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Suzanne Dreebin Wilensky Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Suzanne Dreebin Wilensky Foundation

Its FY2021 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$6k
Granted FY2021
8
Grants FY2021
5
States reached
$5k
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 2021.

Health$20kEducation$6kHuman Services$3kInternational$2kArts & Culture$450Philanthropy$450
02FY2021 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$150
Median grant
5
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LEUKEMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION$5,000
ST JUDE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL$635
MERCY SHIPS$150
KESHET$150
MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION$150
CENTER FOR ENRICHING LIVING$150
SISTERS LYME AIDE FOUNDATION$100
UNICEF$100
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 (FY17–21) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 94% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%UNICEF: $100 → 17%MERCY SHIPS: $150 → 12%JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATI: $250 → 11%SOUTH HAVEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $100 → 14%AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: $300 → 16%CORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME FOUNDATI: $250 → 11%SISTERS LYME AIDE FOUNDATION: $100 → 8%CENTER FOR ENRICHING LIVING: $200 → 8%LEUKEMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOUNDATION: $5k → 19%FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION: $100 → 8%HOPE OF LYON COUNTY: $100 → 15%MERCY SHIPS: $150 → 12%JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATI: $250 → 11%AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: $200 → 16%CORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME FOUNDATI: $250 → 11%CENTER FOR ENRICHING LIVING: $150 → 8%LEUKEMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $2k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOUNDATION: $250 → 19%MERCY SHIPS: $150 → 12%JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATI: $250 → 11%CORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME FOUNDATI: $250 → 11%CENTER FOR ENRICHING LIVING: $150 → 8%UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOUNDATION: $250 → 19%MERCY SHIPS: $150 → 12%CORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME FOUNDATI: $200 → 11%CENTER FOR ENRICHING LIVING: $150 → 8%CROHN'S AND COLITIS FOUNDATION: $150 → 14%UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOUNDATION: $250 → 19%MERCY SHIPS: $150 → 12%CENTER FOR ENRICHING LIVING: $150 → 8%CROHN'S AND COLITIS FOUNDATION: $150 → 14%MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING: $800 → 17%KESHET: $400 → 14%MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING: $800 → 17%general: $250 → 14%MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING: $800 → 17%KESHET: $200 → 14%MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING: $800 → 17%KESHET: $200 → 14%KESHET: $200 → 14%KESHET: $150 → 14%EVAN JSEPGH GERSTEIN FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%EVAN JSEPGH GERSTEIN FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%ROBERT R MCCORMICK FOUNDATION: $150 → 14%ROBERT R MCCORMICK FOUNDATION: $150 → 14%MCCORMACK FOUNDATION: $150 → 14%ROBERT R MCCORMICK FOUNDATION: $150 → 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
NY
CT
KY
MD
TN
DC
TX
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$31k · 20 repeat orgs$550 to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +98% since the first grant, against +43% for those funded once.

20 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2021, 12 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
4

Total granted

$31k
$550

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+98%
+43%

Still filing today

60%
25%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21
HealthInternationalEducationOther
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

  • LR
    LEUKEMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    3× · 2017–2021 · $7k · revenue +136%
  • University of Illinois Foundation
    4× · 2017–2020 · $6k · revenue +127%
  • ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC
    5× · 2017–2021 · $2k · revenue +145%

Funded once

  • G
    general
    one grant, 2017 · $250
  • MF
    MCCORMACK FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $150
  • CL
    CHAI LIFELINE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100 · revenue +43%
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
MRIGlobal

To improve the lives of people through innovative scientific and engineering research.

Science & Tech
2
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
3
Gastro Intestinal Research Foundation Inc

The GI Research Foundation works to treat, prevent, and cure digestive diseases. In collaboration with the physicians and scientists at the University of Chicago Digestive Diseases Center, we fund innovative clinical and laboratory…

Health
4
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
5
Make-a-Wish Foundation International

None

Human Services
6
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
7
Metropolitan Jewish Health System Inc

Mjhs health system is a charitable not-for-profit established to support the activities of affiliated organizations. mjhs is built on the core values of compassion, dignity and respect, first established by the four brooklyn ladies in…

Health
8
Curesearch for Children's Cancer

Curesearch's mission is to fund & support targeted & innovative cancer research with measurable results, & to be the authoritative source of information & resources for all those affected by children's cancer. see schedule o for…

Health
9
Make-a-Wish Foundation of Illinois Inc

Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

—
10
Make-a-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic Inc

The make-a-wish foundation of the mid-atlantic creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

—
11
Metropolitan Jewish Health System Foundation

Operating under the name mjhs foundation, the mission of this philanthropic organization is to raise the funds necessary to support the charitable health care efforts of the organizations within the mjhs health system family. with roots…

Health
12
All Children's Research Institute Inc

The corporation is organized and is operated exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. all children's research institute supports, encourages, and engages in and conducts medical research and other research in…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of America; 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

14 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. 14 of the 25 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
13/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING: $3,200 · OtherMEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERINGTHE SALVATION ARMY: $2,500 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYKESHET: $1,150 · OtherKESHETCORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME FOUNDATION: $950 · OtherCORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME FOUNDATIONCENTER FOR ENRICHING LIVING: $800 · OtherCENTER FOR ENRICHING LIVINGJUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATI: $750 · OtherJUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATIMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $750 · OtherMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICAAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: $500 · Other+7 more: $1,750 · Other+7 moreLEUKEMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $7,100 · HealthLEUKEMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATIONEVAN JOSEPH GERSTEIN FOUNDATION: $2,000 · HealthEVAN JOSEPH GERSTEIN FOUNDATIONST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $1,785 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC+2 more: $400 · HealthUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $6,000 · EducationUniversity of Illinoi…Mercy Ships International: $750 · InternationalUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $500 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $400 · InternationalROBERT R MCCORMICK FOUNDATION: $450 · Philanthropy
Other$12,350Health$11,285Education$6,000International$1,650Philanthropy$450

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 budgetLEUKEMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $7,100 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $6,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetEVAN JOSEPH GERSTEIN FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $1,785 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetKESHET: $1,150 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME FOUNDATION: $950 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Ships International: $750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION INC: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHAI LIFELINE INC: $100 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 LEUKEMIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds University of Illinois Foundation ↗
  • Who funds EVAN JOSEPH GERSTEIN FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds KESHET ↗
  • Who funds CORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Mercy Ships International ↗
  • Who funds MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICA ↗
  • Who funds UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF ↗
  • Who funds ROBERT R MCCORMICK FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds CROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CHAI LIFELINE INC ↗

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Suzanne Dreebin Wilensky Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Suzanne Dreebin Wilensky 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
    3report 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 25 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Suzanne Dreebin Wilensky’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