The John a Miller Family Foundation
Glenview, IL · EIN 36-4233458. Reported 104 grants totalling $3,354,773 to 59 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". The John a Miller Family 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 The John a Miller Family Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 9 grants totalling $515,500 to them. That is 19% of the $2,719,285 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.
1 of them file Form 990-PF and did not check the box saying it funds only organizations it picks. The other 2 file Form 990, which never asks, so for those there is no answer on record either way. The last column says which is which.
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? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prostate Cancer Foundation | grantmaking organization | California | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 | Its form does not ask |
| Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago | federated giving programme | Illinois | $200,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 | Its form does not ask |
| Enchanted Backpack | grantmaking organization | Illinois | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 | No, on its 990-PF |
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 $2,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $515 and $12,500; the smallest was $63 and the largest $1,114,811.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Denver | Denver, CO | $2,018,482 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Prostate Cancer Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Jewish United Fund | Chicago, IL | $200,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Eisenhower Health Foundation | Rancho Mirage, CA | $200,358 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hoover Institution - Development Office | Standford, CA | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Stand Together First | Arlington, VA | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Ravinia Festival Assocation | Highland Park, IL | $52,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Chicago Blackhawks Foundation | Chicago, IL | $39,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation | Chicago, IL | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Columbia University | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Winnetka Parent Teacher Organization | Winnetka, IL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Shedd Aquarium | Chicago, IL | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Accelerate Institute | Chicago, IL | $15,100 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Enchanted Backpack | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Navy Seal Foundation | Virginia Beach, VA | $10,100 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Health Network Foundation | Cleveland, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Holiday Home Camp | Williams Bay, WI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lawrenceville School | Lawrenceville, NJ | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Metropolitan Family Services | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Milken Institute | Santa Monica, CA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Lake Geneva Garden Club | Lake Geneva, WI | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Am Shalom | Glencoe, IL | $5,963 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Anderson Japanese Gardens | Rockford, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Yerkes Future Foundation | Williams Bay, WI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| First Tee New York Inc | The Bronx, NY | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Northshore University Healthsystem | Evanston, IL | $2,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Geneva Lake Conservancy | Lake Geneva, WI | $2,150 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Friends of Robert Crown | Evanston, IL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Lake Geneva Water Safety Patrol | Williams Bay, WI | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Geneva Area Foundation | Lake Geneva, WI | $1,750 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Lake Shore Country Club | Glencoe, IL | $1,643 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Community House | Winnetka, IL | $1,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Paws Chicago | Chicago, IL | $1,250 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Fight for the Future | Boston, MA | $1,110 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cast Water Safety Foundation | Forest Park, IL | $1,042 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Illinois Executive Mansion Association | Springfield, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Karma for Cara Foundation | Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Lake Geneva Water Safety Commission | Williams Bay, WI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| North Shore Art League | Winnetka, IL | $1,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Northwestern University Women's Board Scholarship | Evanston, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Chicago Medicine | Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Craft Emergency Relief Fund | Montpelier, VT | $515 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Giordano Dance Chicago | Chicago, IL | $515 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Winnetka Community House | Winnetka, IL | $515 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation | Norwalk, CT | $510 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cerf | Montpelier, VT | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Chicago Botanic Gardens | Glencoe, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Northshore Foundation | Evanston, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Northwestern University - Shirley Ryan Life Long L | Evanston, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ukrainian Congress Committee of American | New York, NY | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Geneva Lake Association Inc | Lake Geneva, WI | $300 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Designs for Dignity | Chicago, IL | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Evergreen Children Founda | Wilmington, DE | $120 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cancer Wellness Center | Northbrook, IL | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Geneva Lake Museum | Lake Geneva, WI | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Greater Mkef | Richmond, KY | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Lake Geneva Lions Club | Lake Geneva, WI | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
26 of 59 (44%) 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 55%, 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 kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 56 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 | 24 | $607,157 | $3,500 |
| 2022 | 25 | $567,177 | $2,500 |
| 2023 | 29 | $637,295 | $1,000 |
| 2024 | 26 | $1,543,144 | $5,000 |
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
60% of its giving went to organizations in Colorado.
Get funders for your state and cause by email
We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.
Unsubscribe in one click from any email. We never sell or share your address. To match on your organization and typical grant size too, keep a private profile.
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 The John a Miller Family 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: 2101 Claire Court, Glenview, IL, 60025. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 36-4233458 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.