Peggy and Steve Fossett Foundation
Homer Glen, IL · EIN 20-4521801. Reported 232 grants totalling $6,710,430 to 70 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. Peggy and Steve Fossett Foundation 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 $15,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $36,000; the smallest was $2,200 and the largest $190,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ark | Chicago, IL | $623,295 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Adler Planetarium | Chicago, IL | $500,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Chicago Area Council BSA | Chicago, IL | $500,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Museum of Flight | Seattle, WA | $500,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Shriners Hospitals for Children Chicago | Chicago, IL | $468,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Hatzalah Chicago | Lincolnwood, IL | $250,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum | Denver, CO | $250,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Meals on Wheels Chicago | Chicago, IL | $210,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| One Love Global Wellness Foundation | Orland Park, IL | $203,340 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Arie Crown Hebrew Day School | Skokie, IL | $185,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| CASA Lake County | Vernon Hills, IL | $185,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Shalva | New York, NY | $180,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Simon Wiesenthal Center | Chicago, IL | $168,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Lakeview Pantry | Chicago, IL | $157,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Brentwood High School Alumni Association | Brentwood, MO | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Washington University | St Louis, MO | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Webster University | St Louis, MO | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Swift Outdoor Accessible Recreation | Mokena, IL | $115,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Upward Communities | Chicago, IL | $109,095 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Mercy Home for Boys and Girls | Chicago, IL | $103,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Chicagoland Toys for Tots | Chicago, IL | $86,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Chicago Police Memorial | Chicago, IL | $84,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Jewish United Fund | Chicago, IL | $72,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Israel Cancer Research Fund | Northfield, IL | $66,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Brother Rice High School | Chicago, IL | $64,600 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Misericordia | Chicago, IL | $55,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Pat Macs Pack | Chicago, IL | $55,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Luries Childrens Foundation | Chicago, IL | $52,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Park Lawn Association | Oak Lawn, IL | $50,300 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Chicago Mitzvah Campaign | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kids Can Foundation | Aurora, IL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Shedd Aquarium | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Simon Wisenthal Center | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wildwood Historical Society | Wildwood, MO | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals | St Louis, MO | $47,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| St Linus Catholic School | Oak Lawn, IL | $47,100 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Charities | Oakbrook, IL | $42,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Sinai Health System | Chicago, IL | $42,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| My Joyful Heart | Mokena, IL | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Saint Ignatius College Prep | Chicago, IL | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Shady Oaks Camp for People With Disabilities | Homer Glen, IL | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Ravinia | Highland Park, IL | $36,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Chicago Chesed Fund | Lincolnwood, IL | $36,200 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Nourshing Hope | Chicago, IL | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Andrew Weishar Foundation | Chicago, IL | $30,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Care Kit Foundation | Orland Park, IL | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| The Hinda Institute | Des Plaines, IL | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Childrens Research Triangle | Chicago, IL | $27,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Letzbox Chicago Foundation | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Bbyo | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Shalom Hartman Institute of North America | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Jewish United Fund Emergency Fund | Chicago, IL | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tulane Hillel | New Orleans, LA | $16,200 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Purdue Foundation | Detroit, MI | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Aero Club of Northern California | San Jose, CA | $12,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Lubavitch Chabad of Skokie | Skokie, IL | $10,600 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| De La Salle Alumni Association | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Friends of Hatzalah | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Greater Chicago Food Depository | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| March of Dimes | Arlington, VA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Secure Community Network | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Stand With US | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Congregation Beth Shalom | Northbrook, IL | $9,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| St John Fisher Parish | Chicago, IL | $9,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| De La Salle Chicago High School | Chicago, IL | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Jewish Communal Fund | New York, NY | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pleasant Dale Parks Foundation | Burr Ridge, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Whispering Willows Senior Dog Sanctuary | Hermitage, MO | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Pasadena Humane | Pasadena, CA | $2,200 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
55 of 70 (79%) 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 92%, 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.
- CASA Lake County
GENERAL PURPOSEGENERAL OPERATIONS - Upward Communities
RESTRICTED - OLIVIA GARDNER - The Hinda Institute
GENERAL PURPOSEGENERAL PURPOSE - Aero Club of Northern California
YOUTH PROGRAMS AND COUNSELORS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 126 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 | 36 | $1,336,050 | $25,000 |
| 2022 | 40 | $1,242,500 | $15,000 |
| 2023 | 49 | $1,261,180 | $12,100 |
| 2024 | 55 | $1,421,300 | $12,000 |
| 2025 | 52 | $1,449,400 | $15,000 |
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
77% 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.
Get funders for your state and cause by email
We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.
Unsubscribe in one click from any email. We never sell or share your address. To match on your organization and typical grant size too, keep a private profile.
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 $15,000. 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 Peggy and Steve Fossett Foundation'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: 14801 Founders Crossing, Homer Glen, IL, 60491. 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 20-4521801 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.