Illinois Grants for Nonprofits
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Funding Landscape and Giving Trends in Illinois
Home to more than 12.7 million people, Illinois is the most populous state in the U.S. Midwest. With the fifth-highest GDP and one of the most diverse economies in the nation, Illinois stands out among its Midwestern peer states for the scale of its economy. This translates to a larger and more well-endowed philanthropic sector as well.
Illinois’ more than 8,000 foundations collectively hold more than $288 billion in assets, according to Forefront, the statewide association of Illinois nonprofits and grantmakers. In 2023, Illinois grantmakers tracked by Forefront awarded more than $20 billion in grants. Top funding priorities of grants for Illinois are human services such as food banks, homeless shelters, and youth organizations; health; and education.
A large proportion of Illinois grantmakers are public charities. There are 35 community foundations across the state, networked through the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations. The Chicago Community Trust is one of the largest community foundations in the United States. Smaller community foundations in less-populous cities and rural areas are important to local philanthropy across Illinois.
It’s important to note that much of the grantmaking coming from public charities in Illinois originates from donor-advised funds housed at entities such as the Chicago Community Trust and Jewish United Fund of Chicago. Further, among the top grantmakers for Illinois are national donor-advised fund (DAF) hosts such as Fidelity Charitable and Bank of America Charitable. This grantmaking is more like major-donor giving than foundation grantmaking. Indeed, Forefront has reported that the vast majority of private giving in Illinois comes from individuals. Top priorities of individual DAF holders making grants for Illinois are human services and health, according to Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable. Fidelity Charitable also found a high level of support for public media among Illinois donors.
Philanthropy varies throughout the large and heterogenous state. The big city of Chicago is a very different philanthropic landscape than small-town Illinois. For this reason, Forefront reports on Illinois giving statewide and also by 11 regions within the state.
Substantial philanthropic resources are concentrated in Chicago, which has a robust philanthropic ecosystem including nationally known foundations as well as affinity organizations such as Chicago Women in Philanthropy and Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy. Chicago is home to the MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation’s largest legacy foundations. While MacArthur gives nationally and internationally, the foundation dedicates a substantial portion of grantmaking to its Chicago Commitment. There are several top philanthropic families in Chicago, including the Crown family and the Pritzkers. The Robert R. McCormick Foundation, established by the longtime Chicago Tribune publisher and editor, is another large foundation with a strong regional focus on grants for Chicago.
A new development in Illinois philanthropy is the Illinois Gives Tax Credit, established in 2025. The program offers a 25% state income tax credit to donors that make gifts to funds at qualified community foundations to support grants for Illinois.
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