The Arrington Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Evanston, IL EIN: 36-6129951

The Arrington Foundation is a private foundation based in Evanston, Illinois. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable and educational recipients, with most grant dollars going to organizations in Illinois.

The Arrington Foundation at a glance

In short: The Arrington Foundation gave $49K across 17 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in Illinois. 80% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$49,042
+216.3% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
17
+112.5% vs 2024
Average grant
$2,885
+48.8% vs 2024
Median grant
$1,500
Total assets
$623,829
-10.2% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
80% first-time grantees (12 of 15, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Illinois (85% 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 The Arrington 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: 929 Edgemere Ct, Evanston, IL 60202
Phone: (312) 726-1800

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

Who The Arrington Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

McGraw YMCA: $10KMcGraw YMCA$10KNorthwestern University Feinberg School Of Medicine: $7KNorthwestern UniversityFeinberg School Of Medicine$7KSt Mark's Episcopal Church: $7KSt Mark's Episcopal Church$7KRound Canopy Parachutibng Team - USA Foundation Inc: $5KRound Canopy Parachutibng Team- USA Foundation Inc$5KEvanston Township High School: $5K across 2 grantsEvanston Township High School$5K · 2 grantsChicago Symphony Orchestra: $3KChicago Symphony Orchestra$3KChief Executives Organization: $3KChief Executives Organization$3KKuumba Evanston: $3KKuumba Evanston$3KDouglas E Vaughan MD: $2KDouglas E Vaughan MD$2KStuart Jay Olshansky: $2KStuart Jay Olshansky$2K

The largest 2025 recipient was McGraw YMCA ($10K). Together the top 10 received $44K.

Grant Size Distribution

62 grants across all recorded years

62<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 62 grants of 62 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 85% of grant dollars went to recipients in Illinois, 10% to recipients in Florida and 5% to recipients in Washington, DC.

Grant Distribution by State

7states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 17 itemized grants.

Cities

ChicagoEvanstonNew YorkWashingtonClevelandLake VillaCarroltonPalatkaRolling MeadowsSilver SpringSkokieTampaWheelingWinfield

Is The Arrington Foundation open to new grantees?

80%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 12 of 15 grantees (80%) were first-time recipients. With only 15 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. First grants averaged $3K; repeat grants $4K. How we count

Medians: $2K first-time, $3K repeat.

  • 20% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving fell 46% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 170% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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

$0$25K$50K$75K$100K11 grants2020 12 grants2021 16 grants2022 9 grants2023 8 grants2024 17 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $12K (2020) to $91K (2022). In 2025 it made 17 grants totaling $49K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
McGraw YMCA Evanston, ILCharitable.$10,000
Northwestern University Feinberg School Of Medicine Chicago, ILCharitable.$7,000
St Mark's Episcopal Church Evanston, ILCharitable.$6,500
Round Canopy Parachutibng Team - USA Foundation Inc Palatka, FLCharitable.$5,000
Evanston Township High School Evanston, ILEducational.$3,550
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chicago, ILCharitable.$3,242
Chief Executives Organization Washington, DCCharitable.$2,500
Kuumba Evanston Evanston, ILCharitable.$2,500
Douglas E Vaughan MD Chicago, ILCharitable.$1,500
Stuart Jay Olshansky Chicago, ILCharitable.$1,500
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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$623,829$21,955$92,999$49,04217$88,328$17,535$52,044
2024$694,873$24,920$49,092$15,5058$34,707$16,971$45,464
2023$719,045$29,444$25,617$15,5359$15,535$19,362$42,061
2022$715,218$3,142$96,923$91,39816$91,398$15,027$47,372
2021$808,999$16,896$22,393$20,36412$20,364$17,799$49,854
2020$814,496$-147,016$56,897$11,78411—$12,373$47,770

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Arrington Foundation reported a distributable amount of $52K 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 charitable organizations and an educational recipient. Evanston Township High School’s supporting organization says its mission is to raise and distribute funds to complement and enrich educational opportunities at the school beyond conventional public funding. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association says its mission is to enrich, inspire and transform lives through music, community engagement and education. Chief Executives Organization describes itself as a membership organization for chief executives and says its purposes include continuing education and the exchange of ideas and experience.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation gave $49,042 across 17 grants. Grants ranged from $250 to $10,000, with a median grant of $1,500.

The largest reported grants included $10,000 to McGraw YMCA, $7,000 to Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, $6,500 to St Mark’s Episcopal Church, and $5,000 to Round Canopy Parachuting Team - USA Foundation. Other notable grants were $3,550 to Evanston Township High School, $3,242 to Chicago Symphony Orchestra, $2,500 to Chief Executives Organization and $2,500 to Kuumba Evanston. The filing lists the grants’ purposes as charitable, except the Evanston Township High School grant, which is listed as educational.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Michael B Arrington as president.

The Arrington Foundation is led by Michael B Arrington, President on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Michael B Arrington

    President

    On filings since 2020

    $40K (2020) → $0 (2025)

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.

Compensation Overview

No officer or director reported compensation in the available filings.

Frequently asked questions about The Arrington Foundation

How much does The Arrington Foundation give each year?

The Arrington Foundation gave $49K across 17 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $16K across 8 grants.

What is The Arrington Foundation's typical grant size?

The Arrington Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,500, and its average grant was $2,885, across 17 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Arrington Foundation that year got $3K on average.

Where does The Arrington Foundation give grants?

The Arrington Foundation gives mostly in Illinois: 85% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Florida (10%) and District of Columbia (5%). The most frequent recipient cities were Evanston, IL (7 grants), Chicago, IL (6 grants) and Lake Villa, IL (2 grants).

Does The Arrington Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 17 grants with a stated purpose on The Arrington Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable." (14 grants).

Who are The Arrington Foundation's largest grantees?

The Arrington Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include McGraw YMCA ($10,000), Northwestern University Feinberg School Of Medicine ($7,000) and St Mark's Episcopal Church ($6,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 48% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is The Arrington Foundation?

The Arrington Foundation reported $624K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $88K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $52K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does The Arrington Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for charitable organizations and an educational recipient. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The Arrington 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 The Arrington Foundation's EIN?

The Arrington Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-6129951. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does The Arrington 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 15, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 13, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 13, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 15, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 13, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 12, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open

Figures come from The Arrington 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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