Mary Helen Roberts Trust
Watseka, IL · EIN 46-6985483. Reported 182 grants totalling $1,069,687 to 68 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Mary Helen Roberts Trust did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $2,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,500 and $5,000; the smallest was $218 and the largest $52,719. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iroquois West School District 10 | Gilman, IL | $240,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Gilman Cemetery District | Gilman, IL | $168,943 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Iroquois Memorial Hospital | Watseka, IL | $61,493 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Gilman Comm Fire Protection Distric | Gilman, IL | $59,255 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Garage in Gilman | Gilman, IL | $32,650 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Douglas Township Park Dis | Gilman, IL | $31,405 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Danforth Twp Comm Bldg | Danforth, IL | $30,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Gilman United Methodist Church | Gilman, IL | $24,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Durham Park | Onarga, IL | $22,545 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| First United Methodist Church Food | Watseka, IL | $20,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Martinton Comm Food Pantry | Martinton, IL | $20,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Summer in the Park | Gilman, IL | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Christ Lutheran Hs | Buckley, IL | $19,600 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Clifton Food Pantry | Clifton, IL | $17,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Arc of Iroquois County | Watseka, IL | $16,505 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Iroquois Co Sheriff's Office | Watseka, IL | $15,280 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Lutheran Home for Aged Development | Danforth, IL | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Iroquois Co Ag & 4H Fair | Ashkum, IL | $13,040 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Cissna Park Church Food Pantry | Cissna Park, IL | $11,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Danforth Centennial Park | Danforth, IL | $11,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Gilman Danforth District Lib | Gilman, IL | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Iroquois Mental Health Center | Watseka, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Loda Township Library | Loda, IL | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Onarga Public Library Dist | Onarga, IL | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Douglas Township Park District | Gilman, IL | $9,478 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| St Johns Lutheran School | Buckley, IL | $9,250 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Gods Food Pantry | Gilman, IL | $9,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Unit 9 Academic Foundation | Watseka, IL | $9,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Gilman Old Boys & Girls Assn | Gilman, IL | $8,822 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| St Paul's Lutheran Church | Gilman, IL | $8,752 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Sheldon Area Food Pantry | Sheldon, IL | $8,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Marine Toys for Tots | Watseka, IL | $7,250 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Volunteer Services of Iroquois Co | Watseka, IL | $6,100 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Watseka Public Library | Watseka, IL | $5,900 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Iroquois Co Historical Society | Watseka, IL | $5,468 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Onarga Historical Society | Onarga, IL | $5,360 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Calvary Lutheran Preschool | Watseka, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Camp 911 | Gilman, IL | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Crescent Iroquois Boosters | Crescent City, IL | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Food From the Heart Inc | Watseka, IL | $5,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Watseka Fire Association | Watseka, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wendy M Haase Reading Fund | Birmingham, AL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Woodland Fire Protection Dist | Woodland, IL | $4,800 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Country Theater Workshop | Cissna Park, IL | $4,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Central Citizens Library Dist | Clifton, IL | $4,235 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Iroquois County Goat Producers | Crescent City, IL | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Village of Onarga Durham Park | Onarga, IL | $3,959 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Sugar Creek Opera Ltd | Watseka, IL | $3,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Prairie States Christian Service Ca | Watseka, IL | $3,450 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| City of Gilman | Gilman, IL | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St Pauls Lutheran School | Milford, IL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Girl Scouts of Central Il | Champaign, IL | $2,400 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cissna Park Community Library | Cissna Park, IL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Milford District Library | Milford, IL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Options for Independent Living | Watseka, IL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| St Johns Lutheran Church | Danforth, IL | $1,950 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Immaculate Conceptionour Lady | Gilman, IL | $1,495 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Gilman Historical Society | Gilman, IL | $1,252 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Onarga Fire Department | Onarga, IL | $1,250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sleep in Heavenly Peace | Omaha, NE | $1,250 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Cissna Park Schools Ag Dept | Cissna Park, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Clifton Public Library | Clifton, IL | $1,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Iroquois County Animal Rescue | Iroquois, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Loda United Methodist Church | Loda, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Danforth Historical Society | Danforth, IL | $800 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| South Pointe Youth for Christ | Bourbonnais, IL | $750 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ford-Iroquois 4H Foundation | Watseka, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sleep in Heavenly Peace | Watseka, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
42 of 68 (62%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 80%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Iroquois Memorial Hospital
STRYKER SURGICAL SUCTION DEVICE - Gilman Comm Fire Protection Distric
EXTRICATION EQUIPMENT/TURNOUT GEAR - Douglas Township Park Dis
BACK STOP FENCING MANN PARK - The Garage in Gilman
TUCK POINTING AND BRICK REPLACEMENT - Lutheran Home for Aged Development
FOUR SEASONS ROOM FOR RESIDENTS - Iroquois Co Ag & 4H Fair
SHOWER HOUSE ROOF REPLACEMENT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 40 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | $220,194 | $2,400 |
| 2022 | 36 | $237,648 | $2,800 |
| 2023 | 32 | $206,245 | $3,000 |
| 2024 | 37 | $197,086 | $2,500 |
| 2025 | 44 | $208,514 | $3,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
99% of its giving went to organizations in Illinois. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $2,500. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Illinois.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Mary Helen Roberts Trust's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 160 120 E Walnut Street, Watseka, IL, 60970. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 46-6985483 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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