New Frontiers Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Northbrook, IL EIN: 36-4112843

New Frontiers Foundation is a private foundation based in Northbrook, Illinois. Its 2024 filing is marked as the organization’s final return, indicating that it has terminated or is winding down; it therefore appears to have wound down or stopped grantmaking.

New Frontiers Foundation at a glance

In short: New Frontiers Foundation gave $2.7M across 12 grants in 2024 (avg $224K), mostly in Pennsylvania. 8% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2024)
$2,692,800
+2221.4% vs 2023
Grants made (2024)
12
-42.9% vs 2023
Average grant
$224,400
+3962.4% vs 2023
Median grant
$15,000
New grantees (estimate)
8% first-time grantees (1 of 12, 2024; small sample)
Primary geography
Pennsylvania (94% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

How to apply to New Frontiers Foundation

How to Apply

The filing lists William D. Forsyth III as the contact and says a letter requesting a donation is acceptable. Because the 2024 filing is marked as the final return, these application instructions should not be treated as current.

Review Cycle
None stated.
Deadline
None stated.
Contact

Application contact: William D Forsyth Iii
Mailing address: 400 Skokie Blvd Suite 500, Northbrook, IL 60062
Phone: (847) 509-9860

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

Who New Frontiers Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2024

National Philanthropic Trust: $2.5MNational Philanthropic Trust$2.5MHighsight: $20KHighsight$20KHorizons for Youth: $20KHorizons for Youth$20KMadonna Mission: $20KMadonna Mission$20KChicago Jesuit Academy: $15KChicago Jesuit Academy$15KFora: $15KFora$15KHigh Jump: $15KHigh Jump$15KDaniel Murphy Scholarship Fund: $10KDaniel Murphy Scholarship Fund$10KHFS Chicago Scholars: $10KHFS Chicago Scholars$10KOne Million Degrees: $10KOne Million Degrees$10K

The largest 2024 recipient was National Philanthropic Trust ($2.5M). Together the top 10 received $2.7M.

Grant Size Distribution

118 grants across all recorded years

117<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M1$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 117 grants of 118 (99%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2024, 94% of grant dollars went to recipients in Pennsylvania and 6% to recipients in Illinois. The largest grant went to National Philanthropic Trust in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania; the other listed grants went to Illinois organizations.

Grant Distribution by State

2states

Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.

Cities

ChicagoWilmetteChampaignGlenwoodJenkintown

Is New Frontiers Foundation open to new grantees?

8%

first-time grantees, 2024

In 2024, 1 of 12 grantees (8%) were first-time recipients. With only 12 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $2.5M; repeat grants $14K. How we count

Medians: $2.5M first-time, $15K repeat.

  • 92% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
  • Giving grew 1626% from 2021 to 2024. Method
  • In 2023 it paid out 91% 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 (2019–2024). 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$1M$2M$3M29 grants2019 29 grants2020 28 grants2021 28 grants2022 21 grants2023 12 grants2024

From 2019 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $116K (2023) to $2.7M (2024). In 2024 it made 12 grants totaling $2.7M.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
National Philanthropic Trust Jenkintown, PAGeneral Fund$2,542,800
Highsight Chicago, ILGeneral Fund$20,000
Horizons for Youth Chicago, ILGeneral Fund$20,000
Madonna Mission Chicago, ILGeneral Fund$20,000
Chicago Jesuit Academy Chicago, ILGeneral Fund$15,000
Fora Chicago, ILGeneral Fund$15,000
High Jump Chicago, ILGeneral Fund$15,000
Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund Chicago, ILGeneral Fund$10,000
HFS Chicago Scholars Chicago, ILGeneral Fund$10,000
One Million Degrees Chicago, ILGeneral Fund$10,000
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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
2024——$2,692,800$2,692,80012$2,692,800——
2023$2,692,800$43,451$128,053$116,00021$116,000$43,451$127,016
2022$2,777,402$431,833$178,466$170,00028$170,000$428,639$130,987
2021$2,524,035$218,122$156,541$156,00028$156,000$218,122$156,665
2020$2,462,454$154,924$157,577$153,00029—$153,674$119,153
2019$2,465,107$24,568$138,435$128,00029—$150,172$121,208

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The filing does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2024 grants went to organizations whose stated work included education, scholarships, tutoring, and support for young people. For example, HighSight says it provides academic and social support, scholarships, mentors, and tutors to Chicago high school students. Horizons for Youth says it provides education-rooted resources in partnership with children’s families and communities. Tutoring Chicago says it delivers one-to-one tutoring, and One Million Degrees says it accelerates community college students’ progress on career pathways to economic mobility.

The foundation also gave to National Philanthropic Trust, which describes itself as a public charity and grantmaking institution that provides philanthropic expertise and administers donor-advised funds.

Grantmaking

In 2024, the foundation reported 12 grants totaling $2,692,800. Grant sizes ranged from $5,000 to $2,542,800, with a median of $15,000. The largest award was $2,542,800 to National Philanthropic Trust for general fund. Other notable grants included $20,000 each to HighSight, Horizons for Youth, and Madonna Mission; $15,000 each to Chicago Jesuit Academy, FORA, and High Jump; and $10,000 each to Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, HFS Chicago Scholars, One Million Degrees, and Tutoring Chicago. The filing lists general fund as the purpose for these grants.

The foundation’s filing says it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It states that there is no special form and that a letter requesting a donation is acceptable; awards are restricted to organizations exclusively for charitable, religious, literary, scientific, or educational purposes.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2024 filing lists William D. Forsyth III as president/secretary and Arnold M. Berlin as director.

New Frontiers Foundation is led by William D. Forsyth III, President & Secretary on every filing since 2019; none of the 2 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.

Officers on the 2024 filing

  • William D. Forsyth III

    President & Secretary

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Arnold M. Berlin

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2024. "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 New Frontiers Foundation

How much does New Frontiers Foundation give each year?

New Frontiers Foundation gave $2.7M across 12 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $116K across 21 grants.

What is New Frontiers Foundation's typical grant size?

New Frontiers Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $15,000, and its average grant was $224,400, across 12 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from New Frontiers Foundation that year got $2.5M on average.

Where does New Frontiers Foundation give grants?

New Frontiers Foundation gives mostly in Pennsylvania: 94% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Illinois (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (10 grants).

Does New Frontiers Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of New Frontiers Foundation's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (12 of 12) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are New Frontiers Foundation's largest grantees?

New Frontiers Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include National Philanthropic Trust ($2,542,800), Highsight ($20,000) and Horizons for Youth ($20,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 96% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.

What does New Frontiers Foundation fund?

The filing does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2024 grants went to organizations whose stated work included education, scholarships, tutoring, and support for young people. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from New Frontiers Foundation?

The filing lists William D. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is New Frontiers Foundation's EIN?

New Frontiers Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-4112843. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2024.

Data last updated September 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

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 28, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 12, 2021)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS April 18, 2022)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 8, 2023)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 14, 2024)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 17, 2025)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). New Frontiers Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/new-frontiers-foundation-morg_98b4d0ed55174d2bb87ad2744082ba17

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_364112843_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{New Frontiers Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/new-frontiers-foundation-morg_98b4d0ed55174d2bb87ad2744082ba17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-14. 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 New Frontiers 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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