United Way of Lake County Inc
Gurnee, IL · EIN 36-2167949. Reported 104 grants totalling $3,368,452 to 62 organizations across tax years 2020-2024, 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 United Way of Lake County Inc, the IRS classifies it as a federated giving programme -- a United Way, Jewish federation, Community Chest or similar (NTEE T70).
- How spread out its giving is. 62 distinct organizations, with 26% 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. 32% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $14,445. Half of what it reported fell between $8,513 and $26,500; the smallest was $5,030 and the largest $703,843. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Assistance Telephone Help Inc | Bloomington, IL | $888,713 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| United Way of Greater St Louis Inc | Saint Louis, MO | $253,643 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Dupage County | Wheaton, IL | $200,600 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| One Hope United | Chicago, IL | $195,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Friends of the Round Lake Area Parks Foundation Inc | Round Lake, IL | $169,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center | Gurnee, IL | $155,058 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| United Way of Will County | Joliet, IL | $109,326 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Hispanic American Community Education and Services Inc | Waukegan, IL | $105,525 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Interface Children Family Services | Camarillo, CA | $74,700 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mano a Mano Family Resource Center | Round Lake Pk, IL | $70,974 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Fox Valley United Way | Aurora, IL | $56,817 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Erie Family Health Center | Waukegan, IL | $51,035 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Family First Center of Lake County | Waukegan, IL | $50,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| United Way of Greater Mchenry County Inc | Mchenry, IL | $49,199 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| United Way of Rock River Valley | Rockford, IL | $45,733 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $45,292 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Mothers Tr Foundation | Lake Forest, IL | $41,091 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Lake County | Waukegan, IL | $40,844 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| United Way of Lee County Inc | Dixon, IL | $39,909 | 3 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Beacon Place Nfp | Waukegan, IL | $39,369 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Affirm Leadership Christian Academy Inc | Waukegan, IL | $37,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| United Way of Kenosha County | Kenosha, WI | $36,613 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lake County Crisis Center for the Prevtn & Trmt of Dom Violence Inc | Zion, IL | $33,434 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| United Way of Champaign County Illinois Inc | Savoy, IL | $32,908 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Waukegan Public Schools | Waukegan, IL | $32,625 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Rosalind Franklin University Health Clinics | North Chicago, IL | $28,850 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| United Way of Decatur and Mid Illinois | Decatur, IL | $25,780 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Lake County Health Department | Waukegan, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Reading Power Inc | Lake Forest, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Community Action Partnership of Lake County | Waukegan, IL | $24,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Family Service of Lake County | Highland Park, IL | $21,966 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| The Roberti Community House | Lake Forest, IL | $21,400 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| United Way of Kankakee County Inc | Kankakee, IL | $21,380 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Kendall County 211 Inc | Oswego, IL | $21,231 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Waukegan to College Nfp | Waukegan, IL | $20,078 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| United Way of Mclean County | Bloomington, IL | $18,900 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Childrens Heart Foundation | Northbrook, IL | $17,900 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Highland Park Community Nursery School and Day Care Center | Highland Park, IL | $17,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| United Way of South Central Illinois | Mount Vernon, IL | $14,974 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc | Chicago, IL | $14,846 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| United Way of Eastern Lasalle County Inc | Ottawa, IL | $14,267 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pads Lake County Inc | Waukegan, IL | $14,160 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| United Way of Northwest Illinois Inc | Freeport, IL | $12,927 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United Way of Midland County | Midland, MI | $12,436 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kishwaukee United Way | Dekalb, IL | $12,048 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Nicasa Nfp | Round Lake, IL | $11,016 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Fill a Heart 4 Kids Inc | Lake Forest, IL | $10,700 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| First Baptist Church | Waukegan, IL | $10,333 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Samaritans Purse | Boone, NC | $10,272 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| United Way of Illinois Inc | Rock Falls, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| United Way of Pontiac | Pontiac, IL | $9,826 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United Way of Danville Area Inc | Danville, IL | $9,118 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Heart of the City | Waukegan, IL | $8,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Global | Chicago, IL | $6,508 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| United Way of Whiteside County Inc | Rock Falls, IL | $6,076 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| United Way of Grundy County | Morris, IL | $5,700 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Americas Best Charities | San Rafael, CA | $5,543 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Save a Pet Inc | Grayslake, IL | $5,318 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Stage One the Louisville Childrens Theatre Inc | Louisville, KY | $5,185 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Kenosha Inc | Kenosha, WI | $5,166 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| United Way of Knox County Inc | Galesburg, IL | $5,110 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Yblc Inc | North Chicago, IL | $5,030 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
29 of 62 (47%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 48 of 62 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- 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 | 26 | $717,956 | $23,846 |
| 2021 | 19 | $308,137 | $10,333 |
| 2022 | 23 | $627,582 | $15,000 |
| 2023 | 30 | $1,577,380 | $14,328 |
| 2024 | 6 | $137,397 | $14,771 |
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
88% 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.
Down to the city
Foundations that fund only organizations they pick gave to this one
25 private foundations that told the IRS they contribute only to organizations they select themselves reported 87 grants totalling $786,442 to United Way of Lake County Inc. That is 47% of the 53 funders we can see giving to it. Those 25 foundations do not take unsolicited requests -- their own returns say so. The IRS classifies this organization as a federated giving programme.
18 of them gave in more than one tax year, which is the only durability signal the filings carry.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application here reaches that money. A grant from a closed foundation is often a designated gift or a donor-advised fund earmarked by whoever gave it, and has nothing to do with any open programme this organization runs. Neither tax return says which, so neither do we. The list below is who put money in. It is not a route to it.
| Foundation | State | Reported | Grants | Years | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trustmark Foundation | Illinois | $328,703 | 8 | 2 | 2025 |
| The Buchanan Family Foundation | Illinois | $110,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Abbvie Foundation | Illinois | $80,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| John and Kathleen Schreiber Foundation | Illinois | $65,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Lee Family Foundation | Illinois | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Hunter Family Foundation | Illinois | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mills Family Foundation | Illinois | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Eleven Eleven Foundation | Illinois | $18,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Vivo Foundation | Illinois | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Synchrony Foundation | Connecticut | $10,140 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
The 10 largest by reported dollars, of 25.
A linked name has a page of its own. We publish one for a foundation that takes no unsolicited requests only when a real share of its giving goes to organizations that make grants themselves, and that page opens by saying it does not take requests.
Both the count and the total are floors. A foundation appears here only where its return named this organization clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows. There are more; we cannot name them.
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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 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 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 $14,445 -- 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 United Way of Lake County Inc's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 6 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: 330 South Greenleaf Street, Gurnee, IL, 60031.
EIN 36-2167949 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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