How do I find funders for a education nonprofit in Illinois?

Start with the funders already giving to education in Illinois, currently University of Illinois Foundation, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, The Chicago Community Trust. Then look at who funds the education organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into Illinois from out of state.

Who is the largest education funder in Illinois?

University of Illinois Foundation gives the most to education organizations in Illinois, $487M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.

How much grant money goes to education in Illinois?

$3.3B reached 1,665 education organizations in Illinois, from 4,613 funders. 50% came from funders also based in Illinois.

How recent is this data?

It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the two years with complete coverage. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

Funding · Illinois · Education

Who funds education in Illinois

$3.3B reached 1,665 education organizations in Illinois, from 4,613 funders, with no single one dominating.

$3.3B

granted

1,665

organizations

50%

from in-state

The short version

4,613 funders gave $3.3B to 1,665 education organizations in Illinois across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings.
50% of that came from funders also based in Illinois; the rest reached in from out of state.
The largest funder of education in Illinois is University of Illinois Foundation, at $487M.
The education organization drawing the most is The Board of Trustees of the University, at $817M.

Largest funders of education in Illinois

The funders giving the most to education organizations in Illinois, in-state and out. Pick one for its dossier.

1University of Illinois Foundation$487M 2Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund$269M 3The Chicago Community Trust$155M 4The Big Ten Conference Inc$119M 5Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc$103M 6National Philanthropic Trust$79M 7Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund$75M 8American College of Surgeons Professiona$56M 9Loyola University Medical Center$55M 10Northwestern University$52M

Education organizations in Illinois that draw the most

Sized by grant dollars received. Pick one to see exactly who funds it.

1,655 other education organizations$1.2B

The Board of Trustees of the University$817M University of Chicago$687M University of Illinois Foundation$167M

How to find education funders in Illinois

1
Start with the funders already active in Illinois
The funders giving the most to education in Illinois are University of Illinois Foundation, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, The Chicago Community Trust. A funder already writing education checks in your state is the warmest place to begin.
2
See who funds organizations like yours
Open the education organizations on this page that resemble yours in size or work, and look at who funds them. Shared funders are the strongest signal of fit.
3
Add the out-of-state funders reaching in
50% of education money in Illinois comes from funders elsewhere, so national education funders are worth approaching even if they are not based in Illinois.

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a education nonprofit in Illinois?: Start with the funders already giving to education in Illinois, currently University of Illinois Foundation, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, The Chicago Community Trust. Then look at who funds the education organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into Illinois from out of state.
Who is the largest education funder in Illinois?: University of Illinois Foundation gives the most to education organizations in Illinois, $487M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.
How much grant money goes to education in Illinois?: $3.3B reached 1,665 education organizations in Illinois, from 4,613 funders. 50% came from funders also based in Illinois.
How recent is this data?: It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the two years with complete coverage. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

More from the funding graph

The regranting layer

51% of grant dollars pass through an intermediary

The DAF merry-go-round

$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds

Strange bedfellows

the named clusters of US funding

The camps

funders cluster by geography, not ideology

State money flows

the interactive map of money crossing state lines

Giving abroad

which US foundations fund each country

Cause is the recipient's NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File; location is the recipient's state on its most recent filing. Grant figures are read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file XML for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, among recipients resolved by EIN. Source: IRS Form 990 downloads.