Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Chicago, IL EIN: 26-0587477

The Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Its 2025 grants went to charitable organizations, with most grant dollars going to recipients in Illinois.

Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation at a glance

In short: Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation gave $568K across 22 grants in 2025 (avg $26K), mostly in Illinois. 14% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$568,300
+3.8% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
22
-8.3% vs 2024
Average grant
$25,832
+13.2% vs 2024
Median grant
$20,000
Total assets
$9,661,092
-1.6% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
14% first-time grantees (3 of 22, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Illinois (93% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

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

How to apply to Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

The foundation states that it 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 Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

JUF - Jewish United Fund: $150KJUF - Jewish United Fund$150KGreater Chicago Food Depository: $50KGreater Chicago FoodDepository$50KRavinia Festival: $50KRavinia Festival$50KWttwwfmt Public Broadcasting Service: $30KWttwwfmt Public BroadcastingService$30KAnti Defamation League: $25KAnti Defamation League$25KIllinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center: $25KIllinois Holocaust Museum &Education Center$25KKeshet: $25KKeshet$25KNorth Shore Senior Center: $25KNorth Shore Senior Center$25KThe Ark: $25KThe Ark$25KIllini Chabad Center for Jewish Life: $21KIllini Chabad Center forJewish Life$21K

The largest 2025 recipient was JUF - Jewish United Fund ($150K). Together the top 10 received $426K.

Grant Size Distribution

110 grants across all recorded years

93<$50K11$50–100K6$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 93 grants of 110 (85%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 93% of grant dollars went to recipients in Illinois. The reported shares for other recipient states were New Jersey (4%), Maryland (2%), and Montana (2%).

Grant Distribution by State

7states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 22 itemized grants.

Cities

ChicagoWinnetkaEvanstonBillingsHagerstownHighland ParkNorthbrookNorthfieldSkokieTeaneckOaklandChampaignNew YorkItascaMontgomery

Is Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation open to new grantees?

14%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 3 of 22 grantees (14%) were first-time recipients. With only 22 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $30K; repeat grants $25K. How we count

Medians: $30K first-time, $20K repeat.

  • 86% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−3%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 94% 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 (2019–2025). 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$200K$400K$600K$800K25 grants2019 24 grants2020 23 grants2021 21 grants2022 20 grants2023 24 grants2024 22 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $528K (2023) to $710K (2020). In 2025 it made 22 grants totaling $568K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
JUF - Jewish United Fund Chicago, ILGeneral Purposes$150,000
Greater Chicago Food Depository Chicago, ILGeneral Purposes$50,000
Ravinia Festival Highland Park, ILGeneral Purposes$50,000
Wttwwfmt Public Broadcasting Service Chicago, ILGeneral Purposes$30,000
Anti Defamation League Chicago, ILGeneral Purposes$25,000
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center Skokie, ILGeneral Purposes$25,000
Keshet Northbrook, ILGeneral Purposes$25,000
North Shore Senior Center Northfield, ILGeneral Purposes$25,000
The Ark Chicago, ILGeneral Purposes$25,000
Illini Chabad Center for Jewish Life Champaign, ILGeneral Purposes$20,800
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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$9,661,092$508,631$668,236$568,30022$568,735$428,926$607,063
2024$9,820,697$939,554$624,410$547,50024$547,925$842,238$586,882
2023$9,505,553$316,577$603,642$527,50020$527,525$231,074$540,801
2022$9,792,618$275,870$676,602$585,00021$585,025$191,185$570,572
2021$10,193,350$566,293$729,357$645,00023$645,025$482,850$612,906
2020$10,356,414$326,863$794,395$710,00024—$243,824$579,978
2019$10,823,946$334,350$656,806$540,00025—$265,435$581,894

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation reported a distributable amount of $607K 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 grants support organizations with varied missions. For example, the Greater Chicago Food Depository describes its mission as ending hunger, and North Shore Senior Center says it works to foster older adults’ independence and well-being. Keshet describes providing people with disabilities opportunities to participate in activities across stages of life. The Ark says it helps Chicagoland Jews facing adversity navigate toward self-reliance, while Sharsheret describes supporting people affected by or at increased genetic risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation made 22 grants totaling $568,300. Grant amounts ranged from $5,000 to $150,000, with a median of $20,000. The largest awards included $150,000 to JUF - Jewish United Fund; $50,000 each to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Ravinia Festival; and $30,000 to WTTWWFMT Public Broadcasting Service. Each of these grants was listed for general purposes. Other 2025 awards included $25,000 each to the Anti Defamation League, Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Keshet, North Shore Senior Center, and The Ark.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Craig R Boyer as President and Director, Margaret A Nagela as Treasurer and Director, and Louis S Harrison as Secretary and Director.

Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation is led by Craig R. Boyer, President & Director on every filing since 2019; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Craig R. Boyer

    President & Director

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Louis S. Harrison

    Secretary & Director

    On filings since 2019

    0.3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Margaret A. Nagela

    Treasurer & Director

    On filings since 2019

    0.3 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 Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation

How much does Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation give each year?

Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation gave $568K across 22 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $548K across 24 grants.

What is Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation's typical grant size?

Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $20,000, and its average grant was $25,832, across 22 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation that year got $30K on average.

Where does Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation give grants?

Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation gives mostly in Illinois: 93% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (13 grants).

Does Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (22 of 22) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation's largest grantees?

Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include JUF - Jewish United Fund ($150,000), Greater Chicago Food Depository ($50,000) and Ravinia Festival ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 44% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation?

Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation reported $9.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $569K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $607K (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 Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its grants support organizations with varied missions. For example, the Greater Chicago Food Depository describes its mission as ending hunger, and North Shore Senior Center says it works to foster older adults’ independence and well-being. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation?

The foundation states that it 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 Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation's EIN?

Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-0587477. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Does Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?

No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑

Data last updated September 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

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 12, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 8, 2021)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS April 29, 2022)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 10, 2023)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 30, 2024)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 5, 2025)
  7. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 20, 2026)
  8. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/martin-and-mary-l-boyer-foundation-morg_5519a4f0de00402fafcb8e31a3cc9496

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_260587477_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Martin and Mary L Boyer Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/martin-and-mary-l-boyer-foundation-morg_5519a4f0de00402fafcb8e31a3cc9496},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-04. 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 Martin and Mary L Boyer 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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