John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn
The John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, including organizations in Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, Minnesota, and Oregon.
John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn at a glance
In short: John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn gave $405K across 15 grants in 2025 (avg $27K), top state Illinois. 40% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $405,000
- +153.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 15
- +66.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $27,000
- +51.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $20,000
- Total assets
- $4,940,137
- +10.1% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 40% first-time grantees (6 of 15, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Illinois (47% 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 John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: 2238 N Fremont, Chicago, IL 60614
Phone: (312) 236-6166
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Charles SCWAB DAF - DAF Giving 360 ($75K). Together the top 10 received $350K.
Grant Size Distribution
63 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 51 grants of 63 (81%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 filing allocates grant dollars by recipient state as follows: Illinois, 47%; Nebraska, 19%; Colorado, 15%; Minnesota, 12%; and Oregon, 4%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 15 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn open to new grantees?
40%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 6 of 15 grantees (40%) were first-time recipients. With only 15 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. First grants averaged $29K; repeat grants $26K. How we count
Medians: $18K first-time, $20K repeat.
- 53% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 28% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 106% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $160K (2024) to $444K (2021). In 2025 it made 15 grants totaling $405K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Charles SCWAB DAF - DAF Giving 360 Omaha, NE | General Charitable | $75,000 |
| Gilda's Club Chicago, IL | General Charitable | $50,000 |
| Jazz Aspen Season Snowmass Aspen, CO | General Charitablegeneral Charitable | $50,000 |
| So Others May Learn Minneapolis, MN | General Charitable | $50,000 |
| Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation Chicago, IL | General Charitable | $25,000 |
| University of Chicago Chicago, IL | General Charitable | $25,000 |
| Brehm Preparatory School Carbondale, IL | General Charitable | $20,000 |
| Chrystosom's Day School Chicago, IL | General Charitable | $20,000 |
| Northwestern Medical Womans Board Chicago, IL | General Charitable | $20,000 |
| Death with Dignity Portland, OR | General Charitable | $15,000 |
Ready to take the next step with John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn?
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 | $4,940,137 | $886,820 | $427,469 | $405,000 | 15 | $405,000 | $864,351 | $380,744 |
| 2024 | $4,488,549 | $327,540 | $191,740 | $160,000 | 9 | $163,015 | $298,815 | $369,739 |
| 2023 | $4,370,795 | $226,568 | $398,542 | $370,235 | 14 | $370,235 | $193,446 | $343,542 |
| 2022 | $4,406,986 | $131,682 | $356,592 | $317,500 | 12 | $317,500 | $92,590 | $348,321 |
| 2021 | $4,676,655 | $499,130 | $471,566 | $443,525 | 13 | $443,525 | $471,089 | $370,197 |
| 2020 | $4,458,599 | $160,583 | $395,206 | $368,600 | 11 | — | $133,977 | $317,406 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn reported a distributable amount of $381K 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 went to organizations with varied purposes. For example, So Others May Learn describes its work as providing academic scholarships to students in Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, particularly students in rural areas who lack financial resources. Brehm Preparatory School describes itself as providing junior high, senior high, and post-secondary programs for students with learning disabilities. The University of Chicago describes its mission as communicating and creating knowledge and fostering a community of scholars and students.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 15 grants totaling $405,000. Grant amounts ranged from $5,000 to $75,000, with a median grant of $20,000. The filing lists grants as being for general charitable purposes.
Among the largest reported grants were $75,000 to Charles Schwab DAF – DAF Giving 360; $50,000 each to Gilda’s Club, Jazz Aspen Season Snowmass, and So Others May Learn; and $25,000 each to Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation and the University of Chicago. Other listed grants included $20,000 each to Brehm Preparatory School, Chrystosom’s Day School, and Northwestern Medical Woman’s Board.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Barbara C. Cooney, John D. Cooney Jr., Robert C. Cooney, and Elizabeth Cooney as directors.
John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn's 2025 filing lists 4 officers; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Barbara C. Cooney
Director - Part
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
John D. Cooney Jr.
Director - Part
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Elizabeth Cooney
Director - Part
On filings since 2023
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Robert C. Cooney
Director - Part
On filings since 2023
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 John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn
How much does John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn give each year?
John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn gave $405K across 15 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $160K across 9 grants.
What is John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn's typical grant size?
John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn's median grant in 2025 was $20,000, and its average grant was $27,000, across 15 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn that year got $29K on average.
Where does John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn give grants?
John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn's top state is Illinois, with 47% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Nebraska (19%) and Colorado (15%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (7 grants) and Aspen, CO (2 grants).
Does John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (15 of 15) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn's largest grantees?
John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn's largest 2025 grantees include Charles SCWAB DAF - DAF Giving 360 ($75,000), Gilda's Club ($50,000) and Jazz Aspen Season Snowmass ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 43% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn?
John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn reported $4.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $405K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $381K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants went to organizations with varied purposes. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn's EIN?
John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-4408630. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn 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 September 1, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 13, 2022)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 13, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS June 6, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS June 5, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 29, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 23, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/john-d-and-barbara-c-cooney-family-fdtn-morg_b62486e6000a4d6ca52678ac86b79647
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_364408630_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{John D \& Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/john-d-and-barbara-c-cooney-family-fdtn-morg_b62486e6000a4d6ca52678ac86b79647},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-23. 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 John D & Barbara C Cooney Family Fdtn'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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