Illinois · Nonprofit
STERLING SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
STERLING SCHOOLS FOUNDATION (Illinois) receives grants from 8 organizations whose IRS filings report $973,578 to it, the largest being DILLON FOUNDATION ($919,703). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $3.0M
- Funders on record
- 8
- Grants received
- $974k
- Net assets
- $7.9M
What Sterling Schools Foundation does
Mission
To promote excellence by finding creative and innovative projects for the staff and students of sterling's schools. Foundation monies allow the sterling school system to initiate, continue, or expand educational projects otherwise left without adequate money to proceed because of budgetary constraints or compelling priorities. The foundation is dedicated to the identification and funding of programs and projects that will raise the level of academic achievement of all sterling public school students. Our goal is to help provide the very best education for students as they prepare for challenges of life.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Auditorium operations - centennial auditorium is located on the campus of sterling high school, which is part of the sterling public school system. The Sterling Schools Foundation raised the funds to build the auditorium in 1998 and continues to fund all operational expenses at the facility, including upkeep, maintenance, utilities, and staff. This is an ongoing program and served 15,000 people this year.
$797,390 spentof which $619,852 as grants43% of program spendingShs atheletic booster club provides as needed financial assistance to sterling high school athletic programs and athletes. Served 453 students.
$152,431 spent8% of program spendingGolden warrior tv program provides live video coverage of sterling public schools sporting events, concerts, ceremonies, etc. Revenue is generated from subscription and advertising sales. Number served 1,000.
$59 spent$5,285 earned by the program0% of program spendingAdditional programs include gw baseball club, a+ initiative, academic booster club, blue & gold program, tools & technology program, & others. These programs serve students & alumni of the sterling school system.
$885,766 spent48% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,835,646.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $6.8M to $8.2M (+21%).
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.
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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 4 funders, grant income rose $84k → $162k.
4 of 8 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 2% 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 STERLING SCHOOLS FOUNDATION’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
STERLING SCHOOLS FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 94% of grant income and the top three 99%; 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: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 98% · 2022 98% · 2023 81% — 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
100% of STERLING SCHOOLS 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. $22k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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.
Organizations like STERLING SCHOOLS 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
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
67%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Sterling Schools Cusd No 5 · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for STERLING SCHOOLS 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 STERLING SCHOOLS FOUNDATION?
- STERLING SCHOOLS FOUNDATION (Illinois) receives grants from 8 organizations whose IRS filings report $973,578 to it, the largest being DILLON FOUNDATION ($919,703). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does STERLING SCHOOLS FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 8 organizations giving $973,578 in grants to STERLING SCHOOLS FOUNDATION, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of STERLING SCHOOLS FOUNDATION?
- DILLON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $919,703 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like STERLING SCHOOLS 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 8 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing