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Grant funders / Illinois / Higher Education

Higher Education Grant Funders in Illinois

1887 foundations with a documented higher education focus have made grants to Illinois nonprofits in recent years, together directing $1.9B to organizations across the state. Below are the most active — every funder links to a full giving profile, and Bespoke Grants will match all 1887 against your nonprofit's specific mission, for free.

1887
Higher education funders
$1.9B
Given to Illinois nonprofits
25,504
Grants on record
2025
Most recent giving

Most active higher education funders in Illinois

#FunderBased inTotal Illinois givingGrantsLatest
1University of Illinois FoundationIllinois$1.1B122023
2The Chicago Community TrustIllinois$59.7M2162023
3Northern Illinois University FoundationIllinois$33.0M72025
4Crown Family FoundationIllinois$32.6M32024
5Fulk Family Foundation IncIllinois$27.3M302025
6Robert R Mccormick FoundationIllinois$21.7M362024
7The Andrew W Mellon FoundationNew York$14.3M232024
8Sigma Chi FoundationIllinois$13.5M72023
9Illinois State University FoundationIllinois$13.4M22023
10SrccoNorth Carolina$12.7M22024
11Aileen S Andrew FoundationIllinois$9.1M32024
12Deloitte FoundationConnecticut$8.7M62025
13College of Lake County FoundationIllinois$8.7M52023
14Walter Family Foundation IncIllinois$8.3M132024
15Friends of Mchenry County CollegeIllinois$8.2M182024

This list is ranked by size. Yours should be ranked by fit.

The funders above are the biggest higher education funders in Illinois — not necessarily the right ones for you. Bespoke Grants ranks all 1887 against your nonprofit's actual mission, service area, and budget, and shows you why each one matches. Free, no credit card.

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Higher Education funders in other states

Other causes funded in Illinois

How this list is built. Bespoke Grants indexes 13M+ grants from public IRS Form 990 filings. This page shows foundations whose giving carries a documented higher education focus and that have funded Illinois nonprofits. Giving figures reflect each funder's total recent grants to Illinois recipients. IRS data publishes on a 1–2 year lag; figures are current through the most recent available filings.