Russell and Josephine Kott Memorial
Oak Park, IL · EIN 59-7229565. Reported 139 grants totalling $6,091,470 to 61 organizations across tax years 2020-2023. 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. Russell and Josephine Kott Memorial 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 $35,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $20,000 and $45,000; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $315,849. 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. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation | Oak Park, IL | $898,419 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Concordia University Chicago | River Forest, IL | $616,787 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Center for Disability & Elder Law | Chicago, IL | $290,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Little Sisters of the Poor | Palatine, IL | $255,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Concordia University Wisconsin Inc | Mequon, WI | $230,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| West Cook YMCA | Oak Park, IL | $210,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Kott Gerontolofy Institute | Oak Park, IL | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois | Oak Brook Terrace, IL | $185,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Aging Care Connections | La Grange, IL | $184,800 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Lutheran Social Services of Illinois | Des Plaines, IL | $180,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Ageoptions | Oak Park, IL | $170,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| North Shore Senior Center | Northfield, IL | $165,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| CASA Central Social Services Corp | Chicago, IL | $145,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Peoples Resource Center | Wheaton, IL | $145,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| L'arche Chicago | Forest Park, IL | $140,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Window to the World Communications Inc | Chicago, IL | $120,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Little City Foundation | Palatine, IL | $117,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Center of Concern | Des Plaines, IL | $115,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Oak-Leyden Developmental Services | Oak Park, IL | $115,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Senior Home Sharing | Lombard, IL | $100,514 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care | North Riverside, IL | $85,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Concordia University Inc | Mequon, WI | $80,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Depaul University Development Lockbox | Chicago, IL | $80,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly | Chicago, IL | $80,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Depaul University | Chicago, IL | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Open Arms Free Clinic Inc | Elkhorn, WI | $67,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Northern Illinois Food Bank | Geneva, IL | $63,200 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Chicago Commons Association | Chicago, IL | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Howard Brown Health | Chicago, IL | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Palatine Township Senior Citizens Council | Palatine, IL | $55,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Caledonia Snr Living Il Standrew Society of the Socittish Old Ppls Home | North Riverside, IL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Meals at Home | Evanston, IL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Des Plaines Community Senior Center | Des Plaines, IL | $47,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Chinese Mutual Aid Association Inc | Chicago, IL | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Embrace Living Communities | Oak Brook, IL | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Mercy House Lakefront | Chicago, IL | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St Eulalia Church | Maywood, IL | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Taller De Jose | Chicago, IL | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| United Cerebral Palsy Seguin Services | Cicero, IL | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Illinois Saint Andrew Society of the Socittish Old Peoples Home | North Riverside, IL | $35,250 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kenneth Young Center | Elk Grove Village, IL | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Quinn Center of Saint Eulalia | Maywood, IL | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Leyden Family Services | Franklin Park, IL | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Meals on Wheels Foundation of Northern Illinois | North Riverside, IL | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Walworth County Food Pantry Inc | Elkhorn, WI | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Dental Lifeline Network Il | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Meals on Wheels Foundation of Northern Illinois & Community Nutrition | North Riverside, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Meals at Home Meals on Wheels | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Barrington Area Council on Agin | Barrington, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Barrington Area Council on Aging | Barrington, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Naperville Elderly Homes Inc | Naperville, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped | Denver, CO | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Peoplecare Inc | Riverside, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Plcca Inc | Maywood, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wesley Willows | Rockford, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Humanitarian Service Project | Carol Stream, IL | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| National Foundation of Dentistry for the Andicapped | Denver, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry Dba Beyond Hunger | Oak Park, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Rebuilding Together North Suburban Chicago | Evanston, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Franciscan Tertiary of the Sacred Heart Inc | Oak Brook, IL | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Franciscan Tertiary Province of the Sacred Heart Inc | Oak Brook, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
32 of 61 (52%) received money in more than one year over the 4 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 78%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 80 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 39 | $1,720,900 | $40,000 |
| 2021 | 30 | $1,399,570 | $32,500 |
| 2022 | 32 | $1,400,000 | $32,500 |
| 2023 | 38 | $1,571,000 | $27,500 |
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
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 93% of this one's giving went to organizations in Illinois. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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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 the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $35,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- 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 Russell and Josephine Kott Memorial's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 1049 Lake Street 204, Oak Park, IL, 60301. 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 59-7229565 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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