How do I find funders for a recreation and sports nonprofit in Illinois?

Start with the funders already giving to recreation and sports in Illinois, currently Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Robert R McCormick Foundation. Then look at who funds the recreation and sports organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into Illinois from out of state.

How much grant money goes to recreation and sports in Illinois?

$1.6B reached 1,303 recreation and sports organizations in Illinois, from 2,890 funders. 30% 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 · Recreation and sports

Who funds recreation and sports in Illinois

Most of it comes from outside Illinois: only 30% is from funders based in the state, so national funders set the agenda here. Funding is concentrated: Northwestern University alone draws 49% of every recreation and sports grant dollar in Illinois.

$1.6B

granted

1,303

organizations

30%

from in-state

The short version

2,890 funders gave $1.6B to 1,303 recreation and sports organizations in Illinois across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings.
30% of that came from funders also based in Illinois; the rest reached in from out of state.
The largest funder of recreation and sports in Illinois is Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, at $239M.
The recreation and sports organization drawing the most is Northwestern University, at $800M.

Largest funders of recreation and sports in Illinois

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

1Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association$239M 2National Collegiate Athletic Association$133M 3Robert R McCormick Foundation$108M 4Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund$100M 5Pritzker Family Foundation$48M 6Anne Ray Foundation$40M 7Big East Conference Inc$37M 8University of Chicago$30M 9Gates Foundation$30M 10The Chicago Community Trust$26M

Recreation and sports organizations in Illinois that draw the most

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

Northwestern University$800M The Big Ten Conference Inc$393M

1,293 other recreation and sports organizations$191M

Cantigny Foundation$106M

How to find recreation and sports funders in Illinois

1
Start with the funders already active in Illinois
The funders giving the most to recreation and sports in Illinois are Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Robert R McCormick Foundation. A funder already writing recreation and sports checks in your state is the warmest place to begin.
2
See who funds organizations like yours
Open the recreation and sports 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
70% of recreation and sports money in Illinois comes from funders elsewhere, so national recreation and sports funders are worth approaching even if they are not based in Illinois.

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a recreation and sports nonprofit in Illinois?: Start with the funders already giving to recreation and sports in Illinois, currently Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Robert R McCormick Foundation. Then look at who funds the recreation and sports organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into Illinois from out of state.
Who is the largest recreation and sports funder in Illinois?: Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association gives the most to recreation and sports organizations in Illinois, $239M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.
How much grant money goes to recreation and sports in Illinois?: $1.6B reached 1,303 recreation and sports organizations in Illinois, from 2,890 funders. 30% 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.