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The Springboard Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

The Springboard Foundation

The mission of the Springboard Foundation is to provide financial and intellectual capital to selected "grass roots" charitable programs that otherwise would have difficulty obtaining financial support.

$418k
Granted FY2020
12
Grants FY2020
1
States reached
$274k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2020.

Philanthropy$430kArts & Culture$334kYouth Development$207kEducation$86kHuman Services$62kHealth$36kPublic Benefit$29kEnvironment$16kOther$0
02FY2020 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 12 grants below total $355,879, the rows itemized in this filing. The $418,345 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $62,466 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k10 grants · $70k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $11k
  • $250k+1 grant · $274k
$7,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
The Chicago Community Foundation$274,435
Simple Good$11,250
River City Community Development Center$9,500
Chicago Heart Initiative$7,500
Music In Urban Schools Inspiring Change$7,500
Mariachi Heritage Foundation Inc$7,500
Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra Project NFP$7,000
Territory$6,444
Debate It Forward$6,250
Role Model Movement Inc NFP$6,250
West Point Fellowship Inc$6,250
Nehemiah Group (DBA Chicago Eco House)$6,000
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 (FY18–20, $71k) 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%River City Community Development Center: $20k → 14%River City Community Development Center: $19k → 14%River City Community Development Center: $10k → 14%The Bloc: $8k → 14%Madonna Mission: $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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 23 repeat orgs$96k to everyone else

23 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2020, 11 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
8

Total granted

$1.1M
$96k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+105%
+160%

Still filing today

83%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20
Arts & CultureYouth DevelopmentHuman ServicesEducationHealthCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • FM
    FORWARD MOMENTUM CHICAGO
    2× · 2018–2019 · $49k · revenue +81%
  • TS
    The Simple Good
    3× · 2018–2020 · $48k · revenue +302%
  • RC
    River City Community Development Center
    3× · 2018–2020 · $48k · revenue +298%

Funded once

  • G
    GIRLFORWARDgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $20k · revenue +41%
  • CH
    Chicago Heightening Opportunity and Potential forgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $16k · revenue +160%
  • TM
    The Musical Arts Institutegraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $15k · revenue +294%
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
True Chicago
Arts & Culture
2
Chicago Votes

Chicago Votes is a non-partisan, non-profit organization building a more inclusive democracy by putting power in the hands of young Chicagoans. We're engaging and developing a new generation of leaders by opening the doors of government,…

Civil Rights
3
Chicago Run

To promote the health and wellness of Chicago children through innovative, engaging, and sustainable youth running programs.

Philanthropy
4
Chicago Dance Institute

Advance art education in Chicago schools

Arts & Culture
5
Chicago City Theatre Company dba Joel Hall Dancers & Center

To enrich the lives of our community through dance education and performance while developing Chicago's native talent pool in a welcoming environment that celebrates multiculturalism & ethnic diversity.

Arts & Culture
6
Chicago Percussion Inc Nfp

Chicago Percussion provides music education programs to youth in the City of Chicago. We host on site and digital percussion education classes, produce 'master classes' in the city of chicago, and produce performances featuring…

—
7
Intonation Music Workshop

Intonation kids explore their limitless potential by learning to play instruments and forming their own rock bands. Our year-round classes make music accessible to children in low-income neighborhoods by providing them with instruments,…

Arts & Culture
8
The Chicago Innovation Foundation
Philanthropy
9
Chicago Beyond Inc
Philanthropy
10
Cps Lives Nfp

CPS Lives is a 501(C)(3) Non-profit arts organization that pairs Chicago artists, designers, creatives, thinkers, makers and educators with a Chicago public school during the academic year to collaborate on a project.

Arts & Culture
11
Chicago for Chicagoans Inc

Education

Arts & Culture
12
Classical Music Chicago

Presenting free high-quality classical music performances and music education experiences in the Chicago metropolitan area for people of all ages and degrees of musical awareness so they can experience how music enriches life.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Heightening Opportunity and Potential for; the most unlike its peers is Students Run Chicago. 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

28 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. 28 of the 31 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)
18
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/28
Grantees still filing
21/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $404,435 · OtherCHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONThe Simple Good: $48,278 · OtherThe Simple GoodMARIACHI HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $42,500 · OtherMARIACHI HERITAGE FOUNDATIONCHICAGO METAMORPHOSIS ORCHESTRA PROJECT NFP: $29,295 · OtherDEBATE IT FORWARD: $28,750 · OtherMATH CIRCLES OF CHICAGO: $28,500 · OtherPitch In: $25,250 · Other+8 more: $117,699 · Other+8 moreFORWARD MOMENTUM CHICAGO: $48,500 · Arts & CultureFORWARD MOMEN…MUSIC IN URBAN SCHOOLS INSPIRING CHANGE: $43,500 · Arts & CultureMUSIC IN URBA…Territory NFP: $26,006 · Arts & CultureTerritory NFPThe Musical Arts Institute: $15,000 · Arts & CultureThe Musical A…CHICAGO INDUSTRIAL ARTS AND DESIGN CENTER NFP: $13,100 · Arts & CultureCHICAGO INDUS…Role Model Movement Inc (NFP): $36,250 · Youth DevelopmentRole Model …DREAM ON EDUCATION: $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentDREAM ON ED…CHICAGO LAWNDALE AMACHI MENTORING PROGRAM: $32,500 · Youth DevelopmentCHICAGO LAW…GIRLFORWARD: $20,000 · Youth DevelopmentGIRLFORWARDRiver City Community Development Center: $48,136 · Human ServicesMadonna Mission: $15,000 · Human ServicesTHE BLOC: $8,000 · Human ServicesStudents Run Chicago: $35,860 · HealthCity Incite Inc: $29,528 · HealthWEST POINT FELLOWSHIP INC DBA WEST POINT SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $45,250 · ReligionLOST BOYZINC: $32,500 · Recreation & Sports
Other$724,707Arts & Culture$146,106Youth Development$123,750Human Services$71,136Health$65,388Religion$45,250Recreation & Sports$32,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFORWARD MOMENTUM CHICAGO: $48,500 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetThe Simple Good: $48,278 over 3y, 15% of budgetRiver City Community Development Center: $48,136 over 3y, 5.9% of budgetWEST POINT FELLOWSHIP INC DBA WEST POINT SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $45,250 over 3y, 14% of budgetMUSIC IN URBAN SCHOOLS INSPIRING CHANGE: $43,500 over 3y, 12% of budgetMARIACHI HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $42,500 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetRole Model Movement Inc (NFP): $36,250 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetCity Incite Inc: $29,528 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetTerritory NFP: $26,006 over 3y, 13% of budgetPitch In: $25,250 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetThe Poetry Center: $22,065 over 2y, 13% of budgetRED CLAY DANCE COMPANY INC: $18,500 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetNehemiah Group dba Chicago Eco House: $16,486 over 2y, 9.0% of budgetChicago Heightening Opportunity and Potential for: $15,805 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetMadonna Mission: $15,000 over 1y, 6.8% of budgetCHICAGO INDUSTRIAL ARTS AND DESIGN CENTER NFP: $13,100 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetINSPIRE GIRLS ACADEMY: $7,843 over 1y, 19% 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 Seabury FoundationField Foundation of I…Polk Bros Foundation …A Better ChicagoThe Albert Pick Jr Fu…The Spencer FoundationThe Joyce FoundationFrederick Henry Princ…Lloyd a Fry FoundationJohn D and Catherine …AbbVie Foundation
The Chicago Community TrustIL42.2× affinity26 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · The Seabury Foundation · Field Foundation of Illinois · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · A Better Chicago · The Albert Pick Jr Fund · The Spencer Foundation · The Joyce Foundation · Frederick Henry Prince Testamentary Trust · Lloyd a Fry Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · AbbVie 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 Springboard Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Springboard Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%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
    0get no government money at all
    9report 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.

    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 31 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Springboard’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