Chicago Federation of Labor Workforce
Chicago, IL · EIN 36-3977262. Reported 111 grants totalling $6,814,634 to 66 organizations across tax years 2020-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Chicago Federation of Labor Workforce, the IRS classifies it under employment rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE J20) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 66 distinct organizations, with 18% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 44% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $15,000. Half of what it reported fell between $10,000 and $49,321; the smallest was $5,120 and the largest $466,587. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
31 of those grants were non-cash -- goods, property or services worth $1,948,161 in total. In-kind giving is real support but it is not a cheque.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Union of Operating Engineers Lcl 399 Ed Training Fund | Chicago, IL | $1,214,383 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Operating Engineers Local 150 Apprenticeship Fund | Countryside, IL | $1,139,348 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Northern Illinois Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust | Rockford, IL | $1,072,454 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | Tinley Park, IL | $681,184 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Usic Locating Services LLC | Lombard, IL | $217,321 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ibew Local 9 Apprenticeship | Tinley Park, IL | $188,060 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| International Alliance Theatrical Stage Employees & Moving Picture M | Chicago, IL | $175,578 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Iron Workers One Apprentice Training Fund Trust | Forest Park, IL | $143,738 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Mechanics Local 701 Training Fund | Carol Stream, IL | $138,708 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Climate Pros | Glendale Heights, IL | $131,662 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399 | Chicago, IL | $127,972 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Architectural Metal Trainee Sch Inc for Loc 63 & Iron Leag of Chic Inc | Broadview, IL | $118,997 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Chicago & Vicinity Laborers | Carol Stream, IL | $101,365 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Iya Foods | Naperville, IL | $100,084 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Choose Chicago Foundation | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Liuna Chicagoland Laborers Tf | Chicago, IL | $72,518 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Spider Company | Machesney Park, IL | $59,762 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Illinois Economic Policy Institute | Countryside, IL | $55,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Select Development | Chicago, IL | $49,043 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Special Olympics Illinois | Normal, IL | $48,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Air & Wellness Safety Training Company | Chicago, IL | $43,274 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | Chicago, IL | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Chicago Jobs With Justice | Chicago, IL | $36,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Reynolds Consumer Products | Lake Forest, IL | $33,917 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Equality Illinois | Chicago, IL | $32,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Oberg Medical Products | Chicago, IL | $30,035 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Civic Consulting Alliance | Chicago, IL | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Juneteenth Illinois Inc Nfp | Chicago, IL | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Sweeney Classic | Countryside, IL | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Mj Electric | Glen Ellyn, IL | $29,265 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Meade Electric Inc | Willowbrook, IL | $27,570 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Federation of Musicians of the US & Canada | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Navy Pier Inc | Chicago, IL | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Machinery Movers Riggers & Mach Erectors Union 136 | Broadview, IL | $23,067 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Power Construction Company LLC | Chicago, IL | $22,675 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hydac Technology Corp | Glendale Heights, IL | $22,427 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Local 444 Ironworkers | Joliet, IL | $20,056 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Concussion Legacy Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cook County Health Foundation | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Jesse White Foundation Ltd | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Reader Institute for Community Journalism Inc | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St Mary of the Lake Seminary | Mundelein, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| HIRE360 | Chicago, IL | $18,200 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Service Employees International Union Local 1 Training Fund | Chicago, IL | $17,379 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Butcher Hydraulics | Elgin, IL | $17,345 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Mac Plastics Manufacturing | Olney, IL | $16,786 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA LLC | Melrose, IL | $15,117 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sos Childrens Village USA Inc | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Ajr Industries | Elk Grove Village, IL | $14,032 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Super Appliance Man | Chicago, IL | $13,422 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| J&a Elite Construction | Alsip, IL | $13,233 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Nti Connex | Downers Grove, IL | $11,725 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| J6 Polymers | Genoa, IL | $10,408 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rocha Electric Co | Chicago, IL | $10,377 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Aldridge Electric Inc | Libertyville, IL | $10,178 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Irish Fellowship Educational & Cultural Foundation | Western Springs, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Laborers District Council & Vicinity Charitable Foundation Inc | Burr Ridge, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| New Covenant Community Development | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Push for Excellence Inc | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| People United to Serve Humanity | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sedwall Manufacturing | Saint Charles, IL | $9,900 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Aurora Specialty Textiles Group | Yorkville, IL | $9,835 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Budnick Converting Inc | Columbia Il, IL | $9,396 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Saturday Place | Chicago, IL | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| John Burns Construction Company | Orland Park, IL | $5,718 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| International Filter Manufacturing | Litchfield, IL | $5,120 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
28 of 66 (42%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Electrical Joint Apprenticeship & Training Trust
DCEO Subgrantee for Training Assistance - Iuoe Local 150 Apprenticeship Fund
DECO SUBGRANTEE FOR TRAINING ASSISTANCE - Chicago Federation of Musicians
GENERAL CONTRIBUTION OF SUPPORT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 22 of 66 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 4 | $57,000 | $11,000 |
| 2021 | 22 | $1,330,865 | $14,269 |
| 2022 | 24 | $1,887,466 | $17,694 |
| 2023 | 31 | $1,948,161 | $13,233 |
| 2024 | 30 | $1,591,142 | $13,016 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
99% of its giving went to organizations in Illinois. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. 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.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $15,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Illinois.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Chicago Federation of Labor Workforce's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 12 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 18 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 2540 S State Street, Chicago, IL, 60616.
EIN 36-3977262 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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