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Illinois · Private foundation

The Spencer Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$24M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
214
Grants FY2025
186
Organizations funded FY2024
49%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$74,964
Largest grant, FY2025
$2,532,835
Organizations funded a year
143 to 194
FY2021 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
38
Total assets, FY2025
$665M
Applications
Takes unsolicited applications
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 49% of the organizations The Spencer Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 37% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 63% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6.8M went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24
EducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentSocial ScienceOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving140$22M36%
FY2024186$18M49%
FY2023192$23M44%
FY2022194$23M69%
FY2021143$19Mn/a
99% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Education$90MScience & Tech$4.1MHealth$4.0MArts & Culture$2.3MRecreation & Sports$2.0MCivil Rights$1.9MYouth Development$1.8MPhilanthropy$1.2MOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
AL
GA
TX
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2021 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
The National Academy of Education$21,236,774543%
William T Grant Foundation Inc$2,899,67836%
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois$2,354,8294n/a
New York University$1,905,12440%
Northwestern University$1,861,51150%
Michigan State University$1,852,5815n/a
Trustees of Boston University$1,478,46950%
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$1,343,8205n/a
Regents of the University of Michigan$1,226,7504n/a
Regents of the University of California at Berkeley$1,133,1463n/a
Show all 293 grantees
All grantees of The Spencer Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
The National Academy of Education$21,236,774543%
William T Grant Foundation Inc$2,899,67836%
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois$2,354,8294n/a
New York University$1,905,12440%
Northwestern University$1,861,51150%
Michigan State University$1,852,5815n/a
Trustees of Boston University$1,478,46950%
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$1,343,8205n/a
Regents of the University of Michigan$1,226,7504n/a
Regents of the University of California at Berkeley$1,133,1463n/a
University of Washington$1,130,2225n/a
Vanderbilt University$1,070,39030%
Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University$1,020,61250%
Pennsylvania State University$790,2915n/a
Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia$767,2803n/a
Teachers College Columbia University$743,47450%
University of Pittsburgh$690,84750%
Pomona College$671,43810%
Strategic Education Research Partnership Institute$639,190319%
Research Foundation of the City University of New York$615,99940%
American Indian College Fund$603,58730%
University of Chicago$538,27340%
The Education Trust Inc$522,39851%
Csu Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation$509,89730%
Philadelphia Student Union$500,000354%
Learning Policy Institute$483,75022%
University of Miami$464,43130%
University of Kansas Center for Research Inc$439,07830%
University of Florida$436,0724n/a
University of Massachusetts$424,4673n/a
Drexel University$423,11330%
University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc$409,44450%
Cal Poly Humboldt Sponsored Programs Foundation$400,00021%
The Corporation of Mercer University$388,22230%
University of Utah$384,4995n/a
National Opinion Research Center$372,54820%
Kansas State University$350,3013n/a
American Indian Science and Engineering Society$338,82621%
Trustees of Boston College$324,52740%
Minnesota Public Radio American Public Media$316,66630%
The Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund$311,36020%
Temple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education$299,50830%
Amplify Girls Inc$290,08937%
Johns Hopkins University$289,53240%
The Research Foundation for The State University of New York$287,12330%
Georgetown University$282,87120%
University of Michigan$272,704224%
Northeastern University$269,88840%
Regents of the University of California at San Diego$264,7363n/a
Adelphi University$254,47230%
Wake Forest University$243,44820%
The Brookings Institution$240,32520%
National Academy of Sciences$220,00030%
The George Washington University$214,97940%
Regents of the University of Colorado$211,2393n/a
University of Delaware$206,04630%
Russell Sage Foundation$200,0001n/a
Editorial Projects in Education Inc$200,00040%
Civic News Company$200,00040%
Regents of the University of California at Riverside$196,6593n/a
Oakland University$187,5222n/a
University Corporation at Monterey Bay$186,80620%
Utah State University$174,9733n/a
National Public Education Support Fund$170,00042%
Southern Methodist University$167,96730%
University of California- Davis$159,0172n/a
Chicago Public Media Inc$150,00030%
Loyola University of Chicago$150,00030%
Education Writers Association$150,00033%
University System of New Hampshire$149,7982n/a
Kennesaw State University Research and Service Foundation Inc$149,71021%
University of San Francisco$149,04340%
President and Trustees of Bates College$146,12130%
The Tower Foundation of San Jose State University$135,00020%
American Academy of Arts & Sciences$124,94511%
Washington State University$124,8622n/a
The New School$124,82020%
Trustees of Tufts College$124,19620%
Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska$117,8101n/a
Board of the University of Alabama$109,9362n/a
University of Tasmania Foundation USA$107,03329%
New Schools Fund$105,00020%
Georgia State University Research Foundation Inc$104,25730%
Chapman University$102,66530%
Pen American Center Inc$100,00011%
Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning$100,00021%
National Public Radio Inc$100,00020%
The Schott Foundation for Public Education$99,99911%
University of Denver$99,97420%
Depaul University$99,85020%
Seton Hall University$99,72520%
Swarthmore College$97,92020%
Council on Foundations Inc$95,00030%
Yale University$89,1093n/a
Bank Street College of Education$84,91220%
Forefront$81,50030%
Assoc for the Study of African American Life & His$76,00022%
Lesley University$75,00010%
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia$75,00010%
American Educational Research Association$75,00011%
The New Press Inc$75,0001n/a
Study Group Solutions Inc$75,00011%
California Association of African American Superintendents & Admin$75,00013%
National Florence Crittenton Mission$75,00012%
Drew University$75,00010%
LEAP Innovations$75,00012%
Equal Opportunity Schools$75,00011%
NAACP Empowerment Programs Inc$75,0001n/a
Appleseed Foundation Inc$75,00019%
Chicago State Foundation$75,00011%
United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc$75,00010%
Trinity University$75,00010%
Lewis University$75,00010%
Regents of the University of Idaho$75,0001n/a
Kids First Chicago for Education$75,00011%
The Freedom Bound Center$75,00014%
Women Leading Ed$75,0001n/a
The Howard University$75,00010%
Emory University$75,00010%
Milpa$74,99812%
Baylor University$74,99610%
Duke University$74,98510%
Davidson College$74,94210%
Mikva Challenge Grant Foundation$74,00021%
American Indian Center$70,0001n/a
Education Law Center Inc$65,00011%
Alder Graduate School of Education$64,50030%
Independent Sector$62,50050%
Trustees of Clark University$60,54720%
Dine College$60,0001n/a
Idaho State University$56,2261n/a
Lehigh University$55,76620%
Augsburg University$55,49010%
Chicago Architecture Foundation$52,75030%
Pacific University$50,00010%
William Marsh Rice University$50,00010%
Saint Mary's College of California$50,00010%
The Century Foundation Inc$50,00010%
Carnegie Mellon University$50,00010%
University of Hawaii Foundation$50,00010%
Poverty and Race Research Action Council$50,00013%
Florida State University Research Foundation Inc$50,00010%
Asian American Coalition for Children and Families Inc$50,00010%
Kent State University Foundation$50,00010%
Old Dominion University Research Foundation$50,00010%
The Conversation US Inc$50,00011%
Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation$50,00010%
Gettysburg College$50,00010%
Gallaudet University$50,00010%
American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences$50,00010%
Youth Mentoring Action Network$50,00013%
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit$50,00010%
Regents of the University of California$50,0001n/a
Grand Valley State University$50,0001n/a
Facing History & Ourselves Inc$50,00010%
Black Researchers Collective$50,000110%
The Jain Family Institute$50,0001n/a
Phi Delta Kappa International Inc$50,00011%
California State University San Marcos Corporation$50,00010%
American Association for the Advancement of Science$50,00010%
The Common Application Inc$50,00010%
Iowa State University$50,0001n/a
Dickinson College$49,99710%
Rowan University Foundation Inc$49,99710%
Wellesley College$49,99610%
St Lawrence University$49,99010%
President-Board of Trustees Santa Clara College$49,98810%
University of Louisville Research Foundation$49,98310%
University of Kentucky Research Foundation$49,97110%
Division of Indian Work$49,96311%
Suffolk University$49,96210%
Lemnis$49,95010%
Colgate University$49,91610%
University of Rochester$49,75110%
University of Maine System Inc$49,7291n/a
Salve Regina University$49,69410%
Regis University$49,60010%
Ithaca College$49,39810%
University of Wisconsin-Superior Alumni Assoc$48,812185%
John Carroll University$48,66710%
Rhodes College$48,42210%
President and Fellows of Middlebury College$47,81910%
Marquette University$45,66810%
Utah Valley University$45,0001n/a
Grassroots Indigenous Multimedia$43,9541n/a
The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago$43,50030%
Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities$42,91012%
Beloved Community Inc$40,00012%
The Trustees of Mount Holyoke College$40,00020%
Smithsonian Institution$39,00010%
Loyola Marymount University$37,82410%
James B Hunt Jr Institute for Educational Leadership & Policy Fdn$35,00010%
University of Central Ar Foundation Inc$30,00010%
Chicago Learning Exchange$30,00015%
Association of Black Foundation Executives Inc$30,00030%
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law$25,00010%
STEM Santa Fe$25,00015%
The University Foundation at Sacramento State$25,00010%
California Indian Museum & Cultural Center$25,00011%
Sealaska Heritage Institute$25,00010%
Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks$25,00010%
Fordham University$24,79610%
Macalester College$22,50020%
Lawndale Educational and Regional Network Charter School$22,50030%
Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative$21,9131n/a
Foundation for Western Washington University and Alumni$20,00010%
American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation$20,00011%
The Bell Foundation Inc$16,50030%
Spelman College$15,00010%
American University$15,00010%
United Way of Santa Cruz County$15,00010%
Patriots Youth Travel Football$15,0002n/a
International Society of Learning Sciences Inc$15,00016%
Center for Impact Research$15,00014%
Bright Promises Foundation$13,50031%
Pine Street Inn Inc$11,00020%
Central Michigan University$10,5002n/a
The562 Network Inc$10,50022%
Saint Francis House Inc$10,00020%
Foundation Financial Officers Group Inc$10,0001n/a
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte$10,0001n/a
Americans for Oxford Inc$10,00010%
The History of Education Society$10,00012%
Social Science Research Council$10,00010%
The Spence School$9,00010%
City Year Inc$8,25030%
Project Uplift Foundation St Louis-Metro East$7,5001n/a
Castilleja School Foundation$6,22520%
Worship Warming Center$6,0001n/a
A Magical Journey Thru Stages Inc$6,00021%
Rosie's Place Inc$6,00020%
Edsource Inc$6,00030%
Luna Nova Music$5,2503n/a
Roca Inc$5,00020%
Chicago Run$5,00011%
N1 Foundation$5,00010%
Reading in Motion$5,00010%
Resilience Partners NFP$5,00010%
The Musical Arts Institute$5,00011%
Debate It Forward$5,0001n/a
Metropolitan Family Services$5,00010%
Praize Productions Inc Nfp$5,00013%
Breakthrough Urban Ministries Inc$5,00010%
Kidz Express$5,00015%
Teachers Supporting Teachers$5,00012%
Association for the Study of Higher Education$5,00011%
Red Clay Dance Company Inc$4,00011%
Storycatchers$4,00010%
Math Circles of Chicago$4,00011%
Chicago Persian School NFP$4,00016%
Icna Relief USA Programs Inc$4,00010%
Brighton Park Neighborhood Council$4,00010%
Girlforward$4,00011%
New Community Outreach$4,00012%
One Million Degrees$4,00010%
Homeless Prenatal Program Inc$3,75020%
Writers & Books Inc$3,00010%
The Urban Institute$3,00020%
The Pearl Foundation Inc$3,00024%
The Night Ministry$3,00030%
College Unbound$3,00010%
Women's Foundation of Alabama$3,00010%
Equal Justice Initiative$3,00020%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$2,00010%
Csusb Philanthropic Foundation$1,50010%
Action Sports Kids Foundation Inc$1,50011%
National Park Foundation$1,50010%
El Sistema Usasalinas Inc$1,50010%
Emmanuel Faith Community Church Inc$1,5001n/a
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention$1,50010%
Jespy House Inc$1,50010%
Hias Inc$1,50010%
The Ancona School$1,05020%
Mother Caroline Academy & Education Center$1,00020%
The IMPAC Fund Inc$75018%
United Philanthropy Forum$75010%
Northwestern University Settlement Association$75010%
Winnetka Community House Inc$75010%
WGBH Educational Foundation$75010%
Friends of Brennemann$75011%
Mudlark Theater Company NFP$75010%
New Moms Inc$75010%
Best Friends Animal Society$45010%
Compass for Kids Inc$37510%
Orphans of the Storm$30010%
Early Childhood Initiative Inc$30010%
Hitops Inc$30010%
Engaging Schools Inc$30020%
Miramonte High School Boosters Club$25010%
Radio Milwaukee Inc$18010%
Wolfs Crossing PTA$18010%
Oswego East Wolf Parents$15010%
American Heart Association Inc$15010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 209 recipients with no EIN on record ($35M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

The Spencer Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 3 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 200 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetThe National Academy of Education: $21,236,774 over 5y, 43% of budgetWilliam T Grant Foundation Inc: $2,899,678 over 3y, 5.5% of budgetNew York University: $1,905,124 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $1,861,511 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Boston University: $1,478,469 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University: $1,070,390 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetArizona State University Foundation for a New American University: $1,020,612 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTeachers College Columbia University: $743,474 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Pittsburgh: $690,847 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPomona College: $671,438 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetStrategic Education Research Partnership Institute: $639,190 over 3y, 19% of budgetResearch Foundation of the City University of New York: $615,999 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Indian College Fund: $603,587 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $538,273 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetThe Education Trust Inc: $522,398 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetCsu Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation: $509,897 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetPhiladelphia Student Union: $500,000 over 3y, 54% of budgetLearning Policy Institute: $483,750 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetUniversity of Miami: $464,431 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Kansas Center for Research Inc: $439,078 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetDrexel University: $423,113 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Georgia Research Foundation Inc: $409,444 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCal Poly Humboldt Sponsored Programs Foundation: $400,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetThe Corporation of Mercer University: $388,222 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNational Opinion Research Center: $372,548 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Indian Science and Engineering Society: $338,826 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTrustees of Boston College: $324,527 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMinnesota Public Radio American Public Media: $316,666 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund: $311,360 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $299,508 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmplify Girls Inc: $290,089 over 3y, 6.6% of budgetJohns Hopkins University: $289,532 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetThe Research Foundation for The State University of New York: $287,123 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGeorgetown University: $282,871 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $272,704 over 2y, 24% of budgetNortheastern University: $269,888 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAdelphi University: $254,472 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWake Forest University: $243,448 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Brookings Institution: $240,325 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNational Academy of Sciences: $220,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe George Washington University: $214,979 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Delaware: $206,046 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetEditorial Projects in Education Inc: $200,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetCivic News Company: $200,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetUniversity Corporation at Monterey Bay: $186,806 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNational Public Education Support Fund: $170,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetSouthern Methodist University: $167,967 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Public Media Inc: $150,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 200.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Gates FoundationWA53.3× affinity34 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gates Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · Carnegie Corporation of New York · Walton Family Foundation Inc · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · William T Grant Foundation Inc · Field Foundation of Illinois · WK Kellogg Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · The Heising-Simons Foundation · The Wallace Foundation · The Ford 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.

Compare The Spencer Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Spencer Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Spencer 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.

About The Spencer Foundation

How much does The Spencer Foundation give?
The Spencer Foundation reported 214 grants totaling $24,318,536 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 143 and 194 organizations a year over FY2021 to FY2024.
What does The Spencer Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2021 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (78%), Science & Tech (4%), Health (3%).
Who are The Spencer Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2021 to FY2025: The National Academy of Education ($21M), William T Grant Foundation Inc ($2.9M), The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois ($2.4M).
Does The Spencer Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 49% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The Spencer Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
Which funders back the same organizations as The Spencer Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Gates Foundation, The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Where is The Spencer Foundation based?
The Spencer Foundation is based in IL.

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 519 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 Spencer’s filings →

More from the funding graph