Illinois · Nonprofit
Circles and Ciphers
Circles and Ciphers (Illinois) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $580,650 to it, the largest being JULIAN GRACE FOUNDATION ($423,250). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
Against its field
Circles and Ciphers's funding base is broadening — from 1 funders to 3 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,680 youth development nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Three funders worth looking at
Grantmakers with no record of funding this organization, ranked by how strongly the co-funder graph and the mission embeddings agree. The evidence is in section 03.
- The Albert Pick Jr Fundshared funderslocalportfolio match
- Chicago Foundation for Womenshared funderslocalportfolio match
- Reva and David Logan Foundationshared fundersportfolio match
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 3 funders, grant income rose $100 → $102k.
From the IRS filings of Circles and Ciphers’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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
Circles and Ciphers leans on a few funders — its largest provides 73% of grant income and the top three 94%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 100% · 2019 83% · 2020 75% · 2021 71% · 2022 98% · 2023 93% — 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.
Where its funders are
97% of Circles and Ciphers's grant income comes from Illinois funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. 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.
Funders to approach
Grantmakers that don’t fund you yet, surfaced two ways: they back organizations that share your funders, or their grantees resemble your mission. The ones both signals agree on come first. Your 7 funders put you under-funded among the 400 organizations that share them.
- The Albert Pick Jr Fundshared funderslocalportfolio matchIL · backs 44 organizations that share your funders · funds 130 organizations near you · its grantees resemble your mission
- Chicago Foundation for Womenshared funderslocalportfolio matchIL · backs 62 organizations that share your funders · funds 294 organizations near you · its grantees resemble your mission
- Reva and David Logan Foundationshared fundersportfolio matchIL · backs 38 organizations that share your funders · its grantees resemble your mission
- University of Chicago Medical Centerlocalportfolio matchIL · funds 122 organizations near you · its grantees resemble your mission
- Wieboldt Foundationshared fundersIL · backs 24 organizations that share your funders
- Acclivus Incportfolio matchits grantees resemble your mission
- Chicago Cred Incportfolio matchits grantees resemble your mission
- Chicago Beyond Incportfolio matchits grantees resemble your mission
- The Springboard Foundationportfolio matchits grantees resemble your mission
- Strides for Peace Incportfolio matchits grantees resemble your mission
- Morrison Family Foundationportfolio matchits grantees resemble your mission
- Woods Fund of Chicagoshared fundersIL · backs 62 organizations that share your funders
From the co-funder graph (funders backing at least two comparable organizations, shrunk for grantee count, donor-advised and mega-funds excluded) and the universe embeddings. A research starting point; overlap is association, not a guarantee of fit.
Organizations like Circles and Ciphers
Nonprofits whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over the universe of 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
18% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
27%
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 Circles and Ciphers: 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. How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds Circles and Ciphers?
- Circles and Ciphers (Illinois) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $580,650 to it, the largest being JULIAN GRACE FOUNDATION ($423,250). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Circles and Ciphers have?
- IRS filings report 7 organizations giving $580,650 in grants to Circles and Ciphers, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Circles and Ciphers?
- JULIAN GRACE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $423,250 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Circles and Ciphers 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 FY2024 (financials across 2024–2024), and the filings of 7funders 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 August 27, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing