How do I find funders for a human services nonprofit in Illinois?

Start with the funders already giving to human services in Illinois, currently Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Mather Foundation, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund. Then look at who funds the human services organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into Illinois from out of state.

Who is the largest human services funder in Illinois?

Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago gives the most to human services organizations in Illinois, $300M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.

How much grant money goes to human services in Illinois?

$3.8B reached 2,114 human services organizations in Illinois, from 5,434 funders. 74% 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 · Human services

Who funds human services in Illinois

Human services funding in Illinois is unusually spread out: no single organization draws even 12%, though Metropolitan Family Services leads, and the money reaches 2,114 groups.

$3.8B

granted

2,114

organizations

74%

from in-state

The short version

5,434 funders gave $3.8B to 2,114 human services organizations in Illinois across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings.
74% of that came from funders also based in Illinois; the rest reached in from out of state.
The largest funder of human services in Illinois is Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, at $300M.
The human services organization drawing the most is Metropolitan Family Services, at $257M.

Largest funders of human services in Illinois

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

1Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago$300M 2Mather Foundation$207M 3Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund$193M 4The Chicago Community Trust$178M 5Start Early$141M 6Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights$108M 7Metropolitan Family Services DuPage$101M 8The Mather Evanston$78M 9Ageoptions Inc (Fka Suburban Area Agency on Aging)$77M 10Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault$62M

Human services organizations in Illinois that draw the most

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

2,104 other human services organizations$2.3B

Metropolitan Family Services$257M National Council of YMCAs of the USA$237M Mather$227M Council for Jewish Elderly$209M Jewish Child and Family Services$138M Mather Foundation$120M

How to find human services funders in Illinois

1
Start with the funders already active in Illinois
The funders giving the most to human services in Illinois are Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Mather Foundation, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund. A funder already writing human services checks in your state is the warmest place to begin.
2
See who funds organizations like yours
Open the human services 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
26% of human services money in Illinois comes from funders elsewhere, so national human services funders are worth approaching even if they are not based in Illinois.

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a human services nonprofit in Illinois?: Start with the funders already giving to human services in Illinois, currently Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Mather Foundation, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund. Then look at who funds the human services organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into Illinois from out of state.
Who is the largest human services funder in Illinois?: Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago gives the most to human services organizations in Illinois, $300M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.
How much grant money goes to human services in Illinois?: $3.8B reached 2,114 human services organizations in Illinois, from 5,434 funders. 74% 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 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 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

Each grant is placed by its stated purpose and the recipient's mission, falling back to the recipient's IRS activity category where that is unclear; 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.