Illinois · Nonprofit
ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION
ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION (Illinois) receives grants from 45 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,238,061 to it, the largest being NICHOLAS FAMILY FOUNDATION TRUST ($4,500,000). 22 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $3.4M
- Funders on record
- 45
- Grants received
- $10M
- Net assets
- $12M
What Rockford Park District Foundation does
Mission
To assist the rockford park district by securing philanthropic support on its behalf and enhancing awareness of the district's benefits to the community.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Community in 2025, the Rockford Park District Foundation supported a broad range of community-based projects and programs that enhanced recreation, accessibility, beautification, and quality of life throughout the rockford region. Major investments included support for the perks family equine center and related programming; nicholas conservatory & gardens initiatives; riverview ice support; perryville path; music in the park; therapeutic recreation programs; and other park, trail, and cultural experiences. The foundation also continued support for inclusive and outdoor opportunities such as buddy sports, canine corners, washington park community center programming, and other community-based efforts. Notably, the aldeen golf course bunker renovation and project home base represented the most significant project expenses in 2025, reflecting the foundation's commitment to investing in both recreational infrastructure and inclusive programming that serves individuals of all abilities. Project home base is a capital initiative to develop a fully accessible recreational facility at darryl f. Lindberg park, serving as the permanent home for the rockford park district's buddy sports…
$4,169,590 spentof which $4,139,494 as grants86% of program spendingYouth in 2025, the Rockford Park District Foundation continued its commitment to helping children and teens participate in recreational, educational, and athletic opportunities regardless of financial barriers. Foundation support benefited youth-focused programs and initiatives, including help me play, playgrounds, youth golf, nfl flag football, junior street hogs, youth basketball, ice skating and hockey scholarships, outdoor education, summer camp support, and other youth enrichment activities.these programs help young people build confidence, develop skills, stay active, and experience a sense of belonging. By supporting both direct participation assistance and broader youth program opportunities, the foundation invests in healthy development and ensures more children have access to positive, life-enriching experiences.
$484,589 spentof which $468,148 as grants10% of program spendingMemorialsin 2025, the Rockford Park District Foundation continued to provide meaningful memorial and tribute opportunities that honor loved ones while enhancing park spaces for the broader community. Through the celebrate life program and related memorial funds, donors supported commemorative initiatives such as memorial benches, trees, swings, bricks, and other tribute opportunities that create lasting places of remembrance and reflection.these memorial gifts serve a dual purpose: they provide comfort and recognition for families while also contributing to the beauty, functionality, and enjoyment of public spaces throughout the park district. The program remains an important way for donors to celebrate lives and create enduring community impact.
$7,926 spentof which $3,026 as grants0% of program spendingThe majority of other expenses included support provided to the perks family equine center to complete the capital project.
$186,390 spentof which $113,850 as grants4% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,848,495.
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 2022 to 2023, from $12M to $15M (+29%).
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.
54% of ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 8 funders to 17 funders, grant income rose $720k → $1.4M.
11 of 45 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 9% 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 ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 45 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
ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 44% of grant income and the top three 76%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 69% · 2018 77% · 2019 73% · 2020 63% · 2021 69% · 2022 76% · 2023 36% — 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
41% of ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 49% 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
50% of ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION's grant income comes from Illinois funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $947k arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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
ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 1,209 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,209 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT 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
98% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
51%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT 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 ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION?
- ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION (Illinois) receives grants from 45 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,238,061 to it, the largest being NICHOLAS FAMILY FOUNDATION TRUST ($4,500,000). 22 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 45 organizations giving $10,238,061 in grants to ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION, 22 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION?
- NICHOLAS FAMILY FOUNDATION TRUST is the largest funder on record, with $4,500,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT 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 45 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