The Negaunee Foundation

• The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests and gives only to preselected organisations, so an unsolicited proposal is unlikely to be considered; the realistic first step is to find a route to an invitation.
• Nearly all of its grant dollars to organisations went to groups it had already funded in the earlier years covered by the filing, so it appears strongly repeat-giving and relationship-led.
• If an invitation comes, a modest request fits its record: about 8 in 10 grants fall between $5,000 and $550,000, and half of its 326 grants were $50,000 or less, though its largest grant was $7,800,000, so that band is typical rather than a ceiling.
• Its grants cover cultural organisations, colleges and universities, environmental and open-space groups, community groups and social-service charities, and the filing states no geographic focus, though grants are mainly in Illinois and California.
• Organisations that would send an unsolicited request should not do so, since the foundation says it does not accept them.

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

• Ravinia Festival · Restricted use
  $6,150,0002024 tax year
• Field Museum · Restricted use
  $4,550,0002024 tax year
• Chicago Botanic Garden · Restricted use
  $2,860,0002024 tax year
• Illinois Saint Andrew Society · Restricted use
  $2,500,0002024 tax year
• Colburn School · Restricted use
  $2,050,0002024 tax year
• WTTW Network Chicago · Restricted use
  $1,650,0002024 tax year
• Lyric Opera of Chicago · Restricted use
  $1,500,0002024 tax year
• Openlands · Restricted
  $1,060,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

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.