Illinois · Private foundation
The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity
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.
- $670k
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 9
- Grants FY2025
- 9
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 11%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Median grant, FY2025
- $50,000
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $200,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 6 to 10
- FY2020 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 5
- Total assets, FY2025
- $2.9M
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 11% of the organizations The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity funded were first-time grantees, receiving 5% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 9 | $670k | 11% |
| FY2024 | 9 | $555k | 11% |
| FY2023 | 10 | $455k | 20% |
| FY2022 | 8 | $375k | 13% |
| FY2021 | 6 | $275k | 0% |
| FY2020 | 8 | $240k | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cato Institute | $624,600 | 6 | 0% |
| Illinois Policy Institute | $545,000 | 6 | 2% |
| The Cara Program | $215,000 | 6 | 0% |
| The Seminar Network Inc | $200,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Washington University | $150,000 | 6 | 0% |
| Chicago's Sunshine Enterprises Inc | $90,000 | 3 | 1% |
| Skills for Chicago | $50,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Students for Liberty Inc | $30,000 | 3 | 0% |
| Liberty Justice Center | $15,000 | 3 | 0% |
| Barry Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research | $5,000 | 1 | 0% |
Plus 3 recipients with no EIN on record ($645k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity supplied at peak.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund
How this is measured
Compare The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity with peer funders
About The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity
- How much does The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity give?
- The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity reported 9 grants totaling $669,600 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 6 and 10 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2024.
- What does The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2025, its largest causes are Public Benefit (46%), Education (25%), Civil Rights (15%).
- Who are The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2020 to FY2025: Cato Institute ($625k), Illinois Policy Institute ($545k), The Cara Program ($215k).
- Does The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 11% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity accept unsolicited applications?
- Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- Which funders back the same organizations as The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Chicago Community Trust, Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, National Philanthropic Trust.
- Where is The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity based?
- The Margulis Foundation for Freedom and Opportunity is based in IL.
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