Donna Van Eekeren Foundation
The Donna Van Eekeren Foundation is a private foundation based in Deerfield, Illinois. Its 2025 filing lists grants to charitable organizations in California, Illinois, Connecticut, and Florida; the listed grant purposes were general charitable purposes.
Donna Van Eekeren Foundation at a glance
In short: Donna Van Eekeren Foundation gave $1.0M across 13 grants in 2025 (avg $79K), mostly in California. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,030,500
- +312.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 13
- +160.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $79,269
- +58.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $25,000
- Total assets
- $278,831
- -73.0% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- California (58% 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 Donna Van Eekeren 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: C/O Gs Ayco600 540 Lake Cook Rd, Deerfield, IL 60015
Phone: (847) 317-5000
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Donna Van Eekeren Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was The Old Globe ($500K). Together the top 10 received $1.0M.
Grant Size Distribution
36 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 27 grants of 36 (75%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 58% of grant dollars went to recipients in California and 38% to recipients in Illinois. The reported shares were 3% for Connecticut and 0% for Florida.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.
Cities
How Donna Van Eekeren Foundation gives
- 31% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 27% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out well above its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $25K (2020) to $1.0M (2025). In 2025 it made 13 grants totaling $1.0M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| The Old Globe San Diego, CA | General Charitable Purposes | $500,000 |
| Lyric Opera of Chicago Chicago, IL | General Charitable Purposes | $300,000 |
| San Diego State University Research Foundation San Diego, CA | General Charitable Purposes | $50,000 |
| Whamnow Inc Greenwich, CT | General Charitable Purposes | $35,000 |
| Window to the World Communications Inc Chicago, IL | General Charitable Purposes | $25,000 |
| American Writers Museum Chicago, IL | General Charitable Purposes | $25,000 |
| Chicago Public Media Inc Chicago, IL | General Charitable Purposes | $25,000 |
| San Diego Museum of Art San Diego, CA | General Charitable Purposes | $25,000 |
| San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance San Diego, CA | General Charitable Purposes | $20,000 |
| Chicago Academy of Sciences Chicago, IL | General Charitable Purposes | $10,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $278,831 | $549,556 | $1,034,822 | $1,030,500 | 13 | $1,030,615 | $107,155 | $30,949 |
| 2024 | $1,032,278 | $21,749 | $255,301 | $250,000 | 5 | $250,015 | $21,974 | $53,731 |
| 2023 | $1,265,830 | $14,391 | $336,986 | $291,000 | 11 | $292,537 | $28,709 | $61,795 |
| 2022 | $1,588,425 | $-41,934 | $822,922 | $810,000 | 6 | $811,510 | $49,858 | $81,259 |
| 2021 | $2,453,281 | $15,670 | $52,011 | $50,000 | 1 | $50,000 | $14,651 | $182,449 |
| 2020 | $2,489,622 | $11,723 | $25,057 | $25,000 | 1 | — | $11,773 | $123,507 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Donna Van Eekeren Foundation reported a distributable amount of $31K 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
The foundation’s own mission is not stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included organizations in the arts, media, and women’s health research. These are examples of grantees’ work, not stated focus areas of the foundation: Lyric Opera of Chicago describes its work as providing cultural service to Chicago and the nation and advancing opera; WHAMNOW Inc. says it works to increase funding for women’s health research and empower women researchers; and Chicago Public Media says it supports local communities and democracy through independent local journalism.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 13 grants totaling $1,030,500. Grant amounts ranged from $500 to $500,000, with a median of $25,000.
Notable listed grants included $500,000 to The Old Globe, $300,000 to Lyric Opera of Chicago, $50,000 to San Diego State University Research Foundation, and $35,000 to WHAMNOW Inc. Other listed grants included $25,000 each to Window to the World Communications, American Writers Museum, Chicago Public Media, and San Diego Museum of Art.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Donna Van Eekeren is listed as a trustee on the 2025 filing.
Donna Van Eekeren Foundation is led by Donna Van Eekeren, Trustee on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Donna Van Eekeren
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/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 Donna Van Eekeren Foundation
How much does Donna Van Eekeren Foundation give each year?
Donna Van Eekeren Foundation gave $1.0M across 13 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $250K across 5 grants.
What is Donna Van Eekeren Foundation's typical grant size?
Donna Van Eekeren Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $79,269, across 13 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Donna Van Eekeren Foundation give grants?
Donna Van Eekeren Foundation gives mostly in California: 58% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Illinois (38%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (6 grants) and San Diego, CA (4 grants).
Does Donna Van Eekeren Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Donna Van Eekeren Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (13 of 13) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Donna Van Eekeren Foundation's largest grantees?
Donna Van Eekeren Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include The Old Globe ($500,000), Lyric Opera of Chicago ($300,000) and San Diego State University Research Foundation ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 82% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Donna Van Eekeren Foundation?
Donna Van Eekeren Foundation reported $279K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.0M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $31K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Donna Van Eekeren Foundation fund?
The foundation’s own mission is not stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included organizations in the arts, media, and women’s health research. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Donna Van Eekeren 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 Donna Van Eekeren Foundation's EIN?
Donna Van Eekeren Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-7641053. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Donna Van Eekeren 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
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 17, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 11, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS September 9, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS June 11, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Donna Van Eekeren Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 9, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/donna-van-eekeren-foundation-morg_73d2b28414a6439a95e2f70d244ff5b4
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_367641053_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Donna Van Eekeren Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/donna-van-eekeren-foundation-morg_73d2b28414a6439a95e2f70d244ff5b4},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-09. 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 Donna Van Eekeren 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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