Mills Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Chicago, IL EIN: 20-3972275

Mills Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois (EIN 20-3972275). Its 2025 filing lists grants to charitable organizations in Kansas, Illinois, and New York, all designated for general support.

Mills Family Foundation at a glance

In short: Mills Family Foundation gave $120K across 6 grants in 2025 (avg $20K), mostly in Kansas. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$120,000
+293.4% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
6
+50.0% vs 2024
Average grant
$20,000
+162.3% vs 2024
Median grant
$2,500
Total assets
$901,756
-8.8% vs 2024
Primary geography
Kansas (83% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026.

How to apply to Mills 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: 1 N Wacker Drive Suite 3050, Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: (847) 234-6525

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

Who Mills Family Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 6 recipients in 2025

Starkey Foundation Inc: $100KStarkey Foundation Inc$100KLake Forest Chapter of the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago: $10KLake Forest Chapter of theInfant Welfare Society of…$10KCPS Lives NFP DBA Artists in Public Schools: $3KCPS Lives NFP DBA Artists inPublic Schools$3KFriends of Northside College Preparatory High School: $3KFriends of Northside CollegePreparatory High School$3KLoyola University of Chicago: $3KLoyola University of Chicago$3KNew York Road Runners Inc: $3KNew York Road Runners Inc$3K

The largest 2025 recipient was Starkey Foundation Inc ($100K). Together the top 6 received $120K.

Grant Size Distribution

68 grants across all recorded years

59<$50K$50–100K5$100–250K1$250–500K2$500K–1M1$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 59 grants of 68 (87%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 83% of grant dollars went to recipients in Kansas, 15% to recipients in Illinois, and 2% to recipients in New York.

Grant Distribution by State

16states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 6 itemized grants.

Cities

ChicagoGurneeLake ForestNorthbrookPhiladelphiaNew YorkWinnetkaAllentownBarreCatonsvilleEvanstonFrankfortGlencoeGlenwoodHigland ParkKeithvilleLake BluffLibertyvilleMcKinneyMemphis

How Mills Family Foundation gives

  • Giving fell 87% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 262% 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$1M$2M$3M7 grants2020 10 grants2021 42 grants2022 6 grants2023 4 grants2024 6 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $31K (2024) to $2.5M (2021). In 2025 it made 6 grants totaling $120K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Starkey Foundation Inc Wichita, KSGeneral Support$100,000
Lake Forest Chapter of the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago Chicago, ILGeneral Support$10,000
CPS Lives NFP DBA Artists in Public Schools Chicago, ILGeneral Support$2,500
Friends of Northside College Preparatory High School Chicago, ILGeneral Support$2,500
Loyola University of Chicago Chicago, ILGeneral Support$2,500
New York Road Runners Inc New York, NYGeneral Support$2,500
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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$901,756$35,544$122,065$120,0006$121,040$34,519$46,178
2024$988,277$41,978$32,415$30,5004$31,465$41,028$48,100
2023$978,714$752,477$150,465$148,0506$149,265$751,277$37,460
2022$376,702$671,988$985,159$944,62542$945,840$670,788$62,113
2021$689,873$1,743,010$2,524,515$2,524,50010$2,524,515$1,743,010$160,589
2020$1,471,378$511,339$706,507$680,0007—$511,339$159,371

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Mills Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $46K 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 whose work spans several areas. Starkey Foundation Inc. says it supports Starkey, Inc. and its affiliates through financial assistance, community awareness, and other support. Loyola University of Chicago describes itself as a Jesuit, Catholic university focused on learning, justice, and faith. New York Road Runners Inc. says it works to improve community health and well-being through inclusive and accessible running experiences.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation gave $120,000 through six grants. Grants ranged from $2,500 to $100,000, with a median of $2,500. The largest grants were $100,000 to Starkey Foundation Inc. and $10,000 to the Lake Forest Chapter of the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago. The other four grants were $2,500 each, to CPS Lives NFP DBA Artists in Public Schools, Friends of Northside College Preparatory High School, Loyola University of Chicago, and New York Road Runners Inc. All six were for general support.

The foundation gave $30,500 through four grants in 2024 and $148,050 through six grants in 2023.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

Charles Mills is listed as a trustee on the 2025 filing.

Mills Family Foundation is led by Charles Mills, Trustee on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Charles Mills

    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 Mills Family Foundation

How much does Mills Family Foundation give each year?

Mills Family Foundation gave $120K across 6 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $31K across 4 grants.

What is Mills Family Foundation's typical grant size?

Mills Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $2,500, and its average grant was $20,000, across 6 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Mills Family Foundation give grants?

Mills Family Foundation gives mostly in Kansas: 83% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Illinois (15%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (4 grants).

Does Mills Family Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Mills Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (6 of 6) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Mills Family Foundation's largest grantees?

Mills Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Starkey Foundation Inc ($100,000), Lake Forest Chapter of the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago ($10,000) and CPS Lives NFP DBA Artists in Public Schools ($2,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 94% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Mills Family Foundation?

Mills Family Foundation reported $902K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $121K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $46K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Mills Family Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations whose work spans several areas. Starkey Foundation Inc. says it supports Starkey, Inc. and its affiliates through financial assistance, community awareness, and other support. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Mills 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 Mills Family Foundation's EIN?

Mills Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-3972275. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does Mills Family 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

(6)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS April 28, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 12, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 12, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 13, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 6, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 5, 2026)

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Mills Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/mills-family-foundation-morg_a91f93d0df0d4a0199c4a617f98b1404

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_203972275_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Mills Family Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/mills-family-foundation-morg_a91f93d0df0d4a0199c4a617f98b1404},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-20. 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 Mills 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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