The Community Foundation of Will
Frankfort, IL · EIN 76-0821144. Reported 87 grants totalling $1,734,342 to 62 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 The Community Foundation of Will, by its IRS classification it exists to support one specific institution in community improvement -- typically its own parent hospital, university or school (NTEE S11).
- How spread out its giving is. 62 distinct organizations, with 8% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 25% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% private foundations manage. A list that turns over this much is one a newcomer can realistically join.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $15,000. Half of what it reported fell between $10,000 and $20,955; the smallest was $5,500 and the largest $129,800. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis University | Romeoville, IL | $142,707 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Governors State University Foundation | University Pk, IL | $129,800 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry | Joliet, IL | $127,712 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Northern Illinois Food Bank | Geneva, IL | $115,050 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Morning Star Mission Ministries | Joliet, IL | $90,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Workforce Services Division of Will County | Joliet, IL | $63,308 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Salvation Army | Hoffman Estates, IL | $50,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Pennsylvania State University | State College, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Love Moves US Inc | Joliet, IL | $49,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| George Werden Buck Boys Club | Joliet, IL | $46,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Plainfield School District Foundation for Excellence | Plainfield, IL | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Plainfield United Methodist Church | Plainfield, OH | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Joliet Area Historical Museum | Joliet, IL | $38,901 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Warm Heart Ministries | Joliet, IL | $38,609 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Heart Haven Outreach | Bolingbrook, IL | $35,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Joliet Junior College Foundation | Joliet, IL | $33,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| After the Peanut Foundation Nfp | Plainfield, IL | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Plainfield Park District | Plainfield, IL | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Mary Immaculate | Plainfield, IL | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| St Anthonys Conference of St Vincent De Paul Nfp | Frankfort, IL | $27,940 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Joliet Area Community Hospice Corporation | Joliet, IL | $25,700 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Plainfield United Methodist Church | Plainfield, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ripon College Board of Trustees | Ripon, WI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet | Crest Hill, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Easter Seals Joliet Region Inc | Joliet, IL | $17,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Joliet | Crest Hill, IL | $16,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Hope United Methodist Church | Joliet, IL | $15,658 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Blueprint Agency Nfp | Plainfield, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| One Family Illinois | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| One Hope United | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Senior Services Center of Will County Inc | Joliet, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sharefest Will County | New Lenox, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| West Suburban Community Pantry Inc | Woodridge, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wilmington Rotary Charitable Fund | Wilmington, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Song Health Center | Bolingbrook, IL | $12,200 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Holistic Riding Equestrian Therapy | Lemont, IL | $11,900 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mokena Fellowship Center | Mokena, IL | $11,124 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Trinity Services Inc | New Lenox, IL | $10,680 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana | Hines, IL | $10,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| St Jude Childrens Research Hospital Inc | Memphis, TN | $10,250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Best Buddies International Inc | Miami, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Butler University | Indianapolis, IN | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Faith Lutheran Church | Joliet, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Illinois Wisconsin Sertoma Regional Center for Communicative Disorders | Palos Hills, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Loaves & Fishes Community Services | Naperville, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Make-a-Wish Foundation of Illinois Inc | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Prairie State Legal Services Inc | Rockford, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Thomas More Society | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Kaifa Group Inc | New York, NY | $8,388 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Queen of Apostles | Joliet, IL | $7,885 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Joliet Township High School Band Parents Association Inc | Joliet, IL | $7,815 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Will County Habitat for Humanity Inc | Joliet, IL | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Joliet Township High Schools Foundation | Joliet, IL | $6,339 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| United Way of Will County | Joliet, IL | $6,263 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Will-Grundy Center for Independent Living Inc | Joliet, IL | $6,263 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| St Michael Indian School | St Michaels, AZ | $6,100 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Durango Demon Booster Club Inc | Durango, CO | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mommys Gift to Me | Springfield, IL | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Day Employment Network Nfp | Joliet, IL | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Window to the World Communications Inc | Chicago, IL | $5,750 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Shepherds Ministries Inc | Union Grove, WI | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
17 of 62 (27%) 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.
- Governors State University Foundation
In support of the Paraprofessional to Early Childhood Educator Program (EDE), Career Pathways Program & Manufacturing Automation Upskilling Program. - Lewis University
General operating support & support of the Healthcare Workers Pathways Program. - Workforce Services Division of Will County
In support of the Pathways to Professions Expo. - The Salvation Army
General operating support for the Joliet Salvation Army - The Pennsylvania State University
Support of the Varsity Women's Golf Team (University Park) - George Werden Buck Boys Club
Gosselin Trust Challenge Grant
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 41 of 62 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 | 16 | $195,275 | $12,500 |
| 2021 | 24 | $794,222 | $24,450 |
| 2022 | 23 | $395,956 | $15,000 |
| 2023 | 24 | $348,889 | $10,950 |
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
90% of its giving went to organizations in Illinois. 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.
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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 $15,000 -- 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 Illinois.
- 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 The Community Foundation of Will'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 23 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 1 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: 7777 W Lincoln Hwy, Frankfort, IL, 60423.
EIN 76-0821144 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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