Illinois · Nonprofit
Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation
Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation (Illinois) receives grants from 76 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,915,938 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($508,526). 33 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 53% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.5M
- Funders on record
- 76
- Grants received
- $2.9M
- Net assets
- $2.1M
What Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation does
Mission
Our mission is to eliminate pediatric cancer while providing hope and support to those who are touched by it. Our vision is a world without pediatric cancer.Forty-three children are diagnosed with cancer daily, and pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death from disease among children. Even so, less than 4% of the total federal funding spent on cancer research is directed toward the treatment of children. These statistics are staggering. At Bear Necessities, we are dedicated to supporting pediatric cancer research to ultimately discover a cure, while continuing to help patients and their families today, bringing hope and joy to those in need. We couldn't continue this critical work without the unwavering support of our donors. Thank you for all you do.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Bear Hugs:Bear Hugs are customized experiences or gifts to brighten the life of a child living with cancer. Bear Hugs are special moments in families' lives that offer a respite from the stressful and often frightening experiences that occur throughout a pediatric cancer journey. To make each Bear Hug special, we partner closely with families to design a Bear Hug that meets their unique needs and interests. In addition to bringing children joy, Bear Hugs often encourage play and physical activity, which can improve health outcomes according to many studies.
$935,410 spentof which $15,000 as grants87% of program spendingCounseling:Through its partnership with SamarCare Counseling and Bridgepoint Psychology Center, Bear Necessities provides up to 12 free counseling sessions with a licensed clinical therapist for pediatric cancer patients and any member of their immediate family. There is no limit on how many members of a family we serve. Bear Necessities offsets the full cost of these sessions or whatever a family's health insurance does not cover. Individuals are eligible for this program for up to eight years after receiving a pediatric cancer diagnosis.
$74,769 spent7% of program spendingScholarships:Thanks to a transformational investment from a board member, Bear Necessities launched a scholarship program in 2022 for pediatric cancer patients, survivors, and the siblings of someone who experienced pediatric cancer. The program is designed to ease the financial and emotional hardships associated with fighting pediatric cancer and to provide the opportunity for young people affected by pediatric cancer to pursue higher education from an accredited institution.
$45,804 spent4% of program spendingBear DiscoveriesEach year, Bear Necessities commits to funding pediatric cancer research through our partnership with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF). By combining resources and partnering with transformative organizations like ALSF, Bear Necessities directly invests in the development of improved therapies, better outcomes, and ultimately, the realization of our vision to discover a cure for pediatric cancer.
$24,735 spent2% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,080,718.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2017 to 2018, from $2.4M to $2.2M (−11%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 9% · 2022 7% · 2023 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
87% of Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (51% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Kate Tillotson
CEO
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2021 and FY2022 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 19 funders to 25 funders, grant income rose $165k → $446k.
17 of 76 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 53% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 76 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 17% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
69% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 36% · 2018 34% · 2019 25% · 2020 37% · 2021 32% · 2022 24% · 2023 23% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
38% of Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 43% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
53% of Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $1.4M that is directly attributable, 66% of it comes from Illinois funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.5M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation is better cushioned than half of the 5,002 health nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,002 health nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
91%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation?
- Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation (Illinois) receives grants from 76 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,915,938 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($508,526). 33 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 53% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation have?
- IRS filings report 76 organizations giving $2,915,938 in grants to Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, 33 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation?
- VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM is the largest funder on record, with $508,526 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 76 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing