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The Sharon L King Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Sharon L King 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.

$42k
Granted FY2024still arriving
32
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Religion$64kEducation$39kHousing & Shelter$38kHealth$12kCrime & Legal$10kYouth Development$10kHuman Services$8kAnimals$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 32 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k31 grants · $27k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $15k
$250
Median grant
11
States reached
$559k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WINNETKA CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH$15,000
LAW CENTER FOR BETTER HOUSING$6,750
MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE$2,500
BRIGHT FUTURES FOUNDATION$2,500
GIRLS SCOUTS OF N INDIANAMICHIANA$2,000
HADLEY INSTITUTE FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED$2,000
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW ANNUAL FUND$2,000
HILLSDALE COLLEGE$1,500
OPEN COMMUNITIES$1,500
NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER$1,500
HOOVER INSTITUTE$500
LIGHTHOUSE$495
CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN$280
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION$275
AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOC$263
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, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 92% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%LIGHTHOUSE: $495 → 13%LIGHTHOUSE: $495 → 13%HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: $275 → 8%LIGHTHOUSE: $495 → 13%LIGHTHOUSE: $495 → 13%HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: $250 → 8%LIGHTHOUSE: $495 → 13%HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: $250 → 8%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $2k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $2k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 14%NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 14%CARPLS: $250 → 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
MI
NY
MA
IN
CA
NE
VA
MD
DC
OK
GA
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.
$183k · 38 repeat orgs$4k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +58% since the first grant, against +38% for those funded once.

38 repeat relationships: 28 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

38
5

Total granted

$183k
$610

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+58%
+38%

Still filing today

63%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationAnimalsHuman ServicesHealthCrime & LegalEnvironmentOther
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

  • LC
    Law Center for Better Housing
    5× · 2020–2024 · $33k · revenue +117%
  • THE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $18k · revenue +19%
  • NS
    NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER
    5× · 2020–2024 · $6k · revenue +53%

Funded once

  • CA
    COORDINATED ADVICE & REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR LEGAL SERVICESgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $250 · revenue +38%
  • CH
    COMM HUMANE SHELTER OF STEUBEN COUNTY
    one grant, 2023 · $100
  • SI
    Samaritan Interfaith Counseling Centergraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100 · revenue +149%
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
Endicott College

Endicott college offers students a vibrant academic environment that remains true to its founding principle of integrating professional and liberal arts with experiential learning. for more information see schedule o.

Education
2
University of Indianapolis

The University of Indianapolis champions lifelong learning through relevant and innovative education that fosters experiential learning, diverse perspectives, service for impact, and a global mindset.

Education
3
East-West University

East-west university is an independent institution of higher learning located in downtown chicago. its mission is the pursuit of excellence by all through relevant, effective and convenient education and service to humankind with a global,…

Education
4
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
5
Lincoln Park Conservancy

The mission of the lincoln park conservancy is to preserve and enhance the inspiring beauty of chicago's largest and most visited park for current and future generations. we believe that beauty matters. that it has the transformative power…

Recreation & Sports
6
Lake Forest Academy

Lake forest academy strives to embody in its practices - and to cultivate in its students -excellence of character, scholarship, citizenship, and responsibility.

Education
7
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
8
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
9
The Adler Planetarium

The adler planetarium ('adler') is a not-for-profit cultural institution whose mission is to connect people to the universe and each other under the sky we all share. it aspires to be the world's premier center for engaging in astronomy…

Arts & Culture
10
Southwestern Law School

For more than a century, southwestern has educated lawyers ready to serve clients, the profession, and our society with excellence. we empower students to reach their potential. we cultivate inclusion and belonging. we promote equity and…

Education
11
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
12
Illinois College

Illinois college is a co-educational institution of higher education learning providing a four-year educational program leading to the baccalaureate degree. illinois college is a community committed to the highest standards of scholarship…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Horticultural Society; the most unlike its peers is Evanston Scholarship 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

31 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 31 of the 47 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/31
Grantees still filing
28/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WINNETKA CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH: $64,150 · OtherWINNETKA CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHVALPARAISO UNIVERSITY: $10,000 · OtherVALPARAISO UNIVERSITYGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW ANNUAL FUND: $8,500 · OtherGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW ANNUAL FUNDGIRLS SCOUTS OF N INDIANAMICHIANA: $7,105 · OtherGIRLS SCOUTS OF N INDIANAMICHIANAHADLEY INSTITUTE FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED: $6,500 · OtherHADLEY INSTITUTE FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED+19 more: $11,185 · Other+19 moreLaw Center for Better Housing: $33,244 · Crime & LegalLaw Center for Bette…+1 more: $1,000 · Crime & LegalTHE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE: $17,700 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF M…HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $6,000 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGEBRIGHT FUTURES FOUNDATION: $2,500 · EducationBRIGHT FUTURES FO…Indian Hill Club Scholarship Foundation: $1,750 · EducationIndian Hill Club …+3 more: $1,395 · EducationNORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $6,000 · Human ServicesLIGHTHOUSE: $2,475 · Human ServicesHEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: $775 · Human Services+1 more: $250 · Human ServicesNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $1,233 · AnimalsThe Anti-Cruelty Society: $1,195 · AnimalsORPHANS OF THE STORM: $1,008 · AnimalsLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $945 · AnimalsSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $933 · AnimalsOPEN COMMUNITIES: $5,045 · Housing & ShelterAmerican Diabetes Association: $882 · HealthARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC: $628 · HealthHEARING HEALTH FOUNDATION: $200 · HealthSamaritan Interfaith Counseling Center: $100 · Health
Other$107,440Crime & Legal$34,244Education$29,345Human Services$9,500Animals$5,314Housing & Shelter$5,045Health$1,810

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 budgetLaw Center for Better Housing: $33,244 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE: $17,700 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $6,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER: $6,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetOPEN COMMUNITIES: $5,045 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetBRIGHT FUTURES FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetLIGHTHOUSE: $2,475 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetIndian Hill Club Scholarship Foundation: $1,750 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $1,233 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe Anti-Cruelty Society: $1,195 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetORPHANS OF THE STORM: $1,008 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPublic Interest Law Initiative: $1,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $945 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $933 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $930 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Diabetes Association: $882 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWINNETKA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC: $806 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: $775 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $722 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWINNETKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $700 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC: $628 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCOUNSELING CENTER OF THE NORTH SHORE INC: $603 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH SIDE HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $600 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $545 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of the Library- WinnetkaNorthfield: $400 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetCOORDINATED ADVICE & REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR LEGAL SERVICES: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEARING HEALTH FOUNDATION: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSamaritan Interfaith Counseling Center: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLAKE JAMES ASSOCIATION INC: $95 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTEUBEN COUNTY LAKES COUNCIL INC: $65 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.

  • Who funds Law Center for Better Housing ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds HILLSDALE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER ↗
  • Who funds OPEN COMMUNITIES ↗
  • Who funds BRIGHT FUTURES FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LIGHTHOUSE ↗
  • Who funds Indian Hill Club Scholarship Foundation ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION ↗
  • Who funds The Anti-Cruelty Society ↗
  • Who funds ORPHANS OF THE STORM ↗
  • Who funds Public Interest Law Initiative ↗
  • Who funds LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds SHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds American Diabetes Association ↗
  • Who funds WINNETKA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ↗
  • Who funds GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY ↗
  • Who funds WINNETKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds COUNSELING CENTER OF THE NORTH SHORE INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH SIDE HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds Friends of the Library- WinnetkaNorthfield ↗
  • Who funds COORDINATED ADVICE & REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR LEGAL SERVICES ↗

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…Sheila Reynolds Berne…Kemper Educational an…Tinberg FoundationJohn D and Alexandra …Berlin Family FundLawyers Trust Fund of…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…American Endowment Fo…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…
The Chicago Community TrustIL18.9× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Sheila Reynolds Berner Foundation · Kemper Educational and Charitable Fund · Tinberg Foundation · John D and Alexandra Nichols Family Foundation · Berlin Family Fund · Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust

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 Sharon L King Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Sharon L King Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • The Trustees of Mount Holyoke College: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
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 47 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 Sharon L King’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