The Atkins Family Foundation
The Atkins Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Deerfield, Illinois. Its 2024 filing lists contributions to charitable organizations and states that it makes contributions only to preselected organizations; it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
The Atkins Family Foundation at a glance
In short: The Atkins Family Foundation gave $211K across 32 grants in 2024 (avg $7K), mostly in Illinois. 41% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $211,070
- +196.1% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 32
- +3.2% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $6,596
- +186.9% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $500
- Total assets
- $1,558,656
- -10.1% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 41% first-time grantees (13 of 32, 2024)
- Primary geography
- Illinois (81% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The Atkins 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: 570 Lake Cook Rd 320, Deerfield, IL 60015
Phone: (847) 874-8210
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Atkins Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago ($102K). Together the top 10 received $202K.
Grant Size Distribution
160 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 153 grants of 160 (96%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2024, 81% of grant dollars went to recipients in Illinois, 12% to New York, 4% to Texas, 2% to California, and 1% to Washington, DC.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 32 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Atkins Family Foundation open to new grantees?
41%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 13 of 32 grantees (41%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $10K. How we count
Medians: $458 first-time, $940 repeat.
- 47% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving fell 35% from 2021 to 2024. Method
- In 2024 it paid out 194% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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
From 2019 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $71K (2023) to $323K (2021). In 2024 it made 32 grants totaling $211K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago Chicago, IL | Unrestricted | $102,064 |
| Jewish United Fund Chicago, IL | Unrestricted | $50,000 |
| JCC Association of North America New York, NY | Unrestricted | $20,000 |
| Houston Achievement (Hap) Houston, TX | Project Class Program | $7,500 |
| Ravinia Highland Park, IL | Unrestricted | $6,850 |
| JCC Association of New York New York, NY | Unrestricted | $5,899 |
| Jewish National Fund USA Northbrook, IL | Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Briarwood Scholarship Foundation Deerfield, IL | Unrestricted | $1,500 |
| Desert Community Foundation Palm Desert, CA | Indian Ridge Scholarship Fund | $1,500 |
| Temple Jeremiah Northfield, IL | Community Commitment | $1,500 |
Ready to take the next step with The Atkins 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,558,656 | $47,740 | $281,525 | $211,070 | 32 | $211,099 | — | $108,551 |
| 2023 | $1,734,078 | $276,195 | $113,885 | $71,277 | 31 | $71,697 | $12,227 | $96,521 |
| 2022 | $1,572,424 | $136,535 | $240,319 | $222,842 | 28 | $223,733 | $120,477 | $106,946 |
| 2021 | $1,653,545 | $143,162 | $374,336 | $322,711 | 27 | $322,736 | $91,562 | $118,762 |
| 2020 | $1,617,147 | $51,592 | $138,031 | $85,160 | 42 | — | $5,349 | $109,442 |
| 2019 | $1,670,816 | $175,327 | $276,217 | $225,854 | 49 | — | $91,291 | $120,055 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Atkins Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $109K for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation does not state a mission in the available information. Its 2024 grants went to organizations working in areas including Jewish community support, education and scholarships, arts, youth camping, and animal care. These are descriptions of recipient organizations, not stated focus areas of the foundation.
For example, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago describes its work as assisting people in need, supporting Israel and the Jewish people worldwide, responding to crises, cultivating Jewish identity and connection, and advancing Jewish learning. Briarwood Scholarship Foundation says it provides need- and merit-based educational scholarships to caddies, employees, and employees’ children. Camp for All Kids says it supports youth from underrepresented backgrounds in attending overnight summer camp.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2024, the foundation reported 32 grants totaling $211,070. Grants ranged from $100 to $102,064, with a median of $500. Its largest reported grants were $102,064 to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and $50,000 to Jewish United Fund, both in Chicago, for unrestricted purposes. Other notable grants included $20,000 to JCC Association of North America for an unrestricted purpose and $7,500 to Houston Achievement (HAP) for its Project CLASS program.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Cathy G Atkins as president and director, David T Atkins as treasurer and director, and Lisa G Atkins as secretary and director.
The Atkins Family Foundation is led by Cathy G Atkins, President & Director since 2024 (on filings since 2019); none of the 3 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Cathy G Atkins
President & Director
Secretary → President, 2023
President → President & Director, 2024
On filings since 2019
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
David T Atkins
Treasurer & Director
New on the 2024 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lisa G Atkins
Secretary & Director
New on the 2024 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (3)
- Former: Darlene Gilford (2019–2023) — Director · Filing note: Deceased
- Former: Patricia Gilford (2019–2023) — Treasurer
- Former: Lawrence Gilford (2019) — President
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 The Atkins Family Foundation
How much does The Atkins Family Foundation give each year?
The Atkins Family Foundation gave $211K across 32 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $71K across 31 grants.
What is The Atkins Family Foundation's typical grant size?
The Atkins Family Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $500, and its average grant was $6,596, across 32 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Atkins Family Foundation that year got $2K on average.
Where does The Atkins Family Foundation give grants?
The Atkins Family Foundation gives mostly in Illinois: 81% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was New York (12%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (10 grants), New York, NY (4 grants), Northbrook, IL (2 grants) and Northfield, IL (2 grants).
Does The Atkins Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 88% of The Atkins Family Foundation's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (28 of 32) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Atkins Family Foundation's largest grantees?
The Atkins Family Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago ($102,064), Jewish United Fund ($50,000) and JCC Association of North America ($20,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 82% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is The Atkins Family Foundation?
The Atkins Family Foundation reported $1.6M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $211K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $109K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Atkins Family Foundation fund?
The foundation does not state a mission in the available information. Its 2024 grants went to organizations working in areas including Jewish community support, education and scholarships, arts, youth camping, and animal care. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Atkins 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 The Atkins Family Foundation's EIN?
The Atkins Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-3859669. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2024.
Does The Atkins 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 October 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS June 29, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 9, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS June 29, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 21, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS June 11, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS August 19, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Atkins Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Atkins Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-atkins-family-foundation-morg_e988ad96f8c54fe286ae358f31599f70
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_363859669_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Atkins Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-atkins-family-foundation-morg_e988ad96f8c54fe286ae358f31599f70},
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 The Atkins 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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