· Private foundation
William H & Lois J McEssy Foundation
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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2024
- Under $10k1 grant · $5k
- $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
- $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
- $250k+5 grants · $2.0M
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| CATHOLIC EXTENSION | $550,000 |
| ST JOHN VIANNEY | $550,000 |
| UNIVERSITY OF ST MARY OF THE LAKE | $410,000 |
| ARCHDIOCESE OF CHICAGO | $250,000 |
| DIOCESE OF WINONA-ROCHESTER | $250,000 |
| ST NORBERT COLLEGE | $50,000 |
| ST PATRICK CHURCH | $25,000 |
| ALHEIZMER'S ASSOCIATION | $5,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 58% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
Which US states its grants reach
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
33 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 26 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 88% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $250k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- SPST PAUL CENTER FOR BIBLICAL THEOLOGY3× · 2020–2023 · $213k · revenue +78%
ST NORBERT COLLEGE INC7× · 2017–2024 · $75k · revenue +3%- BSBig Shoulders Fund3× · 2019–2021 · $30k · revenue +36%
Funded once
- SFST FRANCIS DE SALESone grant, 2017 · $33k
- DODIOCESE OF JOLIETone grant, 2020 · $25k
- IGIndividual grant recipientone grant, 2017 · $13k
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.
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.
St. marys university, as a catholic marianist university, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence.
The International Catholic Jurists Forum (ICJF) was established to produce, compile, and share resources on fundamental human rights under attack in the regional and international human rights protection systems. It operates as a forum for…
Catholic answers is an apostolate dedicated to serving christ by bringing the fullness of catholic truth to the world. we help good catholics become better catholics, bring former catholics home, and lead non-catholics into the fullness of…
St. john's university is a catholic, vincentian, metropolitan, and global institution of higher education (continued on schedule o).
To foster the vitality of community through learning and the pursuit of wisdom.
To make the catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the culture of universities. to enrich academic communities at the university of chicago, across the nation, and the world with the insights of catholic thought. to dialogue with…
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…
The institute's mission is to conduct research on key issues facing society to help both the church and society deal thoughtfully with the major issues they face globally. the institute also sponsors and conducts research and scholarship…
The purpose of the university is to further the higher education of men and women through programs of liberal, professional, and pre-professional studies leading to the conferral of the baccaluareate and master degrees in the arts and…
Loyola University New Orleans, a Jesuit and Catholic institution of higher education, welcomes students of diverse backgrounds and prepares them to lead meaningful lives with and for others; to pursue truth, wisdom, and virtue; and to work…
As the national university of the catholic church in the united states, founded and sponsored by the bishops of the country with the approval of the holy see, the catholic university of america is committed to being a comprehensive…
The corporation of saint mary's college, notre dame (saint mary's) is a catholic, residential, women's, liberal arts college offering undergraduate degrees and co-educational graduate programs. (continued in schedule o)
How this is measured
15 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. 15 of the 47 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 IMMACULATE HEART MEDIA INC ↗
- Who funds ST PAUL CENTER FOR BIBLICAL THEOLOGY ↗
- Who funds ST NORBERT COLLEGE INC ↗
- Who funds Big Shoulders Fund ↗
- Who funds WOODLAWN FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds THE TIME IS NOW TO HELP INC ↗
- Who funds WORD ON FIRE CATHOLIC MINISTRIES ↗
- Who funds ILLINOIS CLUB FOR CATHOLIC WOMEN ↗
- Who funds AMERICAN FEDERATION OF PUERI CANTORES ↗
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.
Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · AbbVie Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization William H & Lois J McEssy Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from William H & Lois J McEssy Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to William H & Lois J McEssy Foundation?
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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.
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