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The Weasel Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

The Weasel Fund

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.

$301k
Granted FY2024still arriving
21
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$304kFood & Nutrition$262kEducation$250kHuman Services$95kHealth$78kEnvironment$63kCivil Rights$45kRecreation & Sports$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $29k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $222k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$10,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE MONTESSORI SCHOOL OF ENGLEWOOD$50,000
DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER$30,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY$30,000
CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL PUPPET THEATER FESTIVAL$25,000
GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY$25,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC$20,000
ZENO MOUNTAIN FARM$17,000
ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS$15,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
DEEPLY ROOTED DANCE THEATER$10,000
KHECARI DANCE THEATER$10,000
HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO$10,000
THE SELDOMS$10,000
AUDIENCE ARCHITECTS NFP$10,000
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN$7,500
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, $93k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $15k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $15k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $15k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $10k → 14%ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $10k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $5k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $5k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $5k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $5k → 14%INVEST FOR KIDS: $5k → 14%THE YOUNG CENTER: $3k → 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

VT
MN
IL
NY
CA
CO
MO
VA
DC
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 29 repeat orgs$69k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +31% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

29 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

29
12

Total granted

$1.1M
$59k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+16%

Still filing today

69%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k 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
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationScience & TechFood & NutritionHealthOther
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

  • DD
    DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER
    4× · 2020–2024 · $115k · revenue +9%
  • GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY
    5× · 2020–2024 · $103k · revenue +17%
  • PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $78k · revenue +40%

Funded once

  • CD
    Chicago Dancemakers Forumgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $20k · revenue +181%
  • LP
    LUCKY PLUSH PRODUCTIONS
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue -48%
  • LL
    LAMBDA LEGAL
    one grant, 2020 · $5k
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
Visceral Dance Chicago Nfp

Visceral Dance Chicago is a contemporary company dedicated to providing a comprehensive environment designed to cultivate dance education, creation and performance for choreographers, dancers, and artists.

Arts & Culture
2
Danceworks Chicago Inc Nfp

To build a foundation for the individual artistic growth of dancers and choreographers, providing a laboratory from which early career artists propel themselves and the art form to a new level through training, collaboration, mentorship,…

Arts & Culture
3
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre

To use multiple artistic forms (primarily dance and music) and the combined talents of our diverse company to convey intense personal narratives. We are proudly and visibly multicultural, exploring the intersection of heritage, culture,…

Arts & Culture
4
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Inc

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University ("The Auditorium"), an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, is committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community and educational programming to Chicago and to the…

Arts & Culture
5
Chicago Theatre Group Inc

The chicago theatre group is committed to producing both classic and contemporary works giving full voice to a wide range of artists and visions. by dedicating itself to three guiding principles - quality, equity, and community - the…

Arts & Culture
6
Chicago Opera Theater

Chicago opera theater expands the tradition of opera as a living art form by engaging lovers of music and storytelling through innovative experiences, predominantly of new and rarely performed works.

Arts & Culture
7
South Chicago Dance Theatre

South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT) is a multicultural organization seamlessly fusing classical and contemporary dance styles as well as preserving historic dance work. With Choreographic Diplomacy at the heart of the organization, the…

Arts & Culture
8
Music and Dance Theater Chicago Inc
Arts & Culture
9
Pegasus Theatre Chicago

Pegasus Theatre Chicago is a professional theater approaching 45 years of supporting Chicagos diverse community by producing accessible, socially relevant theatre and promoting the development of new artists for the stage. Our mission is…

—
10
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
11
The Ballet Chicago Company

Ballet Chicago is a professional track school of ballet that creates exceptional dancers. It makes classical ballet training accessible to all. Its founders Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair carry on George Balanchines legacy by providing…

—
12
Constellation Performing Arts

Constellation is a performing arts presenter with an emphasis on forward- thinking practices, particularly in the areas of jazz, improvised, experimental, and contemporary classical music.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Dancemakers Forum; the most unlike its peers is Lucky Plush Productions. 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

29 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. 29 of the 44 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/29
Grantees still filing
21/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE MONTESSORI SCHOOL OF ENGLEWOOD: $200,000 · OtherTHE MONTESSORI SCHOOL OF ENGLEWOODTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $60,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYZENO MOUNTAIN FARM: $44,000 · OtherZENO MOUNTAIN FARMKHECARI DANCE THEATER: $35,000 · OtherKHECARI DANCE THEATERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN INC: $30,000 · OtherNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN INCIndividual grant recipient: $25,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $20,000 · OtherSPECIAL OLYMPICS INC: $25,000 · Other+15 more: $93,000 · Other+15 moreChicago International Puppet Theater Festival: $50,000 · Arts & CultureChicago International P…HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO: $40,000 · Arts & CultureHUBBARD STREET DANCE CH…THE SELDOMS: $35,000 · Arts & CultureTHE SELDOMSDeeply Rooted Productions Inc: $30,000 · Arts & CultureDeeply Rooted Productio…The National Public Housing Museum: $22,500 · Arts & CultureThe National Public Hou…Chicago Dancemakers Forum: $20,000 · Arts & CultureChicago Dancemakers For…Audience Architects NFP dba See Chicago Dance: $20,000 · Arts & CultureAudience Architects NFP…LINKS HALL INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureLINKS HALL INCLUCKY PLUSH PRODUCTIONS: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $12,000 · Arts & CultureDONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER: $115,000 · Science & TechDONALD DAN…GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $103,000 · Food & NutritionGREATER C…ASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $65,000 · Human ServicesInvest for Kids Inc: $25,000 · Human Services+1 more: $2,500 · Human ServicesPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $77,500 · HealthBARD COLLEGE: $30,000 · EducationAMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND: $17,500 · EducationColumbia College Chicago: $2,500 · Education
Other$532,000Arts & Culture$254,500Science & Tech$115,000Food & Nutrition$103,000Human Services$92,500Health$77,500Education$50,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetDONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER: $115,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $103,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $77,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetASPIRE OF ILLINOIS: $65,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $60,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetChicago International Puppet Theater Festival: $50,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetHUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO: $40,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTHE SELDOMS: $35,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN INC: $30,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetDeeply Rooted Productions Inc: $30,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetBARD COLLEGE: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetInvest for Kids Inc: $25,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS INC: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe National Public Housing Museum: $22,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetChicago Dancemakers Forum: $20,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetAudience Architects NFP dba See Chicago Dance: $20,000 over 2y, 4.7% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND: $17,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLINKS HALL INC: $15,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetLUCKY PLUSH PRODUCTIONS: $10,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetLOVE SERVE REMEMBER FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetRED CLAY DANCE COMPANY INC: $10,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetCHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN: $7,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetSHRIVER CENTER ON POVERTY LAW: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEDGAR MILLER LEGACY: $5,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetColumbia College Chicago: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE YOUNG CENTER FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDRENS RIGHTS: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% 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…Gaylord and Dorothy D…John D and Catherine …Ncrc Community Develo…The Martha Struthers …Walder FoundationNew England Foundatio…Elizabeth F Cheney Fo…Lloyd a Fry FoundationPolk Bros Foundation …3arts IncAlphawood Foundation
The Chicago Community TrustIL26.2× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Ncrc Community Development Fund Inc · The Martha Struthers Farley and Donald C · Walder Foundation · New England Foundation for the Arts Incorporated · Elizabeth F Cheney Foundation · Lloyd a Fry Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · 3arts Inc · Alphawood 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 Weasel Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Weasel Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 Weasel Fund?

    Find your warmest path to The Weasel Fund 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 44 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.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Weasel’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