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The John a Miller Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The John a Miller 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.

$1.5M
Granted FY2024still arriving
26
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$1.1M
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$3.1MHealth$546kPhilanthropy$373kSocial Science$210kArts & Culture$88kYouth Development$65kInternational$60kAnimals$35kOther$0
02FY2024 · 26 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k15 grants · $31k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $100k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $297k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.1M
$5,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$5.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER$1,114,811
HOOVER INSTITUTION - DEVELOPMENT OFFICE$100,000
PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION$96,631
JEWISH UNITED FUND$50,500
EISENHOWER HEALTH FOUNDATION$50,000
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY$25,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
WINNETKA PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION$20,000
RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCATION$10,000
HEALTH NETWORK FOUNDATION$10,000
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS FOUNDATION$10,000
AM SHALOM$5,900
YERKES FUTURE FOUNDATION$5,000
NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION$5,000
MILKEN INSTITUTE$5,000
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, $32k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, 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: $10k → 17%HEALTH NETWORK FOUNDATION: $10k → 17%COMMUNITY HOUSE: $1k → 14%COMMUNITY HOUSE: $500 → 14%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICES: $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

VT
IL
WI
NY
MA
OH
NJ
CT
CA
CO
KY
VA
DE
DC
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.5M · 42 repeat orgs$149k to everyone else

42 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2024, 23 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

42
42

Total granted

$4.5M
$120k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
+37%

Still filing today

67%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $29k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
PhilanthropyEducationHealthEnvironmentRecreation & SportsArts & 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

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
    8× · 2017–2024 · $2.9M · revenue +33%
  • JU
    JEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
    6× · 2019–2024 · $301k · revenue +57%
  • EM
    Eisenhower Medical Center
    4× · 2021–2024 · $200k · revenue +48%

Funded once

  • NH
    NORTHSHORE HEALTHSYSTEMS
    one grant, 2017 · $15k
  • CB
    CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS CHARITY
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • MF
    Metropolitan Family Servicesgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +89%
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
Loyola University of Chicago

We are chicago's jesuit, catholic university - a diverse community seeking god in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.

Education
2
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.

—
3
Columbia College Chicago

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

Education
4
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.

—
5
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
6
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
7
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
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
The Rockefeller University

The rockefeller university (the university) is a world renowned center for research and graduate education in the biomedical sciences, chemistry, bioinformatics, and physics. the university's 73 laboratories conduct both clinical and basic…

Education
10
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
11
University of Illinois Foundation

The Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is an independent and separate nonprofit entity from the University of Illinois. Our mission is to encourage and administer private gifts and serve the UI System by working closely with…

Education
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Horticultural Society; the most unlike its peers is Enchanted Backpack. 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

52 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. 52 of the 94 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
52/52
Grantees still filing
37/52
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $2,915,982 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DENVER+7 more: $118,800 · EducationJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $300,500 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNITED FUN…PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION: $300,000 · PhilanthropyPROSTATE CANCER F…Chicago Blackhawks Foundation: $64,500 · PhilanthropyChicago Blackhawk…JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $50,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION…+5 more: $17,857 · PhilanthropyHOOVER INSTITUTION - DEVELOPMENT OFFICE: $200,000 · OtherHOOVER INSTIT…Individual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherIndividual gr…HEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION FKA HEALTH NET FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · Other+62 more: $234,927 · Other+62 moreEisenhower Medical Center: $200,358 · Health+4 more: $8,970 · HealthRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $62,500 · Arts & CultureNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $10,100 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $515 · Arts & CultureCENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: $60,000 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INC: $5,000 · InternationalSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $34,000 · AnimalsPAWS CHICAGO: $1,250 · Animals
Education$3,034,782Philanthropy$732,857Other$554,927Health$209,328Arts & Culture$73,115International$65,000Animals$35,250

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 budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $2,915,982 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $300,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetPROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION: $300,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetEisenhower Medical Center: $200,358 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Blackhawks Foundation: $64,500 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION: $62,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: $60,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARINE CORPS SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $34,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION FKA HEALTH NET FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWINNETKA PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION: $20,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE LAWRENCEVILLE SCHOOL: $18,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetAccelerate Institute: $15,100 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetENCHANTED BACKPACK: $15,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $10,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MILKEN INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMetropolitan Family Services: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLAKE GENEVA FRESH AIR ASSOCIATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetNorthwestern University: $8,400 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION: $6,450 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ROBERT CROWN CENTER: $6,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetANDERSON GARDENS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetYERKES FUTURE FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEndeavor Health Clinical Operations: $4,600 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTEE OFF FORE LIFE INC: $3,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGENEVA LAKE CONSERVANCY INC: $2,150 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MULTIPLE MYELOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $2,020 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGENEVA AREA FOUNDATION INC HORTICULTURAL HALL: $1,750 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetLAKE SHORE COUNTRY CLUB: $1,643 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCRAFT EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND INC: $1,515 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY HOUSE: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPAWS CHICAGO: $1,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRehabilitation Institute of Chicago: $1,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFIGHT FOR THE FUTURE INC: $1,110 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCANCER WELLNESS CENTER: $1,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCAST WATER SAFETY FOUNDATION: $1,042 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORTH SHORE ART LEAGUE: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetIllinois Executive Mansion Association: $1,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetWINNETKA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC: $515 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGUS GIORDANO'S JAZZ DANCE CHICAGO INC D/B/A GIORDANO DANCE CHICAGO: $515 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUKRAINIAN CONGRESS COMMITTEE OF AMERICA: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGENEVA LAKE ASSOCIATION INC: $300 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNETWORK FOR GOOD: $258 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDESIGNS FOR DIGNITY: $250 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

The Chicago Community…John & Linda Anderson…Dean L & Rosemarie Bu…Carol Bernick Family …Otzen Family Foundati…A G Cox Charity Trust…The David & Colleen A…The Kirch FoundationThe Griffith Family F…Milton R Brown Family…The Anna Emery Hanson…The Simms Family Foun…
The Chicago Community TrustIL26.4× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · John & Linda Anderson Charitable Foundation · Dean L & Rosemarie Buntrock Foundation · Carol Bernick Family Foundation · Otzen Family Foundation Incorporated · A G Cox Charity Trust Xxxxx9001 · The David & Colleen Anderson Charitable Foundation · The Kirch Foundation · The Griffith Family Foundation · Milton R Brown Family Foundation · The Anna Emery Hanson Charitable Foundation 1 · The Simms 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 John a Miller Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The John a Miller Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
9report 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 94 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 John a Miller 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