Data / Foundation grants / The Brinson Foundation
The Brinson Foundation: 138 grants to organizations, $8.5 million (tax year ended December 2024)
The Brinson Foundation, a private foundation in Chicago, IL, paid 138 grants to organizations totaling $8,480,300 in its tax year ended December 2024, according to its Form 990-PF filed with the IRS on November 13, 2025. The largest was $600,000 to St John's Health Foundation in Jackson, WY for hitching post workforce housing redevelopment.
SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. It reads every private foundation's Form 990-PF as the IRS publishes it, and this page is that reading. Ask for the foundations that fund your cause in your state, with the amounts and purposes, and new grants arrive in your sheet, CRM, Slack or agent as the returns are filed.
- EIN
- 680656415
- Based in
- Chicago, IL
- Assets
- $236,665,295
- Grants paid
- $8,480,300
- Tax year ended
- December 2024
Grants paid, tax year ended December 2024
From the Form 990-PF filed November 13, 2025, IRS object ID 202513179349102216. It reported $8,480,300 in grants paid; 138 grants to organizations are listed.
| Recipient | Location | Purpose | Cause | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St John's Health Foundation | Jackson, WY | Hitching post workforce housing redevelopment | $600,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Chicago Community Foundation Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities | Chicago, IL | Scaling community violence intervention for a safer chicago | $200,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Eisenhower Health | Rancho Mirage, CA | Cardiovascular institute | $200,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics Edward H Lev | Chicago, IL | Brinson astrophysics fellowship program, brinson lecture, and pdta | $141,700 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Carnegie Institution for Science Carnegie Observatories Instrumentation Pro | Pasadena, CA | Carnegie-caltech brinson postdoctoral fellowship in observational astronomy | $120,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | Brinson prize fellowship in observational cosmology | Education | $120,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | Brinson prize fellowship in observational cosmology | Education | $120,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | Nu-uchicago brinson postdoctoral fellowship in astrophysics | Recreation and sports | $120,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Princeton University Department of Astrophysical Sciences | Princeton, NJ | Brinson prize fellowship in observational cosmology | $120,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Princeton University Department of Astrophysical Sciences | Princeton, NJ | Brinson prize fellowship in observational cosmology | $120,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics Edward H Lev | Chicago, IL | Brinson prize fellowship in observational cosmology | $120,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Chicago Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics | Chicago, IL | Brinson prize fellowship in observational cosmology | $120,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Carnegie Institution for Science Carnegie Observatories Instrumentation Pro | Pasadena, CA | Carnegie-caltech brinson prize fellowship in observational astronomy | $115,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Carnegie Institution for Science Carnegie Observatories Instrumentation Pro | Pasadena, CA | Brinson prize fellowship in instrumentation | $115,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | Brinson prize fellowship in interstellar matter research | Education | $115,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| University of California Los Angeles Galactic Center Group | Los Angeles, CA | Brinson prize fellowship in black hole astrophysics | $115,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Wesleyan University | Middle Town, CT | Brinson prize fellowship in radio astronomy | Education | $115,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Salk Institute for Biological Studies | La Jolla, CA | Brain metabolism and dna repair in primate evolution and pdta | Science and technology | $103,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| University of Chicago Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy | Chicago, IL | Genetic basis for the origin of limbs research and pdta | $103,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| LSST Inc | Tucson, AZ | Data science fellowship program and pdta | Science and technology | $102,700 | apps.irs.gov |
| Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago | Chicago, IL | Brinson medical research fellowship | Health care | $100,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| California Institute of Technology | Pasadena, CA | Exploring the warped space- time around black holes | Education | $100,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Rush University Medical Center | Chicago, IL | Brinson medical research fellowship | Health care | $100,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory | Cambridge, MA | Solar astrophysics and astroai research | $100,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Chicago Medicine | Chicago, IL | Brinson medical research fellowship | $100,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Shirley Ryan Abilitylab | Chicago, IL | Brinson stroke fellowship | $90,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Adler Planetarium | Chicago, IL | Cosmology and astrophysics research and pdta | Arts, culture and humanities | $88,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Field Museum of Natural History | Chicago, IL | Learning center programs and pdta | Arts, culture and humanities | $83,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Griffin Museum of Science and Industry | Chicago, IL | General support and pdta | $83,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| La Rabida Children's Hospital | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | $82,750 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Education | $80,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Shedd Aquarium Society John G Shedd Aquarium | Chicago, IL | General operating support | $80,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Carnegie Institution for Science Earth and Planets Laboratory | Washington, DC | Experimental and observational geophysics and pdta | $78,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York Columbia University | Palisaded, NY | Lamont-doherty earth observatory - anticipating earthquakes initiative and pdta | $77,200 | apps.irs.gov | |
| California Institute of Technology | Pasadena, CA | Quantum communication channels and quantum sensing for fundamental physics research | Education | $75,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Science Philanthropy Alliance Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors | New York, NY | Associate membership | $75,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Lake Forest Academy | Lake Forest, IL | Class of '93 scholarship fund for high school students and pdta | Education | $71,500 | apps.irs.gov |
| The Partnership for College Completion | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Education | $70,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Window To the World Communications | Chicago, IL | Local broadcast of nova and general support | Arts, culture and humanities | $70,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Research Corporation for Science Advancement | Tucson, AZ | Scialog: early science with the lsst | $66,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago | Chicago, IL | Nurse education and leadership training | Health care | $65,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| California Institute of Technology | Pasadena, CA | Brinson postdoctoral fellowship in quantum science | Education | $63,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Chicago Historical Society Chicago History Museum | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | $63,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Lincoln Park Zoological Society | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | Animal-related | $62,800 | apps.irs.gov |
| Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | $60,900 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Friends of Gros Ventre Fire Station | Jackson, WY | General operating support | Public and societal benefit | $60,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Lyric Opera of Chicago | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Arts, culture and humanities | $60,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | $58,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Posse Foundation | Chicago, IL | General operating support - chicago | $55,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Chicago Architecture Foundation Chicago Architecture Center | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Chicago Horticultural Society Chicago Botanic Garden | Glencoe, IL | General operating support and pdta | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | Brinson summer graduate student fellowships for explorator research in astronomy and pdta | Education | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Erie Family Health Foundation | Chicago, IL | Teen health center and pdta | Health care | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| High Jump | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | Education | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Math Circles of Chicago | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Metrosquash | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Chicago Academy of Sciences | Chicago, IL | General support and pdta | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Project Syncere | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | Education | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Special Olympics Illinois | Normal, IL | General operating support and pdta | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| The Morton Arboretum | Lisle, IL | General operating support and pdta | Environment | $53,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Council for the Advancement of Science Writing | Seattle, WA | Graduate school science writing fellowships and general operating support and pdta | Science and technology | $52,950 | apps.irs.gov |
| National Louis University | Chicago, IL | Accelerate u health care career pathways and pdta | $52,900 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago | Chicago, IL | Center for childhood resilience | Health care | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Cato Institute | Washington, DC | Sphere education initiative | Public and societal benefit | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Chicago Community Foundation Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities | Chicago, IL | Youth interventions | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Chicago Parks Foundation | Chicago, IL | Perennial garden maintenance | Recreation and sports | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Chicago Public Education Fund | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Education | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Chicago Public Library Foundation | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Education | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Communities in Schools of Chicago | Chicago, IL | General operating support | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Digital Education Project Digital Inquiry Group | Palo Alto, CA | Civic online reasoning | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Eisenhower Health | Rancho Mirage, CA | Nurse education and general operating support | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Inc | Alexandria, VA | Illinois college scholarship program | Education | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Mikva Challenge Grant Foundation | Chicago, IL | Chicago citywide youth councils | Education | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Montana State University | Bozeman, MT | Reconciling modern geophysical images with petrological reconstruction of yellowstone's magmas | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Rush University Medical Center | Chicago, IL | Nurse education | Health care | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Rush University Medical Center | Chicago, IL | Adolescent family center & school based health centers | Health care | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Rush University Medical Center | Chicago, IL | Breast cancer research | Health care | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| St John's Health Foundation | Jackson, WY | Nurse education | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Strategic Education Research Partnership | Washington, DC | Word generation weekly | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Teton County Integrated Solid Waste and Recycling | Jackson, WY | Recycling, composting, and waste diversion | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Arizona Foundation Lunar and Planetary Laboratory | Tucson, AZ | Near earth asteroids research | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Chicago Consortium On School Research | Chicago, IL | General operating support | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Utah Department of Geology and Geophysics | Salt Lake City, UT | A multiscale study of the yellowstone volcanic, tectonic, and hydrothermal system | $50,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Healthy Schools Campaign | Chicago, IL | General operating support - chicago and pdta | Environment | $48,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Inner-City Computer Stars Foundation Ic Stars | Chicago, IL | General operating support | $45,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Bottom Line | Chicago, IL | General operating support - chicago and pdta | $43,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Literacy Works | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | Education | $43,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Stony Brook Foundation Inc Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science | Stony Brook, NY | General operating support and pdta | $43,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| The Joffrey Ballet | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | Arts, culture and humanities | $43,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Ayn Rand Institute | Santa Ana, CA | Free books to teachers program - chicago area and pdta | $41,400 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Institute for Humane Studies | Arlington, VA | Student programming | $40,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Northwestern University Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration | Evanston, IL | Research experiences in astronomy at ciera for high school students (reach) | $40,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| One Million Degrees | Chicago, IL | General operating support - chicago | Education | $40,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Accion | Cambridge, MA | General operating support and ptda | $38,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Advance Illinois | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | $38,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Cara Collective | Chicago, IL | General operating support - chicago and pdta | $38,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Carole Robertson Center for Learning | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | Human services | $38,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Jackson Hole Land Trust | Jackson, WY | General operating support and pdta | Environment | $38,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Teton Science Schools | Jackson, WY | General operating support and pdta | Environment | $38,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| 1871 Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center | Chicago, IL | General operating support | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| America Needs You | Chicago, IL | General operating support - illinois | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Dupage Education Foundation | Wheaton, IL | Illinois civics hub | Education | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Loyola University Medical Center | Maywood, IL | Pediatric mobile health unit | Health care | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Modern Classrooms Project | Washington, DC | Math innovation fellowship - chicago | Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Revolution Workshop | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Employment | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Start Early | Chicago, IL | Educare | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Arizona Foundation Lunar and Planetary Laboratory | Tucson, AZ | Spacewatch observations of asteroid rotation lightcurves | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Chicago Education Lab | Chicago, IL | Structured literacy evaluation | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| University of Illinois Foundation | Chicago, IL | Illinois workforce and education research collaborative (iwerc) | $35,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| After School Matters | Chicago, IL | Stem out-of-school time programming and pdta | Education | $33,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Chicago Council On Science and Technology | Chicago, IL | Science communication internship program and pdta | $33,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Merit School of Music | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | Arts, culture and humanities | $33,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| A Better Chicago | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Human services | $30,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Mercatus Center | Arlington, VA | F.a. hayek program for advanced study in philosophy, politics, and economics | Social science | $30,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Room To Read | San Francisco, CA | Global literacy program | Education | $30,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| American Writers Museum | Chicago, IL | General operating support and pdta | Arts, culture and humanities | $28,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| National Museum of Wildlife Art | Jackson, WY | General operating support and pdta | $26,200 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Ampt Advancing Nonprofits | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Community improvement and capacity building | $25,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Chicago Community Foundation Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance | Chicago, IL | Progressive pathways to postsecondary success fund | $25,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Forefront | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $25,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | Early childhood research alliance of chicago (ec-reach) | Recreation and sports | $25,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens | Palm Desert, CA | General operating support | $25,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Arcs Foundation Inc Illinois Chapter | Kenilworth, IL | Graduate student stem research scholarships | $22,500 | apps.irs.gov | |
| International Documentary Association | Los Angeles, CA | Documentary film 'left behind' | Arts, culture and humanities | $20,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Math Cultural Center of Chicago | Chicago, IL | General operating support | Arts, culture and humanities | $20,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Rush University Medical Center | Chicago, IL | College of nursing scholarships | Health care | $20,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| American Association for the Advancement of Science | Washington, DC | General support and sciline science communication training for brinson fellows | Science and technology | $12,500 | apps.irs.gov |
| 826chi | Chicago, IL | General operating support | $10,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| American Astronomical Society | Washington, DC | General operating support | Science and technology | $10,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| American Geophysical Union | Washington, DC | General operating support | Science and technology | $10,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| National Center for Family Philanthropy | Washington, DC | General operating support | Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $10,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Second Story Foundation | Crete, IL | General operating support | $10,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| California Institute of Technology | Pasadena, CA | Honorarium- fermilab visit | Education | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Chalkbeat | Chicago, IL | General operating support | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Envision Excellence in Stem Education | Mentor, OH | Slecop in chicago convening sponsorship | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Chicago Architecture Foundation Chicago Architecture Center | Chicago, IL | Designing futures gala 2024 | $3,800 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Peak Grantmaking | Washington, DC | General operating support | Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $2,250 | apps.irs.gov |
| Mikva Challenge Grant Foundation | Chicago, IL | Honorarium - speaker for civic education learning session | Education | $250 | apps.irs.gov |
Causes funded
From grants whose recipient has a cause.
| Cause | Granted |
|---|---|
| Education | $1,474,750 |
| Health care | $573,000 |
| Arts, culture and humanities | $445,000 |
| Science and technology | $291,150 |
| Recreation and sports | $195,000 |
| Environment | $177,000 |
| Public and societal benefit | $110,000 |
| Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $72,250 |
States funded
| Recipient state | Granted |
|---|---|
| Illinois | $4,505,100 |
| California | $1,227,400 |
| Wyoming | $862,200 |
| Massachusetts | $493,000 |
| District of Columbia | $257,750 |
| Arizona | $253,700 |
| New York | $248,200 |
| New Jersey | $240,000 |
Also on SpecStream
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- Who funds arts, culture and humanities in Illinois
- Who funds education in Massachusetts
- Who funds education in California
- Who funds recreation and sports in Illinois
Updated November 13, 2025. Read from IRS Form 990-PF e-file data. Public domain (U.S. government work). Grants are as each foundation reported them to the IRS on its Form 990-PF. Grants to individuals are left out. A grant has a cause only where the recipient's name and city match one organization in the IRS Business Master File, and the cause is that organization's NTEE major group. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0. Spot a wrong value? Write to [email protected] with the link to this page.