Skip to content
Whirled Peas Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Whirled Peas Foundation Inc

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.

$800k
Granted FY2024still arriving
27
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$305k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0190% 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$351kEmployment$205kAnimals$103kInternational$50kHealth$35kEnvironment$30kPhilanthropy$20kCivil Rights$18kOther$0
02FY2024 · 27 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k16 grants · $46k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $124k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $325k
  • $250k+1 grant · $305k
$5,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$13k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MUSIC THEATER WORKS$305,000
Individual grant recipient$100,000
EVANSTON ANIMAL SHELTER ASSN$100,000
EVANSTON REBUILDING WAREHOUSE (ERW)$75,000
CURT'S CAFE$50,000
FUSE THEATER ENSEMBLE$34,000
STAND TALL INTERNATIONAL$30,000
THE WASTESHED MATCH FUND$25,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ILLINOIS$15,000
EVANSTON PRIDE$10,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA$10,000
SEASON OF CONCERN CHICAGO$5,000
EVANSTON SCHOLARS$5,000
TREVOR PROJECT$5,000
CHICAGO ABORTION FUND$5,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%STAND TALL INTERNATIONAL: $30k → 14%PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $10k → 17%FUSE THEATER ENSEMBLE: $34k → 12%OLD FRIENDS SENIOR DOG SANCTUARY: $500 → 7%STEP ACADEMICS - OPERATION BACKLOT PROGRAM: $1k → 14%SAIN RESCUE: $1k → 7%EVANSTON ANIMAL SHELTER ASSN: $100k → 14%STAND TALL INTERNATIONAL: $20k → 14%PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $3k → 17%FUSE THEATER ENSEMBLE: $10k → 12%EVANSTON PRIDE: $10k → 14%EVANSTON SCHOLARS: $5k → 14%MORAN CENTER: $2k → 14%EVANSTON SCHOLARS: $1k → 14%MY BLOCK MY HOOD: $10k → 14%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ILLINOIS: $15k → 14%JAMES B MORAN CENTER FOR YOUTH ADVOCACY: $1k → 14%CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN: $5k → 14%SEASON OF CONCERN CHICAGO: $5k → 14%CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN: $3k → 14%BRONZEVILLE HISTORIES INSTITUTE: $1k → 14%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ILLINOIS: $2k → 14%CHICAGO ABORTION FUND: $5k → 14%THE WASTESHED MATCH FUND: $25k → 14%CHICAGO ABORTION FUND: $3k → 14%TREVOR PROJECT: $5k → 14%HABITAT FOR HUMANITY CHICAGO: $1k → 14%MUSIC THEATER WORKS: $305k → 14%JEWISH UNITED FUND: $2k → 14%EVANSTON YWCA: $100k → 14%EVANSTON REBUILDING WAREHOUSE (ERW): $75k → 14%CURTS CAF: $55k → 14%CURT'S CAFE: $50k → 14%EVANSTON REBUILDING WAREHOUSE (ERW): $25k → 14%FORREST POWELL FOUNDATION (WE PROGRAM): $5k → 14%EVANSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%EVANSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%GIRLS PLAY SPORTS: $3k → 14%THE SKYLIGHT FOUNDATION: $2k → 14%EVANSTON PRESENT AND FUTURE: $1k → 14%FOREVER FORTUNATE FELINES: $2k → 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.

37%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$342k · 8 repeat orgs$585k to everyone else

8 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2024, 0 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
5

Total granted

$342k
$18k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+85%
+157%

Still filing today

75%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 28% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $568k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’24
AnimalsHealthArts & CultureCivil RightsRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyOther
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

  • CC
    CURT'S CAFE
    2× · 2020–2024 · $105k · revenue +111%
  • FT
    Fuse Theatre Ensemble
    2× · 2020–2024 · $44k · revenue +328%
  • PP
    Planned Parenthood of Illinois
    2× · 2020–2024 · $17k · revenue +77%

Funded once

  • MB
    MY BLOCK MY HOOD
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
  • FP
    FORREST POWELL FOUNDATION (WE PROGRAM)
    one grant, 2020 · $5k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $1k
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
Live Free Chicago

Live Free Illinois is a statewide organization partnering with over 120 congregations and directly impacted individuals to build safer more equitable communities across Illinois. Operating at the intersection of criminal justice reform and…

—
2
Planned Parenthood Illinois Action

Planned Parenthood Illinois Action (PPIA) is an independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(4) not-for-profit organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood in Illinois. PPIA engages in educational and electoral activity,…

—
3
Chicago United for Equity

Connecting and amplifying the power of individuals to build a just, equitable, and inclusive city.

Civil Rights
4
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Cook County

CASA of Cook County's vision is to protect abused and neglected children by providing them in court, a safe and permanent home, and an opportunity to grow, learn and thrive.

Crime & Legal
5
Paws and Claws Rescue Inc

Paws and Claws Cat Rescue is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to preventing and alleviating the suffering caused by abuse, neglect, and overpopulation. We help cats mentally and physically heal, and give them a chance to find love, a full…

Animals
6
Chicago Refugee Coalition

The Chicago Refugee Coalition is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated ot the alleviation of human suffering through innovative partnerships, advocacy and community empowerment.

Human Services
7
Center for Family Services

Administering an array of critical, intensive therapeutic interventions and/or facilitation services to emotionally and behaviorally disturbed clients for whom DCFS is legally responsible in order to stabilize their traditional or home of…

Human Services
8
Equality Illinois

Equality illinois builds a better illinois by advancing equal treatment and social justice through education, advocacy and protection of the rights of the lgbt community.

Philanthropy
9
Chicago Canine Rescue Foundation

Chicago canine rescue foundation finds permanent homes for homeless dogs in our community with a specific emphasis on assisting the most vulnerable animals, who without our help, would have no other options. while in our care, they are…

Animals
10
Care for Friends

Care for Friends provides fundamental food, clothing and healthcare programs for individuals in Chicago experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Our "no questions asked" policy removes the most common barriers to assistance and allows us…

Human Services
11
Chicago Parks Foundation

The Chicago Parks Foundation is a separate 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that also serves as the strategic partner for the coordination of fundraising and charitable resources for the Chicago Park District.

Recreation & Sports
12
A Better Chicago

A better chicago is changing how chicago fights poverty by investing in bold ideas that create opportunity for our youth.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Evanston Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Stand Tall International. 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

19 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. 19 of the 32 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/19
Grantees still filing
12/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Music Theatre Works Inc: $305,000 · Arts & CultureMusic Theatre Works IncFuse Theatre Ensemble: $44,000 · Arts & CultureFuse Theatre EnsembleEVANSTON REBUILDING WAREHOUSE (ERW): $100,000 · OtherEVANSTON REBUILDING WAREHOUSE (ERW)Individual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTHE WASTESHED MATCH FUND: $25,000 · OtherTHE WASTESHED MATCH FUNDEVANSTON PRIDE INC: $10,000 · OtherMY BLOCK MY HOOD: $10,000 · Other+15 more: $49,500 · Other+15 moreCURT'S CAFE: $105,000 · EmploymentCURT'S CAFEEVANSTON ANIMAL SHELTER ASSOCIATION: $100,000 · AnimalsEVANSTON ANI…+2 more: $2,500 · AnimalsStand Tall International: $50,000 · InternationalPlanned Parenthood of Illinois: $17,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $12,500 · HealthThe Skylight Foundation: $2,000 · HealthEvanston Community Foundation: $5,500 · PhilanthropyJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $2,000 · Philanthropy
Arts & Culture$349,000Other$294,500Employment$105,000Animals$102,500International$50,000Health$31,500Philanthropy$7,500

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 budgetMusic Theatre Works Inc: $305,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetCURT'S CAFE: $105,000 over 2y, 3.8% of budgetEVANSTON ANIMAL SHELTER ASSOCIATION: $100,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetFuse Theatre Ensemble: $44,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetPlanned Parenthood of Illinois: $17,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO ABORTION FUND: $7,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN: $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEVANSTON SCHOLARS: $6,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetEvanston Community Foundation: $5,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMPASSION & CHOICES: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGIRLS PLAY SPORTS INC NFP: $2,500 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetThe Skylight Foundation: $2,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOREVER FORTUNATE FELINES: $2,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetJAMES B MORAN CENTER FOR YOUTH ADVOCACY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY CHICAGO: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOLD FRIENDS SENIOR DOGS INC: $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…Elizabeth Beidler Tis…The Kellcie FundEvanston Community Fo…Jewish Federation of …AbbVie FoundationJpmorgan Chase Founda…Lewis-Sebring Family …Northwestern Universi…Circle of Service Fou…John D and Catherine …Arthur J Gallagher Fo…
The Chicago Community TrustIL16.8× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Elizabeth Beidler Tisdahl Foundation · The Kellcie Fund · Evanston Community Foundation · Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · AbbVie Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation · Northwestern University · Circle of Service Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Arthur J Gallagher 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 Whirled Peas Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Whirled Peas Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%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 · 0–5%
    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 32 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 Whirled Peas’ 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