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Baskin Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Chicago, IL EIN: 36-6118260 Website

The Baskin Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Established by Samuel and Hadassah Baskin, Sheldon Baskin, and Judy Wise, it supports forward-thinking organizations primarily focused on education and social justice. Submissions are accepted only from organizations with 501(c)(3) designation.

Baskin Family Foundation at a glance

In short: Baskin Family Foundation gave $2.3M across 87 grants in 2025 (avg $26K), mostly in California. 46% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$2,280,920
-15.5% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
87
+7.4% vs 2024
Average grant
$26,217
-21.3% vs 2024
Median grant
$5,825
Total assets
$5,830,784
-14.3% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
46% first-time grantees (32 of 70, 2025)
Primary geography
California (52% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

How to apply to Baskin Family Foundation

How to Apply

Contact Judy Wise and provide all pertinent information; no particular application form is specified. The filing lists no restrictions on awards.

Review Cycle
None listed.
Deadline
None listed.
Contact

Application contact: Judy Wise
Mailing address: 200 E Randolph St Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (773) 301-1016
Website: https://baskinfamilyfoundation.org

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Baskin Family Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Foundation for National Progress: $1.1M across 4 grantsFoundation for NationalProgress$1.1M · 4 grantsFacing History & Ourselves: $230K across 3 grantsFacing History & Ourselves$230K · 3 grantsUrban Initiatives Inc: $80K across 2 grantsUrban Initiatives Inc$80K · 2 grantsChicago Media Project: $70K across 3 grantsChicago Media Project$70K · 3 grantsRoundhouse Trust: $60KRoundhouse Trust$60KHubbard Street Dance: $50KHubbard Street Dance$50KRefugee One: $45KRefugee One$45KThe Point Magazine: $42K across 2 grantsThe Point Magazine$42K · 2 grantsRefugee Education UK: $40KRefugee Education UK$40KUCSF Foundation: $32KUCSF Foundation$32K

The largest 2025 recipient was Foundation for National Progress ($1.1M across 4 grants). Together the top 10 received $1.7M.

Grant Size Distribution

363 grants across all recorded years

320<$50K25$50–100K12$100–250K1$250–500K3$500K–1M2$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 320 grants of 363 (88%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, the largest reported shares of grant dollars by recipient state were California (52%), Illinois (21%), Massachusetts (11%), and New York (4%). The filing also lists an unidentified state category at 5%.

Grant Distribution by State

19states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 87 itemized grants.

Cities

ChicagoNew YorkBrooklineSan FranciscoWashingtonBrooklynBostonManalapanLos AngelesCharlotteNormalStraffordDenverMemphisAnnapolisArlingtonAustinCatskillSanta MonicaSeattle

Is Baskin Family Foundation open to new grantees?

46%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 32 of 70 grantees (46%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $8K; repeat grants $54K. How we count

Medians: $5K first-time, $13K repeat.

  • 36% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−2%). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$1M$2M$3M79 grants2020 63 grants2021 64 grants2022 68 grants2023 81 grants2024 87 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.4M (2021) to $2.7M (2024). In 2025 it made 87 grants totaling $2.3M.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Foundation for National Progress San Francisco, CAProduce Revelatory Journalism$500,000
Foundation for National Progress San Francisco, CAProduce Revelatory Journalism$250,000
Foundation for National Progress San Francisco, CAProduce Revelatory Journalism$200,000
Foundation for National Progress San Francisco, CAProduce Revelatory Journalism$150,000
Facing History & Ourselves Brookline, MAHistory & Education$100,000
Facing History & Ourselves Brookline, MAHistory & Education$100,000
Roundhouse Trust Supporting Young Artists$60,000
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, ILARTS$50,000
Refugee One Chicago, ILWorldwide Refugee Support$45,000
Refugee Education UK Charlotte, NCLegal Aid to Refugees$40,000
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment Income
2025$5,830,784$1,282,990$2,353,983$2,280,92087$2,280,920$517,834
2024$6,802,458$1,378,685$2,765,901$2,699,90781$2,699,907$612,402
2023$8,176,943$1,287,941$2,481,603$2,422,66068$2,422,660$533,724
2022$9,401,109$1,352,022$2,403,309$2,325,92364$2,325,923$527,403
2021$10,357,689$1,724,337$1,516,065$1,437,78763—$150,864
2020$9,099,779$1,166,534$1,533,639$1,459,90979—$340,286

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The foundation states that it supports forward-thinking organizations primarily focused on education and social justice. It accepts submissions only from organizations with 501(c)(3) designation.

Examples of grantees’ work include Facing History & Ourselves, which says it uses history to equip teachers and students to stand up to racism, antisemitism, and other forms of bigotry and hate; Urban Initiatives, which describes its work as sports-based youth development addressing equity gaps for Chicago students; and 826LA, which supports students’ creative and expository writing and helps teachers inspire students to write. The Point Magazine describes its work as bringing philosophical writing on contemporary culture and politics to everyday life through print, digital media, and public events.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation gave 87 grants totaling $2,280,920. Grant amounts ranged from $230 to $500,000, with a median of $5,825. Among the largest listed awards were four grants to the Foundation for National Progress of $500,000, $250,000, $200,000, and $150,000, each for “produce revelatory journalism.” Facing History & Ourselves received two listed grants of $100,000 each for “history & education.” Other listed awards included $60,000 to Roundhouse Trust for supporting young artists, $50,000 to Hubbard Street Dance for arts, and $45,000 to Refugee One for worldwide refugee support.

The 2024 filing says the foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It lists Judy Wise as the contact for applications, specifies no particular form, and requests all pertinent information. It lists no deadlines and no restrictions on awards.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Judy Wise as manager. The foundation’s website identifies Judy Wise, Jon Baskin, Kim Baskin, Tamar Yehoshua, and Rafe Offer under its Board of Directors.

Baskin Family Foundation's only listed officer is Judy Wise, Manager on every filing since 2020 (uncompensated).

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Judy Wise

    Manager

    On filings since 2020

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Frequently asked questions about Baskin Family Foundation

How much does Baskin Family Foundation give each year?

Baskin Family Foundation gave $2.3M across 87 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $2.7M across 81 grants.

What is Baskin Family Foundation's typical grant size?

Baskin Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,825, and its average grant was $26,217, across 87 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Baskin Family Foundation that year got $8K on average.

Where does Baskin Family Foundation give grants?

Baskin Family Foundation gives mostly in California: 52% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Illinois (21%) and Massachusetts (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (26 grants), Washington, DC (13 grants), San Francisco, CA (6 grants) and New York, NY (6 grants).

Does Baskin Family Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 87 grants with a stated purpose on Baskin Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Education" (14 grants), "Arts" (7 grants) and "Produce Revelatory Journalism" (4 grants).

Who are Baskin Family Foundation's largest grantees?

Baskin Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Foundation for National Progress ($1,100,000 across 4 grants), Facing History & Ourselves ($230,000 across 3 grants) and Urban Initiatives Inc ($80,000 across 2 grants), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 62% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Baskin Family Foundation?

Baskin Family Foundation reported $5.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Its revenue that year was $1.3M.

What does Baskin Family Foundation fund?

The foundation states that it supports forward-thinking organizations primarily focused on education and social justice. It accepts submissions only from organizations with 501(c)(3) designation. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Baskin Family Foundation?

Contact Judy Wise and provide all pertinent information; no particular application form is specified. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Baskin Family Foundation's EIN?

Baskin Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-6118260. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

Data update history

(7)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 4, 2022)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS July 13, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 15, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS July 8, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS June 26, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 12, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

Explore Open Grants

Browse active grant opportunities in Baskin Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Baskin Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/baskin-family-foundation-morg_c347fc32021d40aebbd3b3a509db2f34

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_366118260_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Baskin Family Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/baskin-family-foundation-morg_c347fc32021d40aebbd3b3a509db2f34},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-14. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}

The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.

Figures come from Baskin Family Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.

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