Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Chicago, IL EIN: 36-7167115

The Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. In filing year 2025, it gave $184,000 through 16 grants to charitable organizations, including educational, cultural, environmental, and human-services organizations.

Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation at a glance

In short: Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation gave $184K across 16 grants in 2025 (avg $12K), mostly in New York. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$184,000
+12.1% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
16
+700.0% vs 2024
Average grant
$11,500
-86.0% vs 2024
Median grant
$9,000
Total assets
$2,780,270
+4.6% vs 2024
Primary geography
New York (70% 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 Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley 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: PO Box 803878, Chicago, IL 60680
Phone: (312) 630-6000

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

Who Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Yale University: $25KYale University$25KEastman School of Music: $25KEastman School of Music$25KDalton School: $20KDalton School$20KThe Chicago Community Foundation: $17KThe Chicago CommunityFoundation$17KThe Julliard School of Music: $15KThe Julliard School of Music$15KAmerican Museum of: $15KAmerican Museum of$15KOpen Space Institute: $15KOpen Space Institute$15KPrep for Prep: $10KPrep for Prep$10KBowdoin International Music Festival: $8KBowdoin International MusicFestival$8KCity Harvest Inc: $8KCity Harvest Inc$8K

The largest 2025 recipient was Yale University ($25K). Together the top 10 received $158K.

Grant Size Distribution

39 grants across all recorded years

36<$50K1$50–100K2$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 36 grants of 39 (92%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The 2025 filing’s reported grant-dollar distribution was NY 70%, CT 14%, IL 11%, ME 4%, and VA 2%.

Grant Distribution by State

8states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 16 itemized grants.

Cities

New YorkChicagoBrunswickLibertyvilleNew HavenRochesterArlingtonAspenBrooklynHagerstownPomona

How Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation gives

  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−1%). 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

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$50K$100K$150K$200K0 grants2020 2 grants2021 2 grants2022 17 grants2023 2 grants2024 16 grants2025

From 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $65K (2021) to $185K (2022). In 2025 it made 16 grants totaling $184K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Yale University New Haven, CTGeneral Support$25,000
Eastman School of Music Rochester, NYGeneral Support$25,000
Dalton School New York, NYGeneral Support$20,000
The Chicago Community Foundation Chicago, ILGeneral Support$17,000
The Julliard School of Music New York, NYGeneral Support$15,000
American Museum of New York, NYGeneral Support$15,000
Open Space Institute New York, NYGeneral Support$15,000
Prep for Prep New York, NYGeneral Support$10,000
Bowdoin International Music Festival Brunswick, MEGeneral Support$8,000
City Harvest Inc New York, NYGeneral Support$7,500
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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$2,780,270$322,530$199,976$184,00016$192,459$315,013$204,708
2024$2,657,689$172,435$186,955$164,1712$173,588$162,340$192,510
2023$2,672,053$185,039$186,700$172,01717$179,574$179,734$171,728
2022$2,673,509$159,557$200,590$185,3482$186,613$146,659$173,282
2021$2,714,553$172,700$78,260$65,0002$66,265$162,156$186,187
2020$2,620,351$-106,988$15,528———$60,150$146,212

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation reported a distributable amount of $205K 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 support for organizations working in several fields. Open Space Institute describes its work as protecting land for clean drinking water, recreation, healthy communities, wildlife habitat, and climate resilience. Prep for Prep says it provides educational access and opportunity to promising New York City students. Bowdoin International Music Festival describes a mission of offering gifted young musicians opportunities to study with artists and presenting classical music. The Nature Conservancy describes its mission as conserving the lands and waters on which life depends.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation made 16 grants totaling $184,000. Grant amounts ranged from $3,000 to $25,000, with a median grant of $9,000. Listed awards included $25,000 each to Yale University and Eastman School of Music; $20,000 to Dalton School; $17,000 to The Chicago Community Foundation; and $15,000 each to The Juilliard School, American Museum of (as named in the filing), and Open Space Institute.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Ceara G Donnelly, Naomi S Donnelly, Aidan Williams Donnelly, Inanna H Donnelly, and Miss Tegan Vivian Donnelly as trustees.

Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation's 2025 filing lists 5 officers; none of the 5 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Aidan Williams Donnelley

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Ceara G. Donnelley

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Inanna H. Donnelley

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Naomi S. Donnelley

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Tegan Vivian Donnelley

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/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 Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation

How much does Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation give each year?

Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation gave $184K across 16 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $164K across 2 grants.

What is Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation's typical grant size?

Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $9,000, and its average grant was $11,500, across 16 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation give grants?

Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation gives mostly in New York: 70% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Connecticut (14%) and Illinois (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (10 grants) and Chicago, IL (2 grants).

Does Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (16 of 16) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation's largest grantees?

Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Yale University ($25,000), Eastman School of Music ($25,000) and Dalton School ($20,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 38% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation?

Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation reported $2.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $192K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $205K (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 Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations working in several fields. Open Space Institute describes its work as protecting land for clean drinking water, recreation, healthy communities, wildlife habitat, and climate resilience. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley 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 Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation's EIN?

Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-7167115. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley 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

(7)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

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

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/strachan-and-vivian-h-donnelley-foundation-morg_ac4f41ba85e947d288a8c20008508c59

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_367167115_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Strachan \& Vivian H Donnelley Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/strachan-and-vivian-h-donnelley-foundation-morg_ac4f41ba85e947d288a8c20008508c59},
  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 Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley 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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