Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- If your work improves children's health in Illinois, especially oral or mental health, the foundation's stated focus fits, and it asks for proposals that show innovation, evidence-based practice, potential for statewide system change and impact on children's healthcare in Illinois.
- Most of its grants fall between $10,000 and $300,000, and half are $100,000 or less, so a modest, well-costed request sits comfortably within its typical giving, though that band is not a ceiling, as its largest grant was $450,000.
- Its giving is strongly repeat-led, with 93% of grant dollars in its latest filing going to organisations it had funded before, so where an RFP is posted, review it for fit and submit a Letter of Inquiry or proposal electronically by the posting deadline.
- Individuals, intermediary funding agencies, and applicants seeking budget shortfalls, general operating support, endowments, capital campaigns for medical facilities or general medical research are not eligible.
Overview
Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation is a US private foundation based in Oak Brook, IL.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
ILCHF funds initiatives to improve the health and wellness of children in Illinois. Its grantmaking focuses on solutions to barriers that prevent children from accessing ongoing healthcare, with a primary focus on children’s oral and mental health. It works through grantee partners across the state, typically using multi-year strategies to support evidence-based practices delivered by community-based providers, with a focus on systems change. Its wider vision is a comprehensive, holistic system: universal access to evidence-based primary, oral and mental healthcare, with an emphasis on integrated care, alongside reducing healthcare disparities, health and wellness education for children and caregivers, and cross-disciplinary education for healthcare providers. It is also interested in new ideas, new partners and emerging needs that improve children’s health.
Themes
- Children’s mental health
- Children’s oral health
- Integrated child healthcare
- Healthcare access
Geographic Focus
Illinois.
What They Don't Fund
- Budget shortfalls
- General operating support of already existing programs
- Intermediary funding agencies
- Grants to/for specific individuals
- Endowments
- Capital campaigns for medical facilities
- General medical research
- Attempts to influence legislation, as prohibited by section 4945 of the Internal Revenue Code for private foundations
How to apply
For an RFP, applicants should review the opportunity for fit and submit a Letter of Inquiry or proposal, required documentation included, electronically by the RFP’s posting deadline.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 93% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 217 grants to organisations were $100,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- It typically supports evidence-based practices delivered by community-based providers, with a focus on systems change.
- For engagement funding, eligible projects should demonstrate innovation.
- For engagement funding, eligible projects should support evidence-based research and/or best practices.
- For engagement funding, eligible projects should show potential for statewide system change.
- For engagement funding, eligible projects should have an impact on children’s healthcare in Illinois.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
- The largest single recipient received 5% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 93% of grant dollars went to organisations Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- 4% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 42 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $125k (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Methodist Medical Center Illinois · Greater Peoria Area Youth Mental Health Initiative$439,4062024 tax year
- Chestnut Health Systems · St. Clair County Systems of Care Coordination$437,5002024 tax year
- Rush University Medical Center · BRIDGES: Using BRIDGES to Address Intergenerational Trauma, Close the Clinic-Community Gap and Improve Children's Mental Health on Chicago's West Side$433,9282024 tax year
- Rosecrance Foundation · Coming Together for Healthy Children - Building a Youth Mental Health System of Care$408,2852024 tax year
- OSF Healthcare Foundation · OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center - Oral Health$305,9582024 tax year
- Primo Center for Women and Children · Kids Connected$300,0002024 tax year
- Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley · CMHI 2.0 Implementation - Project SUN - A Strong & Unified Network$300,0002024 tax year
- Centerstone of Illinois · Building Compassionate Communities$300,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Myrtis Sullivan MD — Director
- Ruth B Rosenthal MD — Director
- Michael Parker — Director
- Nicholas Panomitros DDS — Director
- Ruby Mendenhall — Director
- Stacie Kuhlman — Director
- Kay Giles — Director
- Veronica Guadalupe Fonseca — Director
- Peter Flynn PhD — Director
- Carl R Flowers PhD — Director
- Kim Cassel — Director
- Philip S Cali — Director
- Heather Higgins Alderman — President & CEO
- Icy Cade-Bell MD — Secretary / Director
- Rudy Valdez DM — Treasurer / Director
- Regina Crider — Vice Chair / Director
- Juan Carlos Avila — Chair / Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $12,572,503 | $11,988,411 | $130,396,780 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $9,231,609 | $8,842,721 | $141,891,372 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $7,936,732 | $6,147,051 | $150,973,913 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (630) 571-2555
- admin@ilchf.org
- Oak Brook, IL
- ilchf.org
Applying to Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (630) 571-2555
- admin@ilchf.org
- Oak Brook, IL
- ilchf.org