Zell Family Foundation
Chicago, IL · EIN 36-3487811. Reported 290 grants totalling $249.0M to 129 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". Zell 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 Zell Family Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 4 grants totalling $1,175,000 to them. That is 1% of the $119.9M 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? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago | federated giving programme | Illinois | $1,100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 | Its form does not ask |
| Prostate Cancer Foundation | grantmaking organization | California | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 | Its form does not ask |
| Federation of Jewish Communities of the | community foundation | New York | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 | 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 $150,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $35,000 and $500,000; the smallest was $2,000 and the largest $35.0M.
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 Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $83.4M | 14 | 4 | 2024 |
| Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School | Chicago, IL | $26.0M | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Northwestern University-Kellogg | Evanston, IL | $25.0M | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rochelle Zell Jewish High School | Deerfield, IL | $21.0M | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Chicago Symphony Orchestra | Chicago, IL | $17.2M | 9 | 4 | 2024 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $8,831,733 | 8 | 4 | 2024 |
| Zell Entrepreneurship Foundation | Chicago, IL | $8,000,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Camp Ramah in Wisconsin Endowment Corp | Chicago, IL | $3,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Steppenwolf Theatre Company | Chicago, IL | $2,960,000 | 5 | 3 | 2024 |
| Interdisciplinary Center Herzliyaamerican Friends of Idc | New York, NY | $2,800,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Chicago Public Education Fund | Chicago, IL | $2,750,000 | 5 | 3 | 2024 |
| Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Inc (fire) | Philadelphia, PA | $2,700,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Mayo Clinic | Rochester, MN | $2,700,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Teach for America | New York, NY | $2,425,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Friends of Reichman University (fka-Idc) | New York, NY | $2,400,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Museum of Contemporary Art | Chicago, IL | $2,300,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Start Early | Chicago, IL | $2,050,000 | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| Birthright Israel Foundation | New York, NY | $2,000,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Imentor | New York, NY | $1,850,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Inc (aka Fire) | Philadelphia, PA | $1,350,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lincoln Park Conservancy | Chicago, IL | $1,250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chiarts Foundation | Chicago, IL | $1,245,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Jewish United Fund | Chicago, IL | $1,100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Start Early (fka Ounce of Prevention) | Chicago, IL | $1,050,000 | 2 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Colorado Foundation | Denver, CO | $1,050,000 | 4 | 2 | 2022 |
| Chicago Symphony Orchestra (sempre Always Campaign) | Chicago, IL | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Starts Early (fka-Ounce of Prevention) | Chicago, IL | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Colorado Foundation-Pkd Research | Greeley, CO | $1,000,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Teach for All | New York, NY | $975,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lyric Opera | Chicago, IL | $950,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| University of Michigan-Ross Szrl Institute Entrepreneurial | Ann Arbor, MI | $900,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Lincoln Park Conservatory | Chicago, IL | $750,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Young Chicago Authors | Chicago, IL | $745,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| University of Michigan-Ross Zell Lurie Institute | Ann Arbor, MI | $700,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Michigan Law | Ann Arbor, MI | $650,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Michigan-Entrepreneurship Clinic | Ann Arbor, MI | $650,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| A Better Chicago | Chicago, IL | $600,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Michigan-8 Zell Graduate Fellows | Ann Arbor, MI | $600,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Point Magazine | Chicago, IL | $560,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| University of Michigan-Post Mfa Writing Fellowship | Ann Arbor, MI | $550,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hold on to Your Music | Los Angeles, CA | $525,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Chicago Public Education (fund V) | Chicago, IL | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Steppenwolf Theater Company | Chicago, IL | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Facing History and Ourselves | Boston, MA | $450,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| University of Michigan-Hz Writer's Program | Ann Arbor, MI | $450,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Chaiarts Foundation | Chicago, IL | $415,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| US Holocaust Memorial Museum | Washington, DC | $400,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Merit School of Music | Chicago, IL | $350,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Civil Liberties Union Foundation | New York, NY | $300,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital | Chicago, IL | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Chicago Architecture Biennial Inc | Chicago, IL | $300,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Chicago West Community Music Center | Chicago, IL | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $300,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Ramah Commission | New York, NY | $258,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Lyric Opera of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Washington, DC | $225,000 | 2 | 1 | 2022 |
| Intrinsic Schools | Chicago, IL | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Marwen | Chicago, IL | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Joffrey Ballet | Chicago, IL | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| University of Michigan-Ross Zell Founders Fund | Ann Arbor, MI | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Northwestern Memorial Foundation | Chicago, IL | $192,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Window to the World Communication-Wfmt | Chicago, IL | $190,000 | 6 | 3 | 2024 |
| Chicago Children's Museum | Chicago, IL | $160,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| International Music Foundation | Chicago, IL | $160,000 | 4 | 2 | 2022 |
| Boulder Jcc | Boulder, CO | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Boulder Jewish Community Center | Boulder, CO | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cello Bello | Boston, MA | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Chicago Architectural Biennial | Chicago, IL | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Chicago Public Library Foundation | Chicago, IL | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Communityhealth | Chicago, IL | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Colorado Foundation-Curriculum Innovation | Greeley, CO | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cesar E Chavez Multicultural Academic Center | Chicago, IL | $135,430 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Urban Gateways | Chicago, IL | $134,496 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Simon Wiesenthal Center Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $130,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Marwen Foundation Inc | Chicago, IL | $120,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ann & Robert Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chicago Community West Music Center | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Erikson Institute | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Jewish Theological Seminary | New Yor, NY | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Starts Early | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Classical Music Chicago | Chicago, IL | $80,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Invest for Kids | Chicago, IL | $75,000 | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Arts Club of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cato Institute | Washington, DC | $70,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Cedille Chicago Nfp | Chicago, IL | $65,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Window to the World Communications (wttw & Wfmt) | Chicago, IL | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Third Coast Percussion Nfp | Chicago, IL | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| American Jewish Committee | New York, NY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Jewish Community | Philadelphia, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chicago Shakespeare Theater | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Music of the Baroque | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Prostate Cancer Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ucsf Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois Inc | Skokie, IL | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bowdoin College Museum of Art | Brunswick, ME | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hyde Park Art Center | Chicago, IL | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Millennium Park Foundation | Chicago, IL | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Academy for Urban School Leadership | Chicago, IL | $25,450 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| After School Matters | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Friends of Museums in Israel | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Symphony League | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| American Symphony Orchestra League (aka League of American Orchestras) | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (aka Cyso) | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Federation of Jewish Communities of the Cis | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Insideout Literary Arts | Detroit, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Junior Economic Club of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 5 | 2 | 2022 |
| Music Institute of Chicago | Evanston, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Rush University Medical Center | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Highland Park, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Michigan Hillel | Ann Arbor, MI | $22,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Grant Park Orchestral Association | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Millenium Park Foundation | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Ravinia Festival Association | Highland Park, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Chicago Council on Global Affairs | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Institute for Humane Studies | Arlington, VA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Museum of Modern Art | New York, NY | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| American Enterprise Institute | Washington, DC | $14,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Grant Park Orchestral | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Illinois Arts Alliance | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lincoln Park Zoological Society | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Arts Alliance Illinois | Chicago, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Junior Achievement | Chicago, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Junior Achievement of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lincoln Park Zoological Society (lincoln Park Zoo) | Chicago, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Solti Foundation US | Chicago, IL | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Institute for Justice | Arlington, VA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
65 of 129 (50%) 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 less consistent than most. 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.
- University of Michigan
THE SAMUEL ZELL AND ROBERT H. LURIE INSTITUTE FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL STUDIES - Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School
ZELL FAMILY FUND FOR JEWISH EDUCATION - Rochelle Zell Jewish High School
TO ELIMINATE DEBT AND STRENGTHEN ENDOWMENT - University of Chicago
GENERAL SUPPORT - CENTER FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION - Zell Entrepreneurship Foundation
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION - OUT OF CORPUS - American Friends of Reichman University (fka-Idc)
2015 PLEDGE TO SUPPORT AND ENDOW THE ZELL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 190 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 | 80 | $22.0M | $137,500 |
| 2022 | 86 | $26.9M | $98,000 |
| 2023 | 70 | $135.1M | $187,500 |
| 2024 | 54 | $65.0M | $156,266 |
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. Zell Family Foundation has 41 of them, worth $120.5M. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $25.0M |
| Mayo Clinic | Rochester, MN | $10.0M |
| Rochelle Zell Jewish High School | Deerfield, IL | $10.0M |
| Interdisciplinary Center Herzliyaamerican Friends of Idc | New York, NY | $8,000,000 |
| Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School | Chicago, IL | $7,000,000 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $6,000,000 |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $5,600,000 |
| American Friends of Reichman University (fka-Idc) | New York, NY | $5,000,000 |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $4,800,000 |
| Chicago Public Education Fund (fund Vi) | Chicago, IL | $4,500,000 |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $4,400,000 |
| Rochelle Zell Jewish High School | Deerfield, IL | $3,500,000 |
| Camp Ramah | New York, NY | $3,000,000 |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $2,000,000 |
| Lincoln Park Conservancy | Chicago, IL | $2,000,000 |
Where its money goes
55% 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 Zell 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: Two North Riverside Plaza 600, Chicago, IL, 60606. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 36-3487811 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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