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Form 990 Finder: search 29 private foundation IRS filings, free.
Look up any U.S. private foundation by name, EIN, city, or state. Pull total giving, grant counts, median grant size, trustees, and asset base from the most recent IRS Form 990 filings. No login. Updated daily.
29
Foundations indexed
2.4M+
Grants parsed
Daily
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Top foundations by total giving in Illinois
| Foundation | Based in | Total giving | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard G Buffett Foundation | Decatur, IL | $1,544,683,240 | 428 |
| Caterpillar Foundation | Peoria, IL | $207,961,161 | 5 |
| The Grainger Foundation Inc | Lake Forest, IL | $207,343,842 | 4 |
| Zell Family Foundation | Chicago, IL | $200,708,528 | 304 |
| St George Corporation | Burr Ridge, IL | $194,811,741 | 14 |
| Dunard Fund Usa Ltd | Northbrook, IL | $186,232,277 | 161 |
| Pritzker Foundation | Chicago, IL | $167,516,076 | 6 |
| Circle Of Service Foundation | Chicago, IL | $139,747,276 | 2,229 |
| Polk Bros Foundation Inc | Chicago, IL | $133,775,073 | 2,836 |
| William R Kenan Jr Charitable Trust Xxxxx2004 | Chicago, IL | $132,507,271 | 4 |
| The Brinson Foundation | Chicago, IL | $130,407,400 | 623 |
| Steans Family Foundation | Chicago, IL | $127,899,398 | 22 |
| The Spencer Foundation | Chicago, IL | $115,567,484 | 1,210 |
| The Negaunee Foundation | Northbrook, IL | $97,799,578 | 420 |
| Bobolink Foundation | Chicago, IL | $95,244,495 | 397 |
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Foundations by state in Illinois
Showing foundation density and concentration in Illinois, based on IRS filing locations.
Foundation density
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Foundations by category and city in Illinois
Two common starting points. Category browsing pinpoints funders by program focus. Major U.S. cities concentrate the largest grant dollars.
Browse by top giving categories in Illinois
| Category | Foundations |
|---|---|
| Education | 14 |
| Arts, culture & humanities | 10 |
| Health care | 9 |
| Human services | 8 |
| Community improvement | 6 |
| Philanthropy & grantmaking | 6 |
| Youth development | 6 |
| Religion-related | 3 |
Browse by major cities in Illinois
| City | Total giving |
|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | $1.7B |
| Decatur, IL | $1.5B |
| Northbrook, IL | $284.0M |
| Lake Forest, IL | $278.6M |
| Peoria, IL | $208.0M |
| Burr Ridge, IL | $194.8M |
| Abbott Park, IL | $157.6M |
| Highland Park, IL | $88.4M |
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Why GrantBay
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Four reasons grantseekers switch to GrantBay
Candid and ProPublica both serve U.S. Form 990 data. GrantBay parses the same IRS source faster, opens the data without a login, and layers analysis on top.
No login, no paywall
Every record is free to search and read. Candid puts the full grant list behind a paid plan.
New Applicant Friendliness score
Proprietary score for every foundation. Tells first-time applicants where they have a realistic chance.
Similar funder matching
Algorithmic matching surfaces 10 to 15 comparable foundations from any profile page. No equivalent on free platforms.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Every record is free to search and free to view. No account is required. Paid plans unlock the grant opportunity database, similar funder matching at scale, and saved searches.
Daily. The pipeline pulls the IRS bulk XML release every 24 hours, parses new and amended filings, and writes updates to the searchable index. Foundations that file electronically appear in the finder within days of submission.
Every record originates from the IRS bulk 990 data release at apps.irs.gov. GrantBay parses the structured XML fields, extracts the itemized grant lists from Part XV of the 990-PF, and layers analysis on top of the raw filing. No data is manually entered.
Type the foundation name or its nine-digit EIN in the search bar. The finder returns the most recent filing year with total giving, grant count, asset base, and a link to the full profile page. Older filings appear on the profile page under the historical filings section.
Part XV, Line 2 of the Form 990-PF carries a single checkbox where the foundation declares whether it only funds preselected grantees or accepts outside applications. GrantBay parses this field from every filing and surfaces it as a filter. About 35 percent of private foundations check the preselected box, which means filtering for Accepts applications eliminates roughly a third of foundations that were never going to fund a cold proposal.
GrantBay updates daily, requires no login, and displays the full itemized grant list on every profile at no cost. The platform runs proprietary analysis layers including the New Applicant Friendliness score and algorithmic similar-funder matching. Both databases pull from the same IRS source data, but the access model and the analytical depth differ.
Yes. Every foundation profile shows the complete itemized grant list from the most recent 990-PF, including recipient name, address, grant amount, and grant purpose. The profile also breaks giving down by recipient state, city, and grant size range.
The 990 Finder concentrates on private foundations and other grantmaking organizations because the 990-PF itemized grant list is the most useful document for grantseekers. The database currently indexes 29 foundation records.
Yes. The Library of Congress nonprofit sector research guide lists GrantBay's Form 990 Finder alongside Candid and ProPublica as a recommended resource for foundation research. Several university libraries reference the GrantBay finder in their funding research guides.