Illinois · Nonprofit
THE MORTON ARBORETUM
THE MORTON ARBORETUM (Illinois) receives grants from 155 organizations whose IRS filings report $26,367,146 to it, the largest being Hamill Family Foundation ($4,050,000). 96 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $58M
- Funders on record
- 155
- Grants received
- $26M
- Net assets
- $310M
What The Morton Arboretum does
Mission
To collect, study, display, and conserve trees and other plants from around the world to inspire learning, foster enjoyment, benefit communities, encourage action, and enhance the environment.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Plants and collections: the arboretum grows and displays a rich diversity of trees, shrubs, and other plants that are evaluated for their suitability for the midwestern united states. These living collections include 106,714 specimens representing 4,067 different kinds of plants. Arranged by geographic, taxonomic, and other special groupings, the collections are enhanced by restored natural areas of native plants and ecosystems. The arboretum's work in development of new plants results in useful and attractive trees and shrubs that are introduced in the marketplace.
$17,172,994 spent41% of program spendingLearning and engagement: programs, services, and opportunities are relevant to public needs and interests in learning about plants and nature in ways that provide meaningful experiences and improve the world. Based in the thornhill education center, classes and other offerings on site, online, and through outreach programs serve adults, youth and family audiences, schools, and scouts. Also available are teacher-training resources and a cooperative botany degree program with regional colleges and universities. The sterling morton library, with 117,000 items, contains publications on botany, horticulture, natural history, and ecology; botanical artworks; rare books, periodicals, and catalogs; information is also accessible online. The plant clinic answers inquiries about plant selection and care.
$3,724,077 spent$1,339,174 earned by the program9% of program spendingScience and conservation: the center for tree science generates and communicates the scientific knowledge and technical expertise necessary to understand and sustain trees and their ecosystems, in all their diversity, in built environments, natural landscapes, and living collections. The arboretum houses research labs and a herbarium with a collection of 216,500 dried specimens for botanical research. Through the global tree conservation programs, the arboretum leads partnerships and assists efforts to prevent tree extinction and secure threatened tree species, with a focus on oaks. The chicago region trees initiative develops strategies for urban tree and forest improvement, advocating for trees in communities throughout the chicago region and the state of illinois. Arbnet, facilitated by The Morton Arboretum, is an interactive professional community of arboreta and an arboretum accreditation program that fosters advancements among tree-focused gardens.
$6,703,220 spentof which $982,437 as grants16% of program spendingVisitor programs: welcomed 1,092,088 visitors, maintaining the institution as one of the most visited public gardens in north america. Served membership of 56,321 households. Open every day of the year for driving/bicycling or guided tram tours. Specialty gardens include the grand garden, 4-acre children's garden, 1-acre maze. The visitor center houses interpretive displays, the arboretum store, and the gingko restaurant. Special events and thematic exhibitions are offered throughout the year. Conference and banquet facilities are available for rental.
$14,675,501 spent$17,979,294 earned by the program35% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $42,275,792.
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 2020 to 2021, from $321M to $374M (+17%).
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: 2017 2% · 2018 2% · 2019 4% · 2020 5% · 2021 15% · 2022 6% · 2023 6% · 2024 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
34% of THE MORTON ARBORETUM’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 8 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
Koski Jill
President and CEO
Board chair
Robert J Schillerstrom
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 29 funders to 79 funders, grant income rose $3.1M → $3.3M.
25 of 155 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 30% 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 THE MORTON ARBORETUM’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 155 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
THE MORTON ARBORETUM has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 15% 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
33% 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 THE MORTON ARBORETUM.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 66% · 2018 54% · 2019 31% · 2020 27% · 2021 37% · 2022 27% · 2023 20% — 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
52% of THE MORTON ARBORETUM's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 62% 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
78% of THE MORTON ARBORETUM's grant income comes from Illinois funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $7.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 16 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
THE MORTON ARBORETUM's funding base is broadening — from 29 funders to 79 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 330 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding THE MORTON ARBORETUM receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $30.0M on record.
- Department of Agriculture$23.6M
- National Science Foundation$3.0M
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$2.3M
- Department of Commerce$458k
- Department of Energy$300k
- Environmental Protection Agency$298k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like THE MORTON ARBORETUM
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
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
78%
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 THE MORTON ARBORETUM: 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 THE MORTON ARBORETUM?
- THE MORTON ARBORETUM (Illinois) receives grants from 155 organizations whose IRS filings report $26,367,146 to it, the largest being Hamill Family Foundation ($4,050,000). 96 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE MORTON ARBORETUM have?
- IRS filings report 155 organizations giving $26,367,146 in grants to THE MORTON ARBORETUM, 96 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE MORTON ARBORETUM?
- Hamill Family Foundation is the largest funder on record, with $4,050,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE MORTON ARBORETUM 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 2017–2024), and the filings of 155 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