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Susan and Stephen Baird Family Foundation C/O Stephen W Baird at a glance

· Private foundation

Susan and Stephen Baird Family Foundation C/O Stephen W Baird

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.

$2.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
35
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$335k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Philanthropy$2.7MEnvironment$1.9MArts & Culture$1.8MScience & Tech$1.7MEducation$424kHealth$259kCommunity Improvement$140kHuman Services$121kOther$0
02FY2024 · 35 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k22 grants · $375k
  • $50k–250k11 grants · $1.2M
  • $250k+2 grants · $645k
$25,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$33M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HARVARD UNIVERSITY$335,000
THE MORTON ARBORETUM$310,000
CHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$247,500
THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND$200,000
FIDELITY CHARITABLESHURWOOD FUND$170,900
CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA WBEZ$125,000
FIDELITY CHARITABLEBAIRD & WARNER GOOD WILL WORKS$100,000
FIDELITY CHARITABLEGASTEVICH FAMILY GIVING FUND$85,210
FIDELITY CHARITABLELUCY BAIRD GIFT FUND$85,210
CAROLE ROBERTSON CENTER FOR LEARNING$65,000
EVERGREEN CLIMATE INNOVATIONS$50,000
ALLIES FOR COMMUNITY BUSINESS$50,000
ASPEN INSTITUTE$50,000
CHICAGO MEDIA PROJECT$35,000
AMERICAN RIVERS$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 (FY20–24, $152k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%HEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION: $5k → 17%HEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION: $3k → 17%HEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION: $3k → 17%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $500 → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $10k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $10k → 14%CAROLE ROBERTSON CENTER FOR LEARNING: $65k → 14%CAROLE ROBERTSON CENTER FOR LEARNING: $50k → 14%YMCA OF METRO CHICAGO: $5k → 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

ME
ID
MN
IL
NY
MA
OH
CT
CA
CO
NM
DC
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.1M · 53 repeat orgs$727k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +33% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

53 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2024, 31 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

53
37

Total granted

$6.1M
$256k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+25%

Still filing today

72%
76%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $471k 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 & CultureEducationEnvironmentHealthHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • TM
    THE MORTON ARBORETUM
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +100%
  • CP
    CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC
    3× · 2020–2022 · $629k · revenue +24%
  • THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND
    5× · 2020–2024 · $578k · revenue +113%

Funded once

  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
    one grant, 2021 · $165k
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF METRO CHICAGO COVID-19 RESPOND
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
  • AR
    AMERICAN RED CROSS
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
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
National Opinion Research Center

See schedule onorc at the university of chicago conducts research and data science on critical societal issues to guide decision-making and the development of programs and public policy. our experts identify relationships and trends, and…

Social Science
2
Columbia College Chicago

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

Education
3
Lake Forest College

Provide post-secondary education leading to a baccalaureate degree. Program service expenditures are made in conjunction with the operation of a liberal arts college spread over 107 acres with approximately 63 educational and support…

Education
4
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
5
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.

—
6
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
7
Colorado Museum of Natural History

Be a catalyst! Ignite our community's passion for nature and science.

Arts & Culture
8
Uchicago Medicine Network Inc

Uchicago medicine network, inc. supports and encourages health and human service by providing support, directly or indirectly to ingalls memorial hospital, the university of chicago medical center, and other related tax-exempt…

Health
9
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
10
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
11
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
12
The Rand Corporation

Help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis.

Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Illinois Humanities Council Inc; the most unlike its peers is Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. 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

76 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. 76 of the 106 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
76/76
Grantees still filing
60/76
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIDELITY CHARITABLETHE SHURWOOD FUND: $702,700 · OtherFIDELITY CHARITABLETHE SHURWOOD FUNDCHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $495,000 · OtherCHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONFIDELITY CHARITABLEBAIRD & WARNER GOOD WILL WORKS: $250,000 · OtherFIDELITY CHARITABLEBAIRD & WARNER GOOD…CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA WBEZ: $245,000 · OtherCHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA WBEZFIDELITY CHARITABLESHURWOOD FUND: $170,900 · OtherFIDELITY CHARITABLESHURWOOD FUNDTHE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS: $165,000 · OtherSTART EARLY: $125,000 · OtherALLIES FOR COMMUNITY BUSINESS INC: $130,000 · Other+48 more: $918,044 · Other+48 moreTHE MORTON ARBORETUM: $1,055,000 · EnvironmentTHE MORTON ARBORETUMTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $577,500 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LA…EVERGREEN CLIMATE INNOVATIONS: $150,000 · EnvironmentEVERGREEN CLIMATE INNOV…AMERICAN RIVERS INC: $95,000 · Environment+5 more: $23,200 · EnvironmentPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $1,720,000 · EducationPresident and Fellows…+10 more: $65,900 · EducationCHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $628,500 · Arts & CultureCHICAGO PUBLIC M…ANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER: $487,000 · Arts & CultureANDERSON RANCH A…FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $86,500 · Arts & CultureFIELD MUSEUM OF …WINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $75,000 · Arts & CultureWINDOW TO THE WO…+11 more: $65,500 · Arts & CultureThe Chicago Community Trust: $800,000 · PhilanthropyThe Chicag…+3 more: $27,700 · PhilanthropyCarole Robertson Center for Learning: $115,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $20,000 · Human ServicesHEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION FKA HEALTH NET FOUNDATION INC: $11,000 · Human Services+2 more: $5,500 · Human ServicesAnn & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago: $70,000 · HealthErie Family Health Foundation Inc: $45,000 · HealthRush University Medical Center: $15,000 · Health+3 more: $4,500 · Health
Other$3,201,644Environment$1,900,700Education$1,785,900Arts & Culture$1,342,500Philanthropy$827,700Human Services$151,500Health$134,500

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 budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $1,720,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MORTON ARBORETUM: $1,055,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetThe Chicago Community Trust: $800,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $628,500 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $577,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER: $487,000 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetEVERGREEN CLIMATE INNOVATIONS: $150,000 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetALLIES FOR COMMUNITY BUSINESS INC: $130,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSTART EARLY: $125,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCarole Robertson Center for Learning: $115,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $95,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCHICAGO MEDIA PROJECT: $95,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $86,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetVocel Viewing our Children as Emerging Leaders: $85,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $75,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetAnn & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago: $70,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $62,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetROARING FORK PUBLIC RADIO INC: $45,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetErie Family Health Foundation Inc: $45,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetNorthwestern University: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWriters Theatre Inc: $38,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetThe Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPROOFING STATION: $25,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetWORKING IN THE SCHOOLS INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRush University Medical Center: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION FKA HEALTH NET FOUNDATION INC: $11,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGREENHOUSE SCHOLARS: $11,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLittle Village Environmental Justice Org: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSOLVE ME CFS INITIATIVE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetElevate Energy: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $8,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Humanities Festival: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetInjustice Watch NFP: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetThe YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JOFFREY BALLET: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMIKVA CHALLENGE GRANT FOUNDATION: $2,900 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetIMPACT GRANTS CHICAGO: $2,200 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetROARING FORK CONSERVANCY: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLESTER AND ROSALIE ANIXTER CENTER: $2,000 over 2y, 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 President and Fellows of Harvard College ↗
  • Who funds THE MORTON ARBORETUM ↗
  • Who funds The Chicago Community Trust ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND ↗
  • Who funds ANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds EVERGREEN CLIMATE INNOVATIONS ↗
  • Who funds ALLIES FOR COMMUNITY BUSINESS INC ↗
  • Who funds START EARLY ↗
  • Who funds Carole Robertson Center for Learning ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN RIVERS INC ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO MEDIA PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ↗
  • Who funds Vocel Viewing our Children as Emerging Leaders ↗
  • Who funds WINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC ↗
  • Who funds Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds ROARING FORK PUBLIC RADIO INC ↗
  • Who funds Erie Family Health Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds Writers Theatre Inc ↗
  • Who funds The Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress ↗
  • Who funds PROOFING STATION ↗
  • Who funds WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS INC ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗

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…Jewish Federation of …John D and Catherine …Polk Bros Foundation …Arie and Ida Crown Me…Lloyd a Fry FoundationField Foundation of I…Circle of Service Fou…United Way of Metropo…Vivo FoundationDr Scholl FoundationBuilders Vision Found…
The Chicago Community TrustIL39.4× affinity26 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Arie and Ida Crown Memorial · Lloyd a Fry Foundation · Field Foundation of Illinois · Circle of Service Foundation · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · Vivo Foundation · Dr Scholl Foundation · Builders Vision 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 Susan and Stephen Baird Family Foundation C/O Stephen W Baird funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Susan and Stephen Baird Family Foundation C/O Stephen W Baird. 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Wesleyan University: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
23report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Susan and Stephen Baird Family Foundation C/O Stephen W Baird?

Find your warmest path to Susan and Stephen Baird Family Foundation C/O Stephen W Baird 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 106 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 Susan and Stephen Baird Family Foundation C/O Stephen W Baird’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