Philip E Fess Family Foundation
The Philip E Fess Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Kenilworth, Illinois. It reported making 10 grants totaling $56,270 in 2025, including support for organizations working in hunger relief, health care, and medical research.
Philip E Fess Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Philip E Fess Family Foundation gave $56K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), top state Illinois. 30% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $56,270
- +9.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- +11.1% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $5,627
- -1.7% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $6,000
- Total assets
- $975,862
- -0.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 30% first-time grantees (3 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Illinois (40% 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 Philip E Fess Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: 48 Kenilworth Avenue, Kenilworth, IL 60043
Phone: (847) 830-9110
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Philip E Fess Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Feeding San Diego ($10K). Together the top 10 received $56K.
Grant Size Distribution
62 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 62 grants of 62 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 filing reports that grant dollars went to recipients in Illinois (40%), California (26%), the District of Columbia (18%), Tennessee (11%), and New York (4%). The listed grants also include a $1,000 award to Pan Can Purple Stride in Iowa.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Philip E Fess Family Foundation open to new grantees?
30%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 3 of 10 grantees (30%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $3K; repeat grants $7K. How we count
Medians: $2K first-time, $6K repeat.
- 50% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−10%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 88% 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 (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 $52K (2024) to $63K (2022). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $56K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Feeding San Diego San Diego, CA | Unrestricted | $10,400 |
| Top Box Foods Chicago, IL | Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| World Central Kitchens Washington, DC | Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Hadley Institute Winnetka, IL | Unrestricted | $6,370 |
| Fenix Family Health Center Highwood, IL | Unrestricted | $6,000 |
| St Jude's Research Hospital Memphis, TN | Unrestricted | $6,000 |
| Lucky Duck Foundation San Diego, CA | Unrestricted | $2,500 |
| Leukemia Lymphoma Society New York, NY | Unrestricted | $2,000 |
| The Evans School La Jolla, CA | Unrestricted | $2,000 |
| Pan Can Purple Stride Boone, IA | Unrestricted | $1,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Philip E Fess Family Foundation?
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 | $975,862 | $69,273 | $71,503 | $56,270 | 10 | $57,962 | $55,732 | $65,504 |
| 2024 | $978,092 | $93,188 | $68,175 | $51,500 | 9 | $55,341 | $80,354 | $61,960 |
| 2023 | $953,079 | $58,481 | $71,061 | $56,650 | 16 | $58,640 | $46,060 | $53,351 |
| 2022 | $965,659 | $45,141 | $77,498 | $62,500 | 14 | $65,003 | $32,646 | $58,809 |
| 2021 | $998,016 | $88,495 | $75,920 | $61,000 | 13 | $62,915 | $75,490 | $64,819 |
| 2020 | $985,441 | $76 | $71,897 | $57,600 | 12 | — | $26,513 | $64,522 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Philip E Fess Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $66K 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 included organizations whose stated work included hunger relief: Feeding San Diego says it connects people facing hunger with nutritious meals through food rescue, while Top Box Foods says it provides access to affordable, healthy food in food deserts and underserved communities. Fenix Family Health Center describes its work as providing low- or no-cost medical care to low-income and uninsured people. The foundation also made grants to organizations including St. Jude's Research Hospital and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave $56,270 across 10 grants. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $10,400, with a median grant of $6,000. The largest awards were $10,400 to Feeding San Diego, $10,000 each to Top Box Foods and World Central Kitchens, $6,370 to Hadley Institute, and $6,000 each to Fenix Family Health Center and St. Jude's Research Hospital. The filing lists all 10 grants as unrestricted.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Martha Fess Anderson, Virginia Fess, Mark Anderson, and Barry Tamblyn as directors.
Philip E Fess Family Foundation's 2025 filing lists 4 officers; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Barry Tamblyn
Director
On filings since 2020
0.1 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mark Anderson
Director
On filings since 2020
0.1 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Martha Fess Anderson
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Virginia Fess
Director
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 Philip E Fess Family Foundation
How much does Philip E Fess Family Foundation give each year?
Philip E Fess Family Foundation gave $56K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $52K across 9 grants.
What is Philip E Fess Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Philip E Fess Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $6,000, and its average grant was $5,627, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Philip E Fess Family Foundation that year got $3K on average.
Where does Philip E Fess Family Foundation give grants?
Philip E Fess Family Foundation's top state is Illinois, with 40% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were California (26%) and District of Columbia (18%). The most frequent recipient cities were San Diego, CA (2 grants).
Does Philip E Fess Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Philip E Fess Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (10 of 10) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Philip E Fess Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Philip E Fess Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Feeding San Diego ($10,400), Top Box Foods ($10,000) and World Central Kitchens ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 54% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Philip E Fess Family Foundation?
Philip E Fess Family Foundation reported $976K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $58K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $66K (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 Philip E Fess Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Philip E Fess Family Foundation?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Philip E Fess Family Foundation's EIN?
Philip E Fess Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 76-0755885. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Philip E Fess Family Foundation 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 12, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Philip E Fess Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/philip-e-fess-family-foundation-morg_3b0513ada9a84c0a8652b54d5e31fce7
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_760755885_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Philip E Fess Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/philip-e-fess-family-foundation-morg_3b0513ada9a84c0a8652b54d5e31fce7},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-11. 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 Philip E Fess 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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