Aon Foundation
Chicago, IL · EIN 36-3337340. Reported 153 grants totalling $9,050,248 to 64 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation told the IRS it does not accept unsolicited requests: it contributes only to organizations it selects itself.
Does this foundation accept applications?
No -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation to check a box if it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds". Aon Foundation checked it on its most recent filing, as 78% of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered did. An unsolicited request is unlikely to go anywhere.
Organizations it funds that make grants of their own
3 of the organizations Aon Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 46 grants totalling $4,055,304 to them. That is 60% of the $6,737,324 of its giving we could match to a registered organization. Each is classified by the IRS as a philanthropy or grantmaking organization, reported grants to at least 25 organizations of its own, and has at least 10 funders behind it.
All of them file Form 990, which never asks whether an organization funds only groups it picks, so there is no answer on record either way.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application to any of them reaches this foundation's money. A private foundation's grant to a community foundation or a federated campaign is often a donor-advised fund or a gift designated for a purpose the foundation chose, and has nothing to do with any open programme the receiving organization runs. Its return's purpose text sometimes names a family fund or a designated purpose, which is the plainest case of money no applicant can reach; where it names none, neither return says which. The list is who this foundation paid that also makes grants. Whether any of them would fund you is a question for its own page.
| Grantmaker | Kind | State | Received | Grants | Years | Last | Only funds organizations it picks? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Online Giving Foundation Inc | grantmaking organization | Delaware | $3,288,304 | 37 | 4 | 2024 | Its form does not ask |
| United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc | federated giving programme | Illinois | $707,000 | 5 | 3 | 2023 | Its form does not ask |
| Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago | federated giving programme | Illinois | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 | Its form does not ask |
A floor, not a full list. A grantmaker appears here only where this foundation's return named it clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows, and only where that grantmaker has a page on this site. There may be more. Dollars here are summed by EIN across every spelling on its returns, so a figure can differ from the matching row in the full list below, which groups names as written. And the IRS classification cannot tell a grantmaker from a funders' association or a donor-advised fund sponsor, so a payment to one of these may be dues or an account rather than support for a grants programme.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $25,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $64,413; the smallest was $20 and the largest $849,870.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Online Giving Foundation Inc | Newark, DE | $3,288,304 | 37 | 4 | 2024 |
| United Way of Metropolitan Chicago | Chicago, IL | $967,000 | 7 | 4 | 2024 |
| American National Red Cross | Washington, DC | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Red Cross Greater Chicago Chapter | Washington, DC | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Red Cross Greater Chicago Chapter | Chicago, IL | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| American Red Cross of Illinois | Chicago, IL | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| World Business Chicago | Chicago, IL | $400,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| National Merit Scholarship Corporation | Evanston, IL | $250,220 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Facing History and Ourselves | Chicago, IL | $225,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| American Corporate Partners | New York, NY | $210,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Shirley Ryan Ability Lab | Chicago, IL | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Notre Dame Du Lac | Notre Dame, IN | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| St Louis University | St Louis, MO | $140,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| St Johns University New York | Jamaica, NY | $125,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Commercial Club Foundation | Chicago, IL | $90,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Facing History and Ourselves Inc | Boston, MA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago | Chicago, IL | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Ireland Fund | Boston, MA | $56,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Childrens Home & Aid Society Foundation | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Chicago Divinity School | Chicago, IL | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bermuda High School for Girls Charitable Trust | Hamilton, Pembroke | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Chicago Academy of Sciences | Chicago, IL | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Junior Achievement of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kettering University | Flint, MI | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Partnership for Cures Dba Cures Within Reach | Chicago, IL | $30,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Congregation of Holy Cross United States Province | Notre Dame, IN | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Greater Chicago Food Depository | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Shaw Cancer Center at Vail Valley Medical Center | Vail, CO | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Vail Health Services Foundation | Vail, CO | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bradley University | Peoria, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Childrens Home Association of Illinois | Peoria, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Fontbonne University | St Louis, MO | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Trustees of Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Trustees of Phillips Academy | Andover, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Brightpoint | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| A Safe Place | Zion, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago Foundation | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Aurora University | Aurora, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bard College | Annandaleonhudson, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Childrens Home & Aid Society of Illinois | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| China Folk House Retreat Inc | Arlington, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Contentment Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Dell Childrens Medical Center Foundation | Austin, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Filomen M Dagostino Greenberg Music School Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Fondazione Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia | Rome | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Juilliard School | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kansas State University Foundation | Manhattan, KS | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation | Southfield, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mona Foundation | Bellevue, WA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rush University Medical Center | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Johns Episcopal Church | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Johns Episcopal Church | Charlestown, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Vail Valley Foundation Inc | Avon, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| William Marsh Rice University | Houston, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cabrini-Green Legal Aid Clinic Inc | S Clark St, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Jacksonville Humane Society | Jacksonville, FL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| La CASA De Amistad Inc | South Bend, IN | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Vestibular Disorders Association | Portland, OR | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Uk Online Giving Foundation | Cirencester, Gloucestershire | $2,124 | 9 | 1 | 2021 |
| Learning Through Golf Foundation Inc | Green Bay, WI | $800 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana | Hines, IL | $800 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
23 of 64 (36%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 57%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one, and this foundation told the IRS it does not.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- American Online Giving Foundation Inc
FACILITATE DONATIONS TO REGISTERED CHARITIES - American Red Cross Greater Chicago Chapter
PREVENTS AND ALLEVIATES HUMAN SUFFERING IN THE FACE OF EMERGENCIES BY MOBILIZING THE POWER OF VOLUNTEERS AND THE GENEROSITY OF DONORS. - American Red Cross of Illinois
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE PROGRAMS - United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
SUPPORT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE EDUCATION, INCOME, HEALTH PROGRAMS - St Johns University New York
UNDERGRADUATE AND ADVANCED DEGREES IN RISK MANAGEMENT - University of Notre Dame Du Lac
HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 115 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | $2,351,143 | $17,500 |
| 2022 | 27 | $2,239,035 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 37 | $2,260,018 | $49,888 |
| 2024 | 39 | $2,200,052 | $44,109 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Aon Foundation has 1 of them, worth $150,000. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Facing History and Ourselves | Chicago, IL | $150,000 |
Where its money goes
40% of its giving went to organizations in Illinois.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more. Unlike this foundation, none of them is on record as funding only organizations it picks, and each page says what its filings show.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Aon Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 200 E Randolph Street, Chicago, IL, 60601. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 36-3337340 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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