Inc: $1,026 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Run: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetColumbia College: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChicago United for Equity: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetEVAN JOSEPH GERSTEIN FOUNDATION: $518 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetURBAN JUNCTURE FOUNDATION: $512 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBy The Hand Club For Kids: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALEXS LEMONADE STAND FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER AUBURN GRESHAM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOMEN EMPLOYED: $256 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYOUNG CHICAGO AUTHORS: $250 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.

John D and Catherine …The Chicago Community…The Allstate Foundati…Arie and Ida Crown Me…United Way of Metropo…The Joyce FoundationPolk Bros Foundation …Circle of Service Fou…Charities Aid Foundat…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…
John D and Catherine T Macarthur FoundationIL23× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · The Allstate Foundation · Arie and Ida Crown Memorial · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · The Joyce Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Circle of Service Foundation · Charities Aid Foundation America · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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 Sherman & Kara Wright Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sherman & Kara Wright Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    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 29 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.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Sherman & Kara Wright’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