The Steans Family Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- This Chicago-based foundation gives at significant scale, having paid $41,294,252 in grants, but no grant range is stated, so you should size a request by the scope of your project rather than any published minimum or maximum.
- Its geographic focus is stated as a priority on North Lawndale, the City of North Chicago, and Illinois, so your work should sit within that area to fit its stated focus.
- Its interests cover early childhood development, K–12 education, college completion, workforce development, job creation and economic opportunity, with North Lawndale work prioritising economic opportunity, workforce development, criminal justice reform, capacity building and leadership development, North Chicago work focused on educational opportunities for young people, and a Policy & Ecosystem programme supporting nonprofit policy and advocacy groups, research institutions, community organisations and the public sector.
- The approach is relationship-led rather than open: proposals are invitation-only, based on priorities set by the Trustees, though organisations whose work fits can contact the grants management team by email to find out next steps.
- Given this, a cold, unsolicited full proposal is unlikely to be the right first move; making contact to establish fit before investing time in a full application is the more sensible route.
Overview
The Steans Family Foundation is a US private foundation based in Chicago, 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
The Steans Family Foundation concentrates its grantmaking in North Lawndale on Chicago’s west side and the City of North Chicago. It works with residents, community stakeholders and like-minded institutions to advance early childhood development, K–12 education, college completion, workforce development, job creation and increased economic opportunity. In North Lawndale it prioritises economic opportunity, workforce development and criminal justice reform, as well as capacity building and leadership development for local organisations. In North Chicago, its work focuses on strengthening educational opportunities for young people. Its Policy & Ecosystem programme supports nonprofit policy and advocacy groups, research institutions, community organisations and the public sector, with grants for research and evaluation, pilots, community organising, capacity building and advocacy. It also supports policy efforts in education, employment, justice and community development to strengthen impact at community level.
Themes
- Early childhood
- Education
- Employment
- Community development
- Criminal justice reform
- Economic opportunity
- Workforce development
Geographic Focus
Priority: North Lawndale; City of North Chicago; Illinois.
How to apply
Organisations whose work fits the Foundation’s priorities can contact the grants management team by email to determine next steps; proposals are invitation-only.
Application success factors
What the foundation says:
- The Foundation invites proposals based on priorities set by its Trustees.
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 100% of grant dollars to organisations.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
Grants
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- NLIS Fillmore Center · General support$19,374,3442024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Patricia Ford — Executive Director
- Leonard Gail — Trustee
- Leo Smith — Trustee
- James Kastenholz — Trustee
- Jennifer Steans — Treasurer
- Robin Steans — Vice President / Secretary
- Heather Steans — President
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $23,173,338 | $16,594,143 | $346,020,660 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $31,911,191 | $25,563,771 | $507,875,208 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $53,723,850 | $41,294,252 | $440,337,711 | 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 The Steans Family Foundation?
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Applying to The Steans Family Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required