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The Orlebeke Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Orlebeke Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$129k
Granted FY2025still arriving
3
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$112k
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.

Arts & Culture$1.8MYouth Development$208kPhilanthropy$130kCommunity Improvement$125kCivil Rights$50kPublic Safety & Disaster$10k
02FY2025 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $12k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $112k
$12,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE$111,600
SKYART NFP$12,000
ROGER BALDWIN FOUNDATION$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 (FY17–24, $206k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - CHICAGO: $40k → 14%FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - CHICAGO: $750 → 14%URBAN INITIATIVES: $75k → 14%URBAN INITIATIVES: $50k → 14%URBAN INITIATIVES: $25k → 14%URBAN INITIATIVES: $15k → 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.
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.
$2.2M · 9 repeat orgs$49k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +59% since the first grant, against -8% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
6

Total granted

$2.2M
$49k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+59%
-8%

Still filing today

89%
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%’17’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementCivil RightsYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • ST
    STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY
    8× · 2017–2025 · $891k · revenue +59%
  • UI
    URBAN INITIATIVES INC
    4× · 2017–2022 · $165k · revenue +125%
  • PN
    PROSPERITY NOW
    2× · 2017–2018 · $125k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • CF
    CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETH
    one grant, 2018 · $25k
  • SO
    STATE OF IL COVID RELIEF FUND
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
  • CP
    CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue -8%
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
Lookingglass Theatre Company

Lookingglass theatre company is a national leader in the creation and presentation of innovative, cutting-edge theatrical work. lookingglass interweaves movement, circus arts and narrative in original and captivating ways. guided by an…

Arts & Culture
2
Park Square Theatre

To enrich the community by producing and presenting exceptional live theatre that touches the heart, engages the mind and delights the spirit.

—
3
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
4
Dream Chicago

Dream chicago offers joyful art-making experiences and learning opportunities that inspire hope, courage, creativity and community, particularly among chicago's underserved populations. dream chicago connects artists living their dreams…

Arts & Culture
5
Students Run Chicago
Health
6
Open Space Arts

Open Space Arts is a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to producing bold LGBTQ-focused theater and presenting independent queer cinema. The organization supports emerging and established artists while engaging audiences through live…

Arts & Culture
7
True Chicago
Arts & Culture
8
Chicago Children's Theatre

Chicago children's theatre aspires to enrich our community through diverse and significant theatrical and educational programming that engages and inspires the child in all of us.

Arts & Culture
9
The Chicago High School for the Arts

The chicago high school for the arts (chiarts) develops the next generation of diverse, artistically promising scholar-artists through intensive pre-professional training in the arts, combined with a comprehensive college preparatory…

Education
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
Writers Theatre Inc

Writers Theatre (WT) is a literary organization that operates not-for-profit theatres in Glencoe, Illinois. The Writers Theatre mission is to create intimate connections through astonishing performances and innovative programs; activating…

Arts & Culture
12
Timeline Theatre Company

Timeline theatre company presents stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. our collaborative organization produces provocative theatre and education programs that engage, entertain, and enlighten.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hyde Park Art Center; the most unlike its peers is Matthew Shepard 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

12 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. 12 of the 16 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
8/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY: $890,880 · Arts & CultureSTEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANYThe People's Music School: $53,000 · Arts & CultureThe People's Music School+3 more: $24,000 · Arts & CultureTHE KENNEDY-WARREN RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION INC: $819,273 · Community ImprovementTHE KENNEDY-WARREN RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION INCPROSPERITY NOW: $125,000 · Community ImprovementPROSPERITY NOWURBAN INITIATIVES INC: $165,000 · Human ServicesURBAN INIT…FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - CHICAGO: $40,750 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF…NEW VENTURE FUND: $100,000 · EnvironmentROGER BALDWIN FOUNDATION: $30,000 · OtherCITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETH: $25,000 · OtherSTATE OF IL COVID RELIEF FUND: $10,000 · OtherACLU: $5,000 · OtherMATTHEW SHEPARD FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Civil RightsTHE HAPPINESS CLUB: $2,500 · Youth Development
Arts & Culture$967,880Community Improvement$944,273Human Services$205,750Environment$100,000Other$70,000Civil Rights$20,000Youth Development$2,500

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 budgetSTEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY: $890,880 over 8y, 1.5% of budgetTHE KENNEDY-WARREN RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION INC: $819,273 over 5y, 55% of budgetURBAN INITIATIVES INC: $165,000 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetPROSPERITY NOW: $125,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe People's Music School: $53,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - CHICAGO: $40,750 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetMATTHEW SHEPARD FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetSkyArt NFP: $18,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HAPPINESS CLUB: $2,500 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetHYDE PARK ART CENTER: $1,000 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…The Bank of America C…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Chicago Community TrustIL14.3× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · 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 Orlebeke Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Orlebeke Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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 · 0–5%
    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 Orlebeke Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Orlebeke 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 16 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 Orlebeke’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