Funders › Illinois

The Michel Foundation

Deerfield, IL · EIN 36-6058059. Reported 113 grants totalling $19,979 to 49 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$100median grant
$19,979granted, 2021-2025
49recipients, as named on its returns
68%of grantees funded again the next year
$149,956assets, latest filing

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 Michel 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.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $100. Half of everything it gave fell between $100 and $160; the smallest was $25 and the largest $2,100. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
111 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
2 grants

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.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Judd Goldman Adaptive SailingChicago, IL$2,100112023
American Liver FoundationWest Orange, NJ$2,000112025
ASPCANew York, NY$1,425442024
Planned ParenthoodWashington, DC$1,100552025
Judd Goldman AdaptiveChicago, IL$850112025
Anti Defamation LeagueNew York, NY$802442025
Everytown for Gun SafetyNew York, NY$800222023
Art Institute of ChicagoChicago, IL$790552025
Chicago Botanic GardenGlencoe, IL$771552025
NaralWashington DC, DC$700222023
Francis W Parker SchoolChicago, IL$600552025
The Humane Society of the USWashington, DC$550332024
Camperships for NebagamonEast Troy, WI$526552025
Chicago Youth ShakespeareChicago, IL$525112021
Coral Restoration FoundationTavernier, FL$450552025
Natural Resources Defense CouncilNew York, NY$450552025
Ocean ConservancyWashington, DC$450552025
WbezChicago, IL$420442025
Als AssociationArlington, VA$405332025
Roatan Marine Park Int'l IncAustin, TX$405222022
The Nature ConservancyArlington, VA$400442025
Southern Poverty Law CenterMontgomery, AL$260332024
Amherst CollegeAmherst, MA$250552025
Every Mother CountsNew York, NY$250112021
University of ChicagoChicago, IL$250552025
Action Against HungerNew York, NY$200112024
Loyola UniversityChicago, IL$200222025
Sheldrick WildlifeLaguna Hills, CA$200112024
World Wild LifeWashington, DC$200222025
Isaraeli-American CouncilWoodland Hills, CA$180112023
Alzheimer's AssociationChicago, IL$135222024
Actblue NaralBoston, MA$100112025
Alex's Lemonade StandWynnewood, PA$100112023
Colorado Crane ConservationChicago, IL$100112024
EarthjusticeSan Francisco, CA$100112023
Immune Deficiency FoundationHanover, MD$100112025
Loyola University ChicagoChicago, IL$100112022
Rhode Isalnd SaltwaterCoventry, RI$100112025
Saltwater Anglers AssociationCoventry, RI$100112021
Sandy Hook Promise FoundationNewtown, CT$100112025
Wags & WalksLos Angeles, CA$100112021
Am Cancer Soc EventsHagerstown, MD$50112025
Camp Nebagamon Scholarhship FundEast Troy, WI$50112021
Dan Services IncDurham, NC$50112024
Elyssa MissionNorthbrook, IL$50112022
The Asher HouseEstacada, OR$50112023
American United for SeperationWashington, DC$35112024
Padi Aware FoundationRancho Santa Margarita, CA$25112022
Phillips AcademyAndover, MA$25112022

23 of 49 (47%) 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 68%, 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.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 75 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.

Education
29 grants
Environment
15 grants
Animal Welfare
9 grants
Health Care
6 grants
Civil Rights
4 grants
Arts & Culture
4 grants
Crime & Legal
3 grants
International Affairs
1 grant

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202120$3,160$100
202221$3,466$100
202324$5,351$100
202425$2,775$100
202523$5,227$100

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

34% 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.

Illinois
$7K
New York
$4K
District of Columbia
$3K
New Jersey
$2K
Virginia
$805
California
$605
Wisconsin
$576
Florida
$450

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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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund16 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc16 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc14 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust13 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program13 shared recipientsThe Blackbaud Giving Fund12 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $100. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Illinois.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

Foundations funding education in IllinoisEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding environment in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding animal welfare in New YorkEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Michel 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: 1414 Country Lane, Deerfield, IL, 60015. 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 36-6058059 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.