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

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

Who is the largest science funder in Illinois?

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund gives the most to science organizations in Illinois, $161M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.

How much grant money goes to science in Illinois?

$419M reached 155 science organizations in Illinois, from 671 funders. 19% 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 · Science

Who funds science in Illinois

Most of it comes from outside Illinois: only 19% is from funders based in the state, so national funders set the agenda here. Funding is concentrated: Kenneth C Griffin Museum of Science and Industry alone draws 47% of every science grant dollar in Illinois.

$419M

granted

155

organizations

19%

from in-state

The short version

671 funders gave $419M to 155 science organizations in Illinois across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings.
19% of that came from funders also based in Illinois; the rest reached in from out of state.
The largest funder of science in Illinois is Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, at $161M.
The science organization drawing the most is Kenneth C Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, at $196M.

Largest funders of science in Illinois

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

1Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund$161M 2University of Pittsburgh$18M 3University of Chicago$16M 4Accelerate - the National Collaborative for Accelerated Learning$15M 5Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc$10M 6Washington University$8M 7Cornell University$8M 8Exelon Foundation$7M 9Emory University$7M 10The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia$7M

Science organizations in Illinois that draw the most

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

Kenneth C Griffin Museum of Science and Industry$196M University of Chicago$95M Northwestern University$39M

145 other science organizations$39M

Illinois Institute of Technology$19M

How to find science funders in Illinois

1
Start with the funders already active in Illinois
The funders giving the most to science in Illinois are Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, University of Pittsburgh, University of Chicago. A funder already writing science checks in your state is the warmest place to begin.
2
See who funds organizations like yours
Open the science 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
81% of science money in Illinois comes from funders elsewhere, so national science funders are worth approaching even if they are not based in Illinois.

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a science nonprofit in Illinois?: Start with the funders already giving to science in Illinois, currently Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, University of Pittsburgh, University of Chicago. Then look at who funds the science organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into Illinois from out of state.
Who is the largest science funder in Illinois?: Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund gives the most to science organizations in Illinois, $161M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.
How much grant money goes to science in Illinois?: $419M reached 155 science organizations in Illinois, from 671 funders. 19% 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.