The Heestand Foundation Inc
The Heestand Foundation Inc is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Its 2025 filing reports $84,000 in grants to 24 organizations, including arts and cultural organizations, animal welfare groups, and other charitable organizations.
The Heestand Foundation Inc at a glance
In short: The Heestand Foundation Inc gave $84K across 24 grants in 2025 (avg $4K), mostly in Illinois. 8% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $84,000
- +13.4% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 24
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $3,500
- +13.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $2,500
- Total assets
- $961,935
- +2.6% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 8% first-time grantees (2 of 24, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Illinois (58% 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 Heestand Foundation Inc
- 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: 1448 N Lake Shore Dr Unit 15-C, Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: (312) 501-0912
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Heestand Foundation Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was LaJolla Cat Lounge ($10K). Together the top 10 received $52K.
Grant Size Distribution
110 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 110 grants of 110 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 58% of grant dollars went to recipients in Illinois, 26% to California, 8% to New York, 3% to Utah, and 3% to Missouri.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 24 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The Heestand Foundation Inc open to new grantees?
8%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 24 grantees (8%) were first-time recipients. With only 24 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 4 points. First grants averaged $6K; repeat grants $3K. How we count
Medians: $6K first-time, $3K repeat.
- 88% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 31% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 115% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $56K (2021) to $84K (2025). In 2025 it made 24 grants totaling $84K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| LaJolla Cat Lounge LaJolla, CA | To support rescue animals. | $10,000 |
| LaJolla Music Society LaJolla, CA | Supporting the arts. | $9,000 |
| Lyric Opera of Chicago Chicago, IL | For Annual Fund (Unrestricted) | $8,500 |
| Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chicago, IL | For CSO GM Annual Fund (Unrestricted) | $7,500 |
| Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL | General Operating Support. | $3,500 |
| Fourth Presbyterian Church Chicago, IL | To support the church. | $3,000 |
| Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn, NY | Care for bbg gardens and collections, education and information services | $3,000 |
| Newbury Library Chicago, IL | For the annual fund. | $2,500 |
| Best Friends Animal Society Kanab, UT | For Annual Fund (Unrestricted) | $2,500 |
| Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Chicago, IL | To support students, teachers, arts partners, and audiences the opportunity to experience live theatre. | $2,500 |
Ready to take the next step with The Heestand Foundation Inc?
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 | $961,935 | $123,136 | $98,612 | $84,000 | 24 | $84,000 | $110,942 | $73,340 |
| 2024 | $937,411 | $62,843 | $88,140 | $74,081 | 24 | $74,081 | $51,234 | $69,532 |
| 2023 | $962,708 | $61,903 | $71,852 | $59,500 | 21 | $59,500 | $51,301 | $61,012 |
| 2022 | $972,657 | $30,325 | $78,985 | $64,000 | 21 | $64,000 | $17,510 | $62,390 |
| 2021 | $1,021,317 | $93,071 | $72,774 | $56,000 | 20 | $56,000 | $77,097 | $68,942 |
| 2020 | $1,001,020 | $53,799 | $78,410 | $69,500 | 21 | — | $45,289 | $57,806 |
| 2019 | $1,025,631 | $56,877 | $74,738 | $64,200 | 19 | — | $46,839 | $57,627 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Heestand Foundation Inc reported a distributable amount of $73K 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 include support for opera, orchestras, visual arts, theatre, a church, a library, and animal welfare organizations. Grantees’ own descriptions illustrate their work: the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association says its mission is to enrich, inspire, and transform lives through music, community engagement, and education; Best Friends Animal Society says it works to save dogs and cats in shelters and make the country no-kill. These are the grantees’ missions, not stated missions of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave $84,000 across 24 grants. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $10,000, with a median of $2,500. Among the largest were $10,000 to LaJolla Cat Lounge for rescue animals, $9,000 to LaJolla Music Society for the arts, $8,500 to Lyric Opera of Chicago for its unrestricted annual fund, and $7,500 to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for its unrestricted annual fund. Other 2025 recipients included the Art Institute of Chicago ($3,500), Fourth Presbyterian Church ($3,000), Brooklyn Botanic Garden ($3,000), Newbury Library ($2,500), Best Friends Animal Society ($2,500), Chicago Shakespeare Theatre ($2,500), Anti Cruelity Society ($2,500), and Joffrey Ballet of Chicago ($2,500).
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Patricia H Heestand as director, president, and treasurer; Alexandra N Heestand as director and secretary; and Anne Heestand as director.
The Heestand Foundation Inc is led by Patricia H. Heestand, Director & President on every filing since 2019; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Patricia H. Heestand
Director & President
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Alexandra N. Heestand
Director & Secretary
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Anne Heestand
Director
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Former officers (2)
- Former: Thaddaeus Parker (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Olin J. Heestand Jr. (2019) — Director & President
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "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 The Heestand Foundation Inc
How much does The Heestand Foundation Inc give each year?
The Heestand Foundation Inc gave $84K across 24 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $74K across 24 grants.
What is The Heestand Foundation Inc's typical grant size?
The Heestand Foundation Inc's median grant in 2025 was $2,500, and its average grant was $3,500, across 24 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Heestand Foundation Inc that year got $6K on average.
Where does The Heestand Foundation Inc give grants?
The Heestand Foundation Inc gives mostly in Illinois: 58% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were California (26%) and New York (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (13 grants), Lajolla, CA (2 grants) and New York, NY (2 grants).
Does The Heestand Foundation Inc give general operating support?
Yes: 21% of The Heestand Foundation Inc's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (5 of 24) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Heestand Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
The Heestand Foundation Inc's largest 2025 grantees include LaJolla Cat Lounge ($10,000), LaJolla Music Society ($9,000) and Lyric Opera of Chicago ($8,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 33% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Heestand Foundation Inc?
The Heestand Foundation Inc reported $962K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $84K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $73K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Heestand Foundation Inc fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for opera, orchestras, visual arts, theatre, a church, a library, and animal welfare organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Heestand Foundation Inc?
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 The Heestand Foundation Inc's EIN?
The Heestand Foundation Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-3996303. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does The Heestand Foundation Inc 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
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 14, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS June 25, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 11, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS June 19, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 23, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 23, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Live grants for the work The Heestand Foundation Inc funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Heestand Foundation Inc's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Heestand Foundation Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-heestand-foundation-inc-morg_7f7ccb2ebcd74208a9d042a7d5207b26
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_363996303_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Heestand Foundation Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-heestand-foundation-inc-morg_7f7ccb2ebcd74208a9d042a7d5207b26},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17. 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 Heestand Foundation Inc'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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