Funders › Illinois

James B Tafel Foundation

Cary, IL · EIN 36-3475140. Reported 184 grants totalling $1,165,780 to 64 recipients across tax years 2020-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$1,000median grant
$1,165,780granted, 2020-2024
64recipients, as named on its returns
73%of grantees funded again the next year
$4,482,571assets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. James B Tafel Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $1,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $500 and $5,000; the smallest was $100 and the largest $100,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
85 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
44 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
16 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
25 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
7 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
6 grants
$100,000 and Up
1 grant

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.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Bethesda Hospital FoundationBoynton Beach, FL$260,000552024
Seacrest Prsbytrn ChurchDelray Beach, FL$161,005552024
Spark VenturesChicago, IL$116,000552024
Amerson Music MinistriesGrenada Hills, CA$68,000552024
Curebound IncSan Diego, CA$60,000222024
Padres Pedal the CauseSan Diego, CA$60,000442023
Burnham MinistryBoca Raton, FL$50,000552024
Global CommunitiesSan Diego, CA$50,000222022
Tennessee Golf FoundationFranklin, TN$45,000332024
Cary Fire DepartmentCary, IL$42,500552024
Global CommunitiesBethesda, MD$30,000112024
Project Concern InternationalSan Diego, CA$26,000112020
Mission to the WorldAtlanta, GA$25,000552024
Cmf InternationalIndianapolis, IN$20,000332022
Cool Kids Campaign Foundation IncTowson, MD$16,000112023
Village Church of Rancho Santa FeRancho Santa Fe, CA$15,500222021
Moody Radio South FloridaBoynton Beach, FL$7,325552024
Impact 100 Palm Beach CountyBoca Raton, FL$6,350552024
The Lantern NetworkBrentwood, TN$6,000222023
Active Outreach Mission FundBoca Raton, FL$5,500112020
Alzheimer's AssociationSouthfield, MI$5,000112024
Boynton Beach Fire DepartmentBoynton Beach, FL$5,000112024
Cc of Florida Scholarship FoundationVillage of Golf, FL$5,000552024
Perkins School for the BlindWatertown, MA$5,000552024
Rancho Santa Fe Women's FundRancho Santa Fe, CA$5,000112024
TgfFranklin, TN$5,000112020
Rsf FoundationRancho Santa Fe, CA$4,700222021
Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy of AmericaSimpsonville, KY$4,000442024
Salvation ArmyWest Palm Beach, FL$3,750552024
Crc Recovery FoundationDelray Beach, FL$3,500552024
Pioneer Center for Human ServicesMchenry, IL$3,000112024
Prison FellowshipMerrifield, VA$3,000552024
ResponsibilitySan Ysidro, CA$3,000222021
Womens CircleBoynton Beach, FL$3,000332022
Buckner InternationalDallas, TX$2,850332024
Moody Bible InstituteChicago, IL$2,730552024
Grayson-Jockey Club Research FoundationLexington, KY$2,500552024
Soup KitchenBoynton Beach, FL$2,500332024
The Miami ProjectCoral Gables, FL$2,500552024
Cary Food PantryCary, IL$2,250442024
Habitat for HumanityMchenry, IL$2,250442024
Animal House ShelterHuntley, IL$2,000442024
Turning PointWoodstock, IL$2,000442024
William P Fralic FoundationOakmont, PA$2,000112021
Toys for TotsTriangle, VA$1,500332022
Special OlympicsClermont, FL$1,320552024
First CareWest Palm Beach, FL$1,300332023
Athletes and Causes FoundationThonotosassa, FL$1,000112022
Caridad CenterBoynton Beach, FL$1,000222021
Heinz ChapelPittsburgh, PA$1,000222021
Turning Point USAPhoenix, AZ$1,000222022
Wayside HouseDelray Beach, FL$1,000222021
Students for Life of AmericaFredericksburg, VA$700332024
National Glaucoma ResearchClarksburg, MD$600332024
Bemidji Community Food and ShelfBemidji, MN$500112020
Hadley InstituteWinnetka, IL$500112021
Sayre SchoolLexington, KY$500112023
The Pepper Family FoundationBarrington, IL$500112020
Young America's FoundationReston, VA$500112020
The Glaucoma FoundationNew York, NY$400222023
American Lung AssociationPhiladelphia, PA$250222023
Tunnel to Towers FoundationStaten Island, NY$200112020
Committee for Missing Children IncPhoenix, AZ$150112021
Conservative Partnership InstituteWashington, DC$150112021

45 of 64 (70%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 73%, across 4 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.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 69 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.

Religion
9 grants
Human Services
9 grants
Diseases & Disorders
8 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
7 grants
Education
7 grants
International Affairs
7 grants
Mental Health
5 grants
Animal Welfare
5 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202043$306,710$1,000
202140$249,790$1,000
202237$184,755$1,000
202330$194,050$1,000
202434$230,475$1,000

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.

Where its money goes

45% of its giving went to organizations in Florida. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

Florida
$521K
California
$292K
Illinois
$174K
Tennessee
$56K
Maryland
$47K
Georgia
$25K
Indiana
$20K
Kentucky
$7K

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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: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund28 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc25 shared recipientsMorgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc17 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc16 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program15 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust14 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $1,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Florida.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding human services in FloridaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding religion in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding human services in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding human services in IllinoisEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from James B Tafel Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). 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: Po Box 895, Cary, IL, 60013. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 36-3475140 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.