Cushing Family Foundation
Cushing Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, including organizations working in food assistance, global health, housing support, youth programs, and climate technology.
Cushing Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Cushing Family Foundation gave $8.1M across 56 grants in 2025 (avg $144K), top state Illinois. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $8,085,000
- +657.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 56
- +211.1% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $144,375
- +143.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $50,000
- Total assets
- $164,308,363
- +0.8% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Illinois (45% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026.
How to apply to Cushing Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 333 W Wacker Drive 1700, Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: (312) 332-1111
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Cushing Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Amref Health Africa in the USA ($3.3M). Together the top 10 received $5.3M.
Grant Size Distribution
110 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 52 grants of 110 (47%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, recipient organizations in Illinois received 45% of grant dollars and those in New York received 43%. California, Iowa, and Washington, DC, each accounted for 2%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 56 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How Cushing Family Foundation gives
- 27% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 1634% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 91% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (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
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $106K (2019) to $8.1M (2025). In 2025 it made 56 grants totaling $8.1M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Amref Health Africa in the USA New York, NY | General Purposes | $3,250,000 |
| Greater Chicago Food Depository Chicago, IL | General Purposes | $1,000,000 |
| Theosophical Society in America Wheaton, IL | General Purposes | $250,000 |
| Glen Ellyn Food Pantry Glen Ellyn, IL | General Purposes | $200,000 |
| American Red Cross Boone, IA | General Purposes | $150,000 |
| Beat the Streets Chicago Chicago, IL | General Purposes | $100,000 |
| Blood Cancer United Washington, DC | General Purposes | $100,000 |
| Bridge Communities Inc Glen Ellyn, IL | General Purposes | $100,000 |
| College of Dupage Foundation Glen Ellyn, IL | General Purposes | $100,000 |
| Dupage Pads Wheaton, IL | General Purposes | $100,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
Amounts below are reported by filing year.
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $164,308,363 | $10,070,260 | $8,749,375 | $8,085,000 | 56 | $8,085,000 | $7,150,825 | $8,908,552 |
| 2024 | $162,987,478 | $13,327,241 | $1,397,391 | $1,068,000 | 18 | $1,068,000 | $9,422,615 | $8,265,124 |
| 2023 | $151,057,628 | $152,055,068 | $775,843 | $690,000 | 9 | $690,000 | $3,314,633 | $813,402 |
| 2022 | $12,051,140 | $984,790 | $562,722 | $466,300 | 21 | $466,300 | $72,664 | $578,830 |
| 2021 | $11,629,072 | $1,217,123 | $402,894 | $325,000 | 6 | $325,015 | $549,355 | $597,281 |
| 2020 | $10,814,843 | $7,303,532 | $160,212 | $128,000 | 17 | — | $21,598 | $212,624 |
| 2019 | $3,671,523 | $1,791,718 | $115,040 | $105,500 | 14 | — | $56,196 | $106,140 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Cushing Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $8.9M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations with varied missions. For example, the Greater Chicago Food Depository says its mission is to end hunger in Cook County, and the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry says it provides groceries and support to neighbors at risk of hunger. Bridge Communities says it works to transition homeless families to self-sufficiency through mentoring, housing, and supportive services.
Other 2025 grantees include Evergreen Climate Innovations, which says it advances climate technology in the Greater Midwest, and Beat the Streets Chicago, which provides youth wrestling programs in Chicago. The Theosophical Society in America describes objectives that include promoting universal brotherhood and the comparative study of religion, philosophy, and science.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation made 56 grants totaling $8,085,000. Grant amounts ranged from $5,000 to $3,250,000, with a median grant of $50,000.
The largest reported grants included $3,250,000 to AMREF HEALTH AFRICA IN THE USA, $1,000,000 to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, $250,000 to the Theosophical Society in America, and $200,000 to the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry. Other grants of $100,000 included awards to Beat the Streets Chicago, Bridge Communities, Evergreen Climate Innovations, and DuPage PADS.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Michael J. Cushing is listed as a trustee on the 2025 filing.
Cushing Family Foundation is led by Michael J. Cushing, Trustee on every filing since 2019 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Michael J. Cushing
Trustee
On filings since 2019
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "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 Cushing Family Foundation
How much does Cushing Family Foundation give each year?
Cushing Family Foundation gave $8.1M across 56 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.1M across 18 grants.
What is Cushing Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Cushing Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $50,000, and its average grant was $144,375, across 56 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Cushing Family Foundation give grants?
Cushing Family Foundation's top state is Illinois, with 45% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest state was New York (43%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (22 grants), Glen Ellyn, IL (5 grants), New York, NY (3 grants) and Wheaton, IL (3 grants).
Does Cushing Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Cushing Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (56 of 56) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Cushing Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Cushing Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Amref Health Africa in the USA ($3,250,000), Greater Chicago Food Depository ($1,000,000) and Theosophical Society in America ($250,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 56% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Cushing Family Foundation?
Cushing Family Foundation reported $164.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $8.1M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $8.9M (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does Cushing Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations with varied missions. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Cushing Family Foundation?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Cushing Family Foundation's EIN?
Cushing Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 46-1636778. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Cushing Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS August 5, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS June 9, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 10, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 9, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 13, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS June 16, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 8, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Cushing Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/cushing-family-foundation-morg_150893c049684f5ea6878f7c4fab601e
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_461636778_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Cushing Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/cushing-family-foundation-morg_150893c049684f5ea6878f7c4fab601e},
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 Cushing 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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