The Dennis J Smith Legacy
Kankakee, IL · EIN 26-0334261. Reported 136 grants totalling $366,315 to 78 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 Dennis J Smith Legacy 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 $250. Half of everything it gave fell between $100 and $1,000; the smallest was $15 and the largest $88,550. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Mc Namera | Kankakee, IL | $282,400 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Les Turner Als Foundation | Skokie, IL | $18,100 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Kcc Foundation | Kankakee, IL | $16,100 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Tyler Bailey Foundation | Bradley, IL | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Leukemia and Lymphoma Society | Chicago, IL | $3,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Community Foundation of Kanakee Riv | Kankakee, IL | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Luke Blanchette | Manteno, IL | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Caroll University | Waukesha, WI | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Nuscotomek Youth Baseball | Kankakee, IL | $1,900 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Choice Youth Outreach | Peoria, IL | $1,700 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Still I Rise | Kankakee, IL | $1,650 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kankakee Black Chamber of Commerce | Kankakee, IL | $1,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Pleasant Grove Church | Kankakee, IL | $1,100 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Martin Luther King Foundation | Kankakee, IL | $1,080 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Azzarelli Outreach Clinic | Kankakee, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Catholic Education Foundation | Crest Hill, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Department of Health & Fitness Nfp | Kankakee, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Graham Mcgrath Memorial Scholarship | Bourbonnais, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kankakee School District | Kankakee, IL | $1,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Kcc | Kankakee, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Marlene Rittmanic Family | Bradley, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Notre Dame Law School | Notre Dame, IN | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Steve Mcmichael | Romeoville, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Juneteenth | Kankakee, IL | $800 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Kankakee Area YMCA | Kankakee, IL | $750 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Hippocrates Medical Center | Kankakee, IL | $600 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| NAACP | Kankakee, IL | $560 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Christmas Day Inc | Bourbonnais, IL | $550 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Eastside Kankakee Football League | Kankakee, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kankakee County States Attorney Off | Kankakee, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Matteas Joy | Bourbonnais, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pearls of Hope | Kankakee, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| United Way of Kankakee | Kankakee, IL | $500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Riverview Historic District | Kankakee, IL | $450 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Cherry Marshall | Kankakee, IL | $400 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Dr Leonard Porter | Kankakee, IL | $400 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Avion Pitman | Kankakee, IL | $300 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Board Machine | Kankakee, IL | $300 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Kfl Community Service Inc | Kankakee, IL | $300 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Racheal Smith | Sun River Terrace, IL | $300 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Acting Out Theatre Co | Bradley, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bradley Elementary School | Bradley, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Duane Dean Behavioral Health Ctr | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Eastside Bulldogs Cheer Team | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Jodi Lee Memorial Fund | Grant Park, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kankakee County Hispanic Partnershi | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kankakee Fop | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Knights of Columbus - Kankakee | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Leon's Legacy | Effingham, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mca Senior Adult Day Center | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Youth of Christ | Kankakee, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| St Pat's Church (hearts of Hope) | Kankakee, IL | $225 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Angel Jackson | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| B5 Star Foundation | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Helen Wheeler Center | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Maternity Bvm | Bourbonnais, IL | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| St Pat's Church | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Toya & Co LLC | Kankakee, IL | $200 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Nabvets | Pembroke Township, IL | $170 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| First Ward Back to School | Kankakee, IL | $160 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Mcl Detachment 1253 | Bourbonnais, IL | $125 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Garden of Prayer | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Genesis Community Ministries | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Goldstar Gym | Bradley, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kankakee County Community Services | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kankakee County Training Ctr | Bradley, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Marycrest Association | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mia & Enzo Africano Memorial | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| New Vision Mb Church | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| River Valley Animal Rescue | Momence, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| States Attorney's Community Foundat | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| We Stand for Christ Jesus | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Women's Club of Kankakee | Bourbonnais, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Zion Gate Missionary Baptist Church | Kankakee, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Second Baptist Church | Kankakee, IL | $50 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St Anthony Catholic Church | Frankfort, IL | $50 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Uplifted Care | Bourbonnais, IL | $30 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Illinois Attorney General Charitabl | Chicago, IL | $15 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
29 of 78 (37%) 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 47%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 21 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 | 24 | $93,700 | $500 |
| 2022 | 30 | $114,965 | $375 |
| 2023 | 34 | $62,740 | $180 |
| 2024 | 30 | $57,635 | $225 |
| 2025 | 18 | $37,275 | $350 |
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 $250. 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 Dennis J Smith Legacy'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: 255 E Station St, Kankakee, IL, 60901. 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 26-0334261 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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