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The Bluhm Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Bluhm 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.

$13M
Granted FY2024still arriving
59
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$4.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Philanthropy$28MArts & Culture$15MRecreation & Sports$7.1MHealth$7.0MEducation$6.8MSocial Science$5.1MPublic Benefit$2.2MCommunity Improvement$1.4MOther$0
02FY2024 · 59 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k30 grants · $609k
  • $50k–250k14 grants · $1.2M
  • $250k+8 grants · $11M
$25,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$13M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION$4,500,000
MILKEN INSTITUTE$4,000,000
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA$700,000
JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO$609,960
WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART$500,000
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE CO$275,000
THE CHICAGO COMMUNITY TRUST$250,000
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE$250,000
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM$200,000
CHICAGO CARES$150,000
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO$125,790
ONEGOAL$100,000
HORIZONS NATIONAL STUDENT ENRICHMENT PROGRAM INC$100,000
YOUTH GUIDANCE$100,000
AMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION$100,000
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 (FY18–24, $798k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC: $25k → 23%TANZANIAN CHILDREN'S FUND: $10k → 8%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC: $25k → 23%CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL: $115k → 14%CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL: $115k → 14%CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL: $50k → 14%CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL: $25k → 14%INNOCENCE PROJECT: $50k → 17%CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL: $10k → 14%THE SELFHELP HOME: $1k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $26k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $25k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $25k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $25k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $25k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $25k → 14%GLENKIRK: $25k → 14%GLENKIRK: $25k → 14%GLENKIRK: $25k → 14%GLENKIRK: $20k → 14%GLENKIRK: $15k → 14%BE LIKE TOM INC: $1k → 14%YMCA OF METRO CHICAGO: $50k → 14%YMCA OF METRO CHICAGO: $25k → 14%YMCA OF METRO CHICAGO: $25k → 14%YMCA OF METRO CHICAGO: $10k → 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
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
VA
MD
NC
DC
LA
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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$69M · 94 repeat orgs$2.9M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +34% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

94 repeat relationships: 37 still active in FY2024, 57 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

94
63

Total granted

$69M
$2.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
+11%

Still filing today

83%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $546k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationHealthHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentInternationalOther
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

  • Northwestern University
    5× · 2018–2023 · $7.1M · revenue +33%
  • WM
    WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
    4× · 2018–2024 · $6.2M · revenue +125%
  • JU
    JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
    7× · 2018–2024 · $6.2M · revenue +34%

Funded once

  • AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEEgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $550k · revenue +44%
  • TB
    THE BARACK OBAMA FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $333k
  • CC
    CHOOSE CHICAGO FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $250k · 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
Columbia College Chicago

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

Education
2
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
3
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
4
Junior Achievement of Chicago

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

International
5
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
6
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
7
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
8
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
9
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
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
Chicago Historical Society

The Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration, and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, programs, digital resources, and special events, the Museum connects people to Chicago's history…

Arts & Culture
12
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
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 Be Like Tom Inc Nfp. 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

150 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. 150 of the 184 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)
19
Early backer (in before they grew)
148/150
Grantees still filing
104/150
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $19,075,000 · OtherNORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONNORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION - CARDIOVASCULAR INSTITUTE: $5,333,333 · OtherNORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION - CARDIOVASCULAR INSTI…MILKEN INSTITUTE: $5,100,000 · OtherMILKEN INSTITUTEOBAMA FOUNDATION: $1,666,666 · Other+96 more: $6,800,811 · Other+96 moreWHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $6,237,934 · Arts & CultureWHITNEY MUSEUM OF …MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $2,481,938 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM OF CONTEMPO…STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY: $1,214,000 · Arts & CultureSTEPPENWOLF THEATR…The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $848,750 · Arts & CultureThe United States …SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $500,000 · Arts & Culture+32 more: $1,259,204 · Arts & Culture+32 moreJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $6,210,060 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNITED…The Chicago Community Trust: $2,075,000 · PhilanthropyThe Chicago C…PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION: $350,000 · Philanthropy+6 more: $365,000 · PhilanthropyTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $3,500,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF…THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $1,576,700 · EducationTHE ART INS…CHILDREN FIRST FUND THE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 · EducationCHILDREN FI…Youth Guidance: $500,000 · EducationYouth Guida…+19 more: $1,478,040 · Education+19 moreNorthwestern University: $7,067,667 · Recreation & SportsNorthweste…CHICAGO CARES INC: $950,000 · Community ImprovementCHOOSE CHICAGO FOUNDATION: $250,000 · Community ImprovementGREATER AUBURN GRESHAM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $119,000 · Community Improvement+4 more: $101,000 · Community ImprovementAMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $1,200,000 · InternationalCentral Fund of Israel: $50,000 · International+5 more: $116,000 · International
Other$37,975,810Arts & Culture$12,541,826Philanthropy$9,000,060Education$8,054,740Recreation & Sports$7,067,667Community Improvement$1,420,000International$1,366,000

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 budgetNorthwestern University: $7,067,667 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $6,237,934 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $6,210,060 over 7y, 2.3% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $3,500,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $2,481,938 over 7y, 3.6% of budgetThe Chicago Community Trust: $2,075,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $1,576,700 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetSTEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY: $1,214,000 over 6y, 2.6% of budgetAMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $1,200,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetCHILDREN FIRST FUND THE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetCHICAGO CARES INC: $950,000 over 7y, 6.6% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $848,750 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetONEGOAL: $696,538 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $550,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetYouth Guidance: $500,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $500,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION: $350,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL INC: $315,000 over 5y, 8.8% of budgetInstitute for Nonviolence Chicago: $300,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetEVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND INC: $300,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $270,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCHOOSE CHICAGO FOUNDATION: $250,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION OF ILLINOIS INC: $250,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CHICAGO: $233,500 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetAFTER SCHOOL MATTERS INC: $200,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $200,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $194,600 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $175,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetEDUCATION REFORM NOW INC: $155,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetErikson Institute: $153,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetInvest for Kids Inc: $151,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetHIGH JUMP: $145,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetTHE CIVIC FEDERATION: $135,000 over 4y, 3.2% of budgetRehabilitation Institute of Chicago: $125,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH LAWNDALE EMPLOYMENT NETWORK: $125,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetDIGESTIVE HEALTH FOUNDATION: $125,000 over 4y, 29% of budgetGREATER AUBURN GRESHAM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $119,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetThe YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: $110,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetGlenkirk: $110,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetINTONATION MUSIC WORKSHOP: $105,000 over 7y, 2.6% of budgetHORIZONS NATIONAL STUDENT ENRICHMENT PROGRAM INC: $100,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetTHE WOMENS MEDIA CENTER INC: $100,000 over 3y, 6.0% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetONE MILLION DEGREES: $100,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetBERNARD ZELL ANSHE EMET DAY SCHOOL: $100,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetASPEN ART MUSEUM: $100,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetBerkeley Real Estate Forum: $75,000 over 3y, 4.4% 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 Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART ↗
  • Who funds The Chicago Community Trust ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN FIRST FUND THE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO CARES INC ↗
  • Who funds The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ↗
  • Who funds ONEGOAL ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE ↗
  • Who funds Youth Guidance ↗
  • Who funds SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ↗
  • Who funds PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL INC ↗
  • Who funds Institute for Nonviolence Chicago ↗
  • Who funds EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds CHOOSE CHICAGO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION OF ILLINOIS INC ↗
  • Who funds BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds AFTER SCHOOL MATTERS INC ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds Teach for America Inc ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds EDUCATION REFORM NOW INC ↗
  • Who funds Erikson Institute ↗
  • Who funds Invest for Kids Inc ↗
  • Who funds HIGH JUMP ↗
  • Who funds THE CIVIC FEDERATION ↗

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.

Circle of Service Fou…Arie and Ida Crown Me…John D and Catherine …The Chicago Community…Jewish Federation of …Polk Bros Foundation …Lloyd a Fry FoundationRobert R McCormick Fo…Dr Scholl FoundationKovler Family Foundat…Zell Family FoundationFrank Family Foundati…
Circle of Service FoundationIL57.7× affinity27 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Circle of Service Foundation · Arie and Ida Crown Memorial · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Lloyd a Fry Foundation · Robert R McCormick Foundation · Dr Scholl Foundation · Kovler Family Foundation · Zell Family Foundation · Frank Family 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 The Bluhm Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Bluhm Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • Cox Science Center and Aquarium Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Connecticut Public Broadcasting Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Guitars Over Guns Organization Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
42report 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.

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 184 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 Bluhm 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