The Christopher L & M Susan Gust
Chicago, IL · EIN 61-1405669. Reported 188 grants totalling $8,606,423 to 79 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. The Christopher L & M Susan Gust 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 $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $45,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $1,000,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Ignatius College Prep | Chicago, IL | $1,625,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Shirley Ryan Ability Lab | Chicago, IL | $1,460,000 | 7 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $1,200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Team Impact | Quincy, MA | $525,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Concussion Legacy Foundation | Boston, MA | $495,529 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Aspiritech | Evanston, IL | $290,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Greater Chicago Food Depository | Chicago, IL | $250,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mission of Our Lady of Angels Church | Chicago, IL | $215,501 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| International Sports Corp | Chicago, IL | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Lurie Children's Hospital | Carol Stream, IL | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| The Night Ministry | Chicago, IL | $150,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Shirley Ryan Abilitylab (fka Rehab Instiute of Chicago) | Chicago, IL | $138,040 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Have Dreams | Park Ridge, IL | $130,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Chicago Mission | Chicago, IL | $121,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Aspiritec | Highland Park, IL | $105,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Denver Public Schoolsmaxwell Elementary School | Denver, CO | $102,128 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nourishing Hope (fka Lakeview Food Pantry) | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Rehab Institute of Chicago (shirley Ryab Ability Lab) | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Our Lady of Angels Church | Chicago, IL | $95,805 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Options for College Success | Evanston, IL | $92,480 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| Heartland Alliance | Chicago, IL | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| North Chicago Public Education Foundation | North Chicago, IL | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Hephazibah Children's Association | Oak Park, IL | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Meals on Wheels | Chicago, IL | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation | Chicago, IL | $55,815 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Chicago Mission Hockey | Chicago, IL | $52,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Chicago Coalition for the Homeless | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Doctors Without Borders | New York, NY | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Lakeview Food Pantry | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| USA Hockey Foundation | Colorado Springs, CO | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Chicago Public Media | Chicago, IL | $45,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| St Judes Childrens Hospital | Memphis, TN | $45,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Center for Independent Futures | Evanston, IL | $35,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Mercy Home for Boys and Girls | Chicago, IL | $30,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of America | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Chicago Jets Hockey Club | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Illinois Coalition for Immigrant Refugee Rights | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Southern Poverty | Montgomery, AL | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Travis Roy Foundation | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Vista Grande Villa | Jackson, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chicago Public Schoolshelen C Peirce International Studies School | Chicago, IL | $21,963 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| League of Women Voters | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Southern Poverty Law Center | Montgomery, AL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| American Civil Liberties Union | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Bernie's Book Bank | Lake Bluff, IL | $15,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| St Ignatius Hockey Club | Chicago, IL | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Care for Friends | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Haiti Nursing Foundation | Ann Arbor, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Chicago Public Schoolswest Park Stream Academy | Chicago, IL | $9,953 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Chicago Hope Academy | Chicago, IL | $8,443 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Chicago Public Schoolsrobert L Grimes Elementary School | Chicago, IL | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Riley Childrens Foundation | Indianapolis, IN | $7,675 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chicago Public Schoolsrufus M Hitch Elementary School | Chicago, IL | $5,400 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Open Heart Magic | Chicago, IL | $5,397 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Pancreatic Cancer Action Network | Manhattan Beach, CA | $5,150 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Chicagoland Hockey Charities | Crystal Lake, IL | $5,075 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Pittsburg Stars Hockey | New Kensington, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Roosevelt University | Chicago, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston | Charleston, MA | $3,158 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Chicagoland Private Equity Hockey Charities | Crystal Lake, IL | $3,078 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Chicago Public Schoolssadlowski Elementary School | Chicago, IL | $2,909 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Chicago Public Schoolsjohn Fiske Elementary School | Chicago, IL | $2,800 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Friends of the Handicapped | Lincolnwood, IL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mary Derosa Cancer Charity Nfp | South Elgin, IL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Chicago Public Schoolsburbank Elementary School | Chicago, IL | $2,101 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cdga Foundation | Lemont, IL | $1,250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chicago Public Schoolsravenswood Elementary School | Chicago, IL | $1,052 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Michael J Fox Foundation | New York, NY | $1,030 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Breast Cancer Research Foundation | New York, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Israels Gifts of Hope | Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital | Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Viewing Our Children As Emerging Leaders (vocel) | Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Chicago Public Schoolsgrimes Elementary School | Chicago, IL | $857 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sopel Foundation for Dyskexia | North Barrington, IL | $800 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| American Foundation for Suicide Prevention | Chicago, IL | $523 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| St Balderick Foundation | Monrovia, CA | $511 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lost Dunes Memorial Scholarship Fund | Bridgman, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wings Program for Prevention of Domestic Violence | Chicago, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
40 of 79 (51%) 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 67%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. 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.
- St Ignatius College Prep
GENERAL PURPOSE/HOCKEY PROGRAM - University of Michigan
BUILDING PLEDGE FOR ICE HOCKEY ARENA - Mission of Our Lady of Angels Church
GENERAL PURPOSE/SUPPLIES FOR CHURCH - Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
SHIRLEY RYAN ABILITY LAB SPARK 2022 PROGRAM - Denver Public Schoolsmaxwell Elementary School
FUND INCLUSION FACILITATOR STAFF POSITION - Our Lady of Angels Church
SUPPLIES FOR CHURCH THANKSGIVING ACTIVITIES
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 73 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 | 42 | $2,167,507 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 38 | $1,134,730 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 40 | $1,704,335 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 31 | $1,548,945 | $10,000 |
| 2025 | 37 | $2,050,906 | $20,000 |
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
69% 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 $10,000. 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 The Christopher L & M Susan Gust'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: 141 W Jackson Blvd Ste 1310, Chicago, IL, 60604. 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 61-1405669 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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