Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Chicago, IL EIN: 93-1428388

The Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, including schools and organizations working in areas such as hunger relief, social services, and support for American Indian communities.

Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation at a glance

In short: Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation gave $138K across 15 grants in 2025 (avg $9K), mostly in Illinois. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$137,500
-82.8% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
15
+1400.0% vs 2024
Average grant
$9,167
-98.9% vs 2024
Median grant
$5,000
Total assets
$2,315,756
+1.2% vs 2024
Primary geography
Illinois (71% 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 Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation

How to Apply

The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. The filing says to request consideration by letter, including the amount requested, a proposal, 501(c)(3) information, financials, and the board of directors. The filing refers to an attached mission statement for restrictions on awards.

Review Cycle
The filing says proposals are received during the first three quarters, evaluated in the fourth quarter, and awards are made in December.
Deadline
The filing says proposals are received during the first three quarters, evaluated in the fourth quarter, and awards…
Contact

Application contact: Maureen J Kelly
Mailing address: 77 W Washington St Ste 1405, Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: (312) 236-8386

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

Who Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Josephinum Academy: $50KJosephinum Academy$50KRegina Dominican High School: $25KRegina Dominican High School$25KCovenant House: $5KCovenant House$5KGreater Chicago Food Depository: $5KGreater Chicago FoodDepository$5KHoward & Evanston Community Center: $5KHoward & Evanston CommunityCenter$5KLutheran Social Services of Illinois: $5KLutheran Social Services ofIllinois$5KNative American Heritage Association: $5KNative American HeritageAssociation$5KThe National Childrens Cancer Society: $5KThe National Childrens CancerSociety$5KNorthern Plains Reservation Aid: $5KNorthern Plains ReservationAid$5KProject HOPE: $5KProject HOPE$5K

The largest 2025 recipient was Josephinum Academy ($50K). Together the top 10 received $115K.

Grant Size Distribution

17 grants across all recorded years

14<$50K1$50–100K1$100–250K$250–500K1$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 14 grants of 17 (82%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 71% of grant dollars went to recipients in Illinois, 11% to South Dakota, 4% each to Missouri, Washington, DC, and Virginia. The listed grants also include a recipient in New Mexico.

Grant Distribution by State

7states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 15 itemized grants.

Cities

ChicagoRapid CityAlexandriaAshlandChamberlainDes PlainesSt. LouisThoreauWashingtonWilmette

How Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation gives

  • In 2025 it paid out 138% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$200K$400K$600K$800K1 grant2023 1 grant2024 15 grants2025

From 2023 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $138K (2025) to $800K (2024). In 2025 it made 15 grants totaling $138K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Josephinum Academy Chicago, ILCharitable$50,000
Regina Dominican High School Wilmette, ILCharitable$25,000
Covenant House Chicago, ILCharitable$5,000
Greater Chicago Food Depository Chicago, ILCharitable$5,000
Howard & Evanston Community Center Chicago, ILCharitable$5,000
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Des Plaines, ILCharitable$5,000
Native American Heritage Association Rapid City, SDCharitable$5,000
The National Childrens Cancer Society St. Louis, MOCharitable$5,000
Northern Plains Reservation Aid Rapid City, SDCharitable$5,000
Project HOPE Washington, DCCharitable$5,000
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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 IncomeDistributable Amount
2025$2,315,756$87,880$189,680$137,50015$174,025$72,225$125,888
2024$2,287,556$43,983$844,199$800,0001$830,926$30,710$125,814
2023$3,047,958$28,845$222,897$200,0001$216,478$21,976$17,805

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation reported a distributable amount of $126K 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 filing refers to an attached mission statement, but its text is not provided here. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of charitable organizations. The Greater Chicago Food Depository describes its own mission as ending hunger and treating food as a basic human right; Lutheran Social Services of Illinois says it seeks to bring healing, justice, and wholeness to people and enhance their quality of life.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation awarded 15 grants totaling $137,500. Grants ranged from $2,500 to $50,000, with a median grant of $5,000.

The largest grants included $50,000 to Josephinum Academy in Chicago and $25,000 to Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette. Other listed recipients receiving $5,000 each included Covenant House, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Howard & Evanston Community Center, and Lutheran Social Services of Illinois in Illinois; Native American Heritage Association and Northern Plains Reservation Aid in South Dakota; The National Childrens Cancer Society in Missouri; Project HOPE in Washington, DC; Running Strong for American Indian Youth in Virginia; and St Bonaventure Indian Mission & School in New Mexico.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Maureen J Kelly as president, Walter Robinson as treasurer, and Patrick Pope as director.

Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation is led by Maureen J Kelly, President on every filing since 2023; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Maureen J Kelly

    President

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Patrick Pope

    Director

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Walter Robinson

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2023–2025. "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 Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation

How much does Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation give each year?

Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation gave $138K across 15 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $800K across 1 grant.

What is Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation's typical grant size?

Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $9,167, across 15 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation give grants?

Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation gives mostly in Illinois: 71% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was South Dakota (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (5 grants) and Rapid City, SD (2 grants).

Does Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 15 grants with a stated purpose on Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (15 grants).

Who are Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation's largest grantees?

Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Josephinum Academy ($50,000), Regina Dominican High School ($25,000) and Covenant House ($5,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 58% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation?

Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation reported $2.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $174K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $126K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation fund?

The foundation’s filing refers to an attached mission statement, but its text is not provided here. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of charitable organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation?

The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation's EIN?

Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 93-1428388. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2023–2025.

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

Data update history

(2)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 15, 2026)
  2. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2023–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 23, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/laura-h-sitterly-charitable-foundation-morg_000cf1fe32f34293b9fd68b14bafbde0

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_931428388_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Laura H Sitterly Charitable Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/laura-h-sitterly-charitable-foundation-morg_000cf1fe32f34293b9fd68b14bafbde0},
  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 Laura H Sitterly Charitable 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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