Jewish United Fund
Chicago, IL · EIN 36-2167034. Reported 149 grants totalling $376.9M to 73 organizations across tax years 2020-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Jewish United Fund, the IRS classifies it as a federated giving programme -- a United Way, Jewish federation, Community Chest or similar (NTEE T700).
- How spread out its giving is. 73 distinct organizations, with 53% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is concentrated. Most of the money has a settled destination, and the remainder is what is realistically in play.
- How much its list changes. 93% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is well above the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and above the 67% private foundations manage. This list is close to settled, so a newcomer has to displace someone rather than fill a gap.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $36,000. Half of what it reported fell between $18,000 and $150,000; the smallest was $5,050 and the largest $62.1M. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Jewish Federations of North America Inc | New York, NY | $200.2M | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago | Chicago, IL | $160.1M | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| American Friends of Magen David Adom | New York, NY | $2,136,280 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jewish Child and Family Services | Chicago, IL | $1,708,204 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jewish Community Centers of Chicago | Northbrook, IL | $1,255,788 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Council for Jewish Elderly | Chicago, IL | $1,192,722 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc | New York, NY | $1,192,540 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| American Friends of Natal Inc | New York, NY | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Quad Project Inc | Chicago, IL | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Ark | Chicago, IL | $783,050 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center | Chicago, IL | $750,870 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Hebrew Theological College | Skokie, IL | $606,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Ida Crown Jewish Academy Inc | Skokie, IL | $585,827 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Arie Crown Hebrew Day School | Skokie, IL | $450,400 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County Inc | West Palm Bch, FL | $435,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Israel Defense Forces | New York, NY | $351,172 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Friends of Soroka Medical Center Inc | Scarsdale, NY | $300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Americans for Ben-Gurion University Inc | New York, NY | $237,600 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wurtman Foundation Inc | Wellesley, MA | $210,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United States Holocaust Memorial Council | Washington, DC | $201,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County Inc | Boca Raton, FL | $168,665 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Shalva Inc | Chicago, IL | $123,238 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jewish Agency for Israel-North American Council | New York, NY | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School | Skokie, IL | $105,072 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Chicago Chesed Fund Inc | Lincolnwood, IL | $104,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Friends of Elnet | Skokie, IL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jewish National Fund -Keren Kayemeth Leisrael- Inc | Rockville Ctr, NY | $85,317 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago Inc | Northbrook, IL | $84,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Selfreliance Association | Chicago, IL | $80,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science Inc | New York, NY | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Birthright Israel Foundation | New York, NY | $72,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Milwaukee Jewish Federation Inc | Milwaukee, WI | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jfmc Facilities Corporation | Chicago, IL | $65,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago | Skokie, IL | $63,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| No Shame on U Inc | Chicago, IL | $56,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Inc | Sarasota, FL | $52,624 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Northwestern Memorial Healthcare | Chicago, IL | $50,690 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jewish Federation of Madison Inc | Madison, WI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Israel Fund | New York, NY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington Inc | North Bethesda, MD | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The University of Tennessee Foundat Ion Inc | Knoxville, TN | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| World Ort Inc | New York, NY | $38,049 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Camp Moshava of Wild Rose Inc | Skokie, IL | $38,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Friends of Latet Humanitarian Aid Inc | White Plains, NY | $36,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Fuente Latina Inc | Hollywood, FL | $36,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Friends of the Hebrew University Inc | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Project Aid & Rescue Inc | Northbrook, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago | Northbrook, IL | $24,265 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hillel the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life | Washington, DC | $21,800 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Camp Ramah in Wisconsin Inc | Chicago, IL | $19,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Union for Reform Judaism | New York, NY | $19,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Committee for Shaare Zedek | New York, NY | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Friends of Leket Israel Inc | Teaneck, NJ | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The American Friends of Beit Issie Shapiro Inc | New York, NY | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Acani | New York, NY | $14,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Chicago Rabbinical Council Inc | Chicago, IL | $14,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Evans Scholars Foundation | Glenview, IL | $12,348 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Jewish Federation of Southern Illinois | Belleville, IL | $12,164 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Congregation Beth Shalom | Northbrook, IL | $10,800 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Keshet | Northbrook, IL | $10,175 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Congregation Or Torah | Skokie, IL | $10,121 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Chicago Mezuzah and Mitzvah Campaign | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Elluminate Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hatzalah Chicago | Lincolnwood, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Congregation Kins of West Rogers Park | Chicago, IL | $9,348 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel | Chicago, IL | $8,540 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema Nfp | Highland Park, IL | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rochelle Zell Jewish High School | Deerfield, IL | $6,600 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Israeli-American Council | Woodland Hls, CA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Chicago Sinai Congregation | Chicago, IL | $5,400 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School | Chicago, IL | $5,227 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
30 of 73 (41%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Jewish Federations of North America
General operations and overseas grants - Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
To support a range of nonprofit organizations which address humanitarian, health and welfare needs. - Jewish Child and Family Services
HIAS and Other Programming - Jewish Community Centers of Chicago
EZRA and Other Programming
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 63 of 73 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 27 | $86.5M | $50,000 |
| 2021 | 26 | $90.4M | $53,527 |
| 2022 | 34 | $93.5M | $36,000 |
| 2023 | 62 | $106.6M | $36,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
55% of its giving went to organizations in New York. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available 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 grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $36,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in New York.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Jewish United Fund's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 62 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 30 South Wells Street 4049, Chicago, IL, 60606.
EIN 36-2167034 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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