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Trotter Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Trotter Family Foundation

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.

$225k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$125k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Animals$810kEducation$330kReligion$122kArts & Culture$13kHuman Services$10kFood & Nutrition$6kInternational$5kHousing & Shelter$2kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$125,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE FRIENDS OF MORTON SCHOOL$125,000
THE TROTTER PROJECT$100,000
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 (FY17–19, $4k) 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%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $300 → 14%NIGHT MINISTRY: $200 → 14%MARRYVILLE ACADEMY: $500 → 14%MARRYVILLE ACADEMY: $100 → 14%ERIE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $1k → 14%Tuesday's Child: $500 → 14%ORCHARD VILLAGE: $200 → 14%Children's Home Aid: $500 → 14%HOWARD AREA COMMUNITY CENTER: $300 → 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
WI
MI
NY
IN
OH
PA
CT
CA
MO
KY
VA
MD
NC
DC
OK
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.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 41 repeat orgs$208k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +43% since the first grant, against +36% for those funded once.

41 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 39 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

41
63

Total granted

$1.1M
$208k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+36%

Still filing today

44%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesAnimalsInternationalArts & CultureHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • TA
    THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
    3× · 2017–2019 · $3k · revenue +45%
  • BS
    Big Shoulders Fund
    2× · 2017–2018 · $2k · revenue +67%
  • SP
    SAMARITAN'S PURSE
    3× · 2017–2019 · $2k · revenue +134%

Funded once

  • FP
    FIRST PRES CHURCH OF WILMETTE
    one grant, 2018 · $42k
  • FP
    First Presbyterian Church of Wilmet
    one grant, 2019 · $35k
  • FP
    FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
    one grant, 2017 · $30k
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
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
2
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

The Chicago School educates the next generation of change-makers in innovative theory and culturally competent practice to strengthen the integrated health of individuals, organizations, and communities.

Education
3
The University of Chicago Charter School Corporation

To Prepare Students for Success in Four-Year Colleges.

Education
4
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
5
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
6
Concordia University Chicago

Steadfast in jesus christ as revealed in the holy scriptures, concordia university chicago promotes academic rigor in its liberal arts and professional programs; grounds students in objective truth, integrity, and excellence; and practices…

Education
7
Kipp Chicago Schools

The team at kipp chicago schools is guided by a simple, yet powerful mission: to create a network of excellent schools in chicago that teach our students the character and academic skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond, and to…

Education
8
Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute

The chicago psychoanalytic institute transforms the lives of individuals, families and communities, using psychoanalytic knowledge to help them grow and thrive.

Social Science
9
Communities in Schools of Chicago

Communities in schools of chicago (cis of chicago) connects social, health, and enrichment programs and services to chicago public school students. cis of chicago helps schools address students' most pressing needs by training them to…

—
10
Lycee Francais de Chicago Inc

The Lycee Francais de Chicago, driven by our core values of respect, responsibility and the joy of learning, empowers students to grow into active global citizens.

Education
11
Junior Achievement of Chicago

To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy

International
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 Children's Home & Aid Society of Ill; the most unlike its peers is Meals On Wheels. 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

45 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. 45 of the 105 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
44/45
Grantees still filing
36/45
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE TROTTER PROJECT: $807,900 · OtherTHE TROTTER PROJECTTHE FRIENDS OF MORTON SCHOOL: $252,000 · OtherTHE FRIENDS OF MORTON SCHOOLFIRST PRES CHURCH OF WILMETTE: $41,910 · Other+71 more: $149,170 · Other+71 moreCATALYST SCHOOLS: $21,000 · EducationTHE LATIN SCHOOL OF CHICAGO: $10,000 · EducationFREE UNION COUNTRY SCHOOL: $10,000 · EducationRENAISSANCE SCHOOL: $10,000 · EducationTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $2,500 · EducationBig Shoulders Fund: $2,200 · Education+2 more: $1,300 · EducationERIE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $1,300 · Human ServicesMaryville Academy: $600 · Human ServicesCHILDREN'S HOME & AID SOCIETY OF ILL: $500 · Human ServicesTuesdays Child: $500 · Human ServicesTHE NIGHT MINISTRY: $500 · Human ServicesHoward Area Community Center: $300 · Human ServicesORCHARD VILLAGE: $200 · Human ServicesAkron Snow Angels: $200 · Human ServicesChicago Symphony Orchestra: $3,000 · Arts & CultureSNOW CITY ARTS FOUNDATION: $500 · Arts & CultureChicago Architecture Foundation: $460 · Arts & CultureWORLD VISION INC: $1,200 · InternationalLUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF INC: $300 · InternationalFEED THE CHILDREN INC: $300 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $300 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $200 · InternationalThe Anti-Cruelty Society: $700 · AnimalsSAVE-A-PET INC: $500 · AnimalsChicago Zoological Society: $400 · AnimalsLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $300 · AnimalsORPHANS OF THE STORM: $300 · AnimalsPAWS INC: $100 · AnimalsSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $2,100 · Religion
Other$1,250,980Education$57,000Human Services$4,100Arts & Culture$3,960International$2,300Animals$2,300Religion$2,100

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 budgetCATALYST SCHOOLS: $21,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LATIN SCHOOL OF CHICAGO: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFREE UNION COUNTRY SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetRENAISSANCE SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetTANDEM FRIENDS SCHOOL OF CHARLOTTESVILLE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBig Shoulders Fund: $2,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $2,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetProvidence St Mel School: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetERIE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $1,300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD VISION INC: $1,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGLENWOOD ACADEMY: $800 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION INC: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Anti-Cruelty Society: $700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LAMBS FARM INC: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDEBORAH'S PLACE: $700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMaryville Academy: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSNOW CITY ARTS FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOME & AID SOCIETY OF ILL: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEAR NORTH MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAVE-A-PET INC: $500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTuesdays Child: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NIGHT MINISTRY: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Architecture Foundation: $460 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Zoological Society: $400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHoward Area Community Center: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF INC: $300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetORPHANS OF THE STORM: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFEED THE CHILDREN INC: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetORCHARD VILLAGE: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAkron Snow Angels: $200 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHELP HOSPITALIZED VETERANS INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH SHORE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLANDMARKS PRESERVATION COUNCIL OF ILLINOIS: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDisabled American Veterans: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAWS INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $100 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.

  • Who funds CATALYST SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds THE LATIN SCHOOL OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds FREE UNION COUNTRY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds RENAISSANCE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds TANDEM FRIENDS SCHOOL OF CHARLOTTESVILLE ↗
  • Who funds Chicago Symphony Orchestra ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds Big Shoulders Fund ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds Providence St Mel School ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds ERIE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds WORLD VISION INC ↗
  • Who funds GLENWOOD ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds THE JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds The Anti-Cruelty Society ↗
  • Who funds THE LAMBS FARM INC ↗
  • Who funds DEBORAH'S PLACE ↗

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…John D and Catherine …Helen V Brach Foundat…AbbVie FoundationDr Scholl FoundationThe a Montgomery Ward…Fifth Third Chicagola…Chicago Board of Trad…Rice FoundationAndrew and Alice Fisc…Circle of Service Fou…Baxter International …
The Chicago Community TrustIL24.4× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Helen V Brach Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · Dr Scholl Foundation · The a Montgomery Ward Foundation · Fifth Third Chicagoland Foundation · Chicago Board of Trade Foundation · Rice Foundation · Andrew and Alice Fischer Charitable Trust · Circle of Service Foundation · Baxter International 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 Trotter Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Trotter Family 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%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Lutheran World Relief Inc: 47% of income from government
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Feed the Children Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 105 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

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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