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The McKenzie Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The McKenzie Foundation

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.

$115k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$40k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2025.

International$385kEducation$284kCrime & Legal$143kPhilanthropy$88kAnimals$40kHealth$20kHousing & Shelter$9k
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $18k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $98k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT NO 211 FOUNDATION$40,000
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL$35,000
UNCHARTED LEARNING NFP$12,500
BARRINGTON AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$10,000
JUDSON UNIVERSITY A BAPTIST INSTITUTION$7,500
SCHAUMBURG AM ROTARY CLUB FOUNDATION$5,000
FELLOWSHIP HOUSING CORPORATION$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 (FY18–23, $50k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%THE ORPHANETWORK: $10k → 10%THE ORPHANETWORK: $10k → 10%THE ORPHANETWORK: $10k → 10%THE ORPHANETWORK: $10k → 10%THE ORPHANETWORK: $5k → 10%THE ORPHANETWORK: $5k → 10%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.
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.
$621k · 11 repeat orgs$13k to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
2

Total granted

$621k
$13k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+145%

Still filing today

100%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
PhilanthropyEducationCrime & LegalHealthHuman ServicesAnimalsOther
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

  • CA
    CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER OF NORTH & NORTHWEST COOK COUNTY
    7× · 2017–2023 · $143k · revenue +115%
  • TH
    TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 211 FOUNDATION
    2× · 2024–2025 · $100k · revenue +37%
  • UL
    UNCHARTED LEARNING NFP
    7× · 2019–2025 · $80k · revenue +67%

Funded once

  • ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +145%
  • PH
    Pleasant Hill Elem School
    one grant, 2024 · $3k
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
Ruby Jolliffe Scholarship Foundation
International
2
Trufant Family Foundation
Education
3
Tony's Charitable Foundation

Caring for and curing the future of chicagoland.

Youth Development
4
The Family Foundation
Philanthropy
5
Century College Foundation

The century college foundation actively supports century college through strategic collaborations, providing student scholarships, emergency grants, and crucial program support to enhance student success and workforce development.

Education
6
The Rourke Family Foundation
—
7
Jojo Siwa Childhood Cancer Foundation

The jojo siwa childhood cancer foundation is a non-profit organization built with love to spread awareness and provide hope for children battling cancer

Health
8
Cancer Research and Life Foundation

The organization supports development of novel and compassionate therapies and treatment for the poor, the needy, the hopeless and the forgotten stricken with the deadly disease of cancer.

Health
9
Rotary Club of Tucson Foundation

The purpose of the foundation is to support the local and international communities through donations to educational, community and international charities.

Community Improvement
10
The H Foundation

The h foundation was established to raise funds for basic science cancer research, supporting the early, novel ideas that may lead research teams to obtain additional grants and advancements in the fight against cancer.

Health
11
Jonathan D Rosen Family Foundation
Human Services
12
The Tyler Trent Foundation Trent

The tyler trent foundation is dedicated to continuing tyler's mission to support pediatric cancer research and honor his memory.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is St Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc; the most unlike its peers is Schaumburg Am Rotary Club 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

13 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. 13 of the 14 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)
13/13
Grantees still filing
10/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL: $335,000 · InternationalTHE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNA…TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 211 FOUNDATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyTOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DI…BARRINGTON AREA COMM FOUNDATION INC: $60,000 · PhilanthropyBARRINGTON AREA COMM FO…SCHAUMBURG AM ROTARY CLUB FOUNDATION: $28,000 · PhilanthropySCHAUMBURG AM ROTARY CL…ANTHONY RIZZO FAMILY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropyUNCHARTED LEARNING NFP: $80,000 · EducationUNCHARTED LEARNING NF…JUDSON UNIVERSITY A BAPTIST INSTITUTION: $62,500 · EducationJUDSON UNIVERSITY A B…FRIENDS OF THE FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $38,500 · EducationFRIENDS OF THE FOLDS …CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER OF NORTH & NORTHWEST COOK COUNTY: $143,000 · Crime & LegalCHILDREN'S ADVOC…The Orphanetwork: $50,000 · Human ServicesSoul Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program: $40,000 · AnimalsST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $10,000 · HealthFellowship Housing Corporation: $9,175 · OtherPleasant Hill Elem School: $2,500 · Other
International$335,000Philanthropy$198,000Education$181,000Crime & Legal$143,000Human Services$50,000Animals$40,000Health$10,000Other$11,675

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 budgetTHE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL: $335,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER OF NORTH & NORTHWEST COOK COUNTY: $143,000 over 7y, 2.0% of budgetTOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 211 FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 23% of budgetUNCHARTED LEARNING NFP: $80,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetJUDSON UNIVERSITY A BAPTIST INSTITUTION: $62,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetBARRINGTON AREA COMM FOUNDATION INC: $60,000 over 8y, 2.2% of budgetThe Orphanetwork: $50,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetSoul Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program: $40,000 over 6y, 12% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $38,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetSCHAUMBURG AM ROTARY CLUB FOUNDATION: $28,000 over 7y, 9.7% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANTHONY RIZZO FAMILY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetFellowship Housing Corporation: $9,175 over 2y, 0.2% 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.

First Fruits Family F…The Chicago Community…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…Natl Christian Charit…Paypal Charitable Giv…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
First Fruits Family FoundationFL13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: First Fruits Family Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 McKenzie Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The McKenzie Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 The McKenzie Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The McKenzie Foundation 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 14 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on McKenzie’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