The Knowles Foundation
The Knowles Foundation is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Its 2025 grants supported organizations in Illinois working in areas including arts and culture, education, health care, environmental conservation, food security, and community services.
The Knowles Foundation at a glance
In short: The Knowles Foundation gave $1.4M across 25 grants in 2025 (avg $57K), mostly in Illinois. 0% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,436,000
- -1.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 25
- +4.2% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $57,440
- -5.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $50,000
- Total assets
- $22,912,955
- -1.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 0% first-time grantees (0 of 19, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Illinois (100% 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 Knowles 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: 2 Prudential Pl 180 N Stetson 1400, Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 372-4000
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Knowles Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Merit School of Music ($293K across 4 grants). Together the top 10 received $1.1M.
Grant Size Distribution
121 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $50–100K range: 52 grants of 121 (43%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
All itemized grant dollars in 2025 went to recipients in Illinois.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 25 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The Knowles Foundation open to new grantees?
0%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 0 of 19 grantees (0%) were first-time recipients. With only 19 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. How we count
- 100% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+10%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 113% 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
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.1M (2020) to $1.5M (2024). In 2025 it made 25 grants totaling $1.4M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Merit School of Music Chicago, IL | Capital Campaign | $187,500 |
| Gigi's Playhouse Inc Hoffman Estates, IL | General Fund | $100,000 |
| Lyric Opera of Chicago Chicago, IL | Student and Family Performances Fund | $100,000 |
| Friends of the Chicago River Chicago, IL | General Fund | $80,000 |
| Ray Graham Association Lisle, IL | Hanson Center | $78,500 |
| Chicago Architecture Center Chicago, IL | General Fund | $75,000 |
| Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Elmhurst, IL | Breast Health Program | $75,000 |
| Loyola University Medical Center Mayhood, IL | Nursing Fund | $75,000 |
| Adler Planetarium Chicago, IL | School Experiences Program | $70,000 |
| Merit School of Music Chicago, IL | General Fund | $68,000 |
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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 | $22,912,955 | $1,292,868 | $1,733,315 | $1,436,000 | 25 | $1,515,539 | $1,085,592 | $1,347,143 |
| 2024 | $23,352,657 | $780,062 | $1,707,924 | $1,452,500 | 24 | $1,518,069 | $593,232 | $1,281,602 |
| 2023 | $24,279,182 | $2,351,709 | $1,382,673 | $1,132,000 | 22 | $1,191,541 | $342,089 | $1,214,608 |
| 2022 | $23,309,575 | $1,221,456 | $1,554,809 | $1,305,000 | 25 | $1,371,422 | $1,045,694 | $1,239,006 |
| 2021 | $23,642,857 | $666,277 | $1,565,483 | $1,355,000 | 25 | — | $515,046 | $1,320,816 |
| 2020 | $24,542,079 | $9,507,649 | $1,197,823 | $1,055,000 | 25 | — | $409,681 | $1,013,287 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Knowles Foundation reported a distributable amount of $1.3M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for music education, performances, school experiences, health programs, river conservation, and food assistance. The grantees’ own descriptions illustrate this range: Merit School of Music says it works to remove barriers to high-quality music education for young people, while Friends of the Chicago River describes its mission as protecting and restoring the Chicago-Calumet River system for people, water, and wildlife. The Greater Chicago Food Depository says its mission is to end hunger and that it works with community-based organizations and individuals.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 25 grants totaling $1,436,000. Grant amounts ranged from $5,000 to $187,500, with a median of $50,000. Among the largest grants were $187,500 to Merit School of Music for a capital campaign; $100,000 to GiGi’s Playhouse for its general fund; $100,000 to Lyric Opera of Chicago for its Student and Family Performances Fund; $80,000 to Friends of the Chicago River for its general fund; and $78,500 to Ray Graham Association for the Hanson Center. Other notable grants included $75,000 each to Chicago Architecture Center for its general fund, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital for its Breast Health Program, and Loyola University Medical Center for its Nursing Fund, plus $70,000 to Adler Planetarium for its School Experiences Program.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Michael J. Powers as director, treasurer, and secretary; David J. Hill as director and president; and Ronald Lawler as director.
The Knowles Foundation is led by David J. Hill, Director & President on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
David J. Hill
Director & President
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Michael J. Powers
Director, Treasurer & Secretary
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Ronald Lawler
Director
On filings since 2020
0.5 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 The Knowles Foundation
How much does The Knowles Foundation give each year?
The Knowles Foundation gave $1.4M across 25 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.5M across 24 grants.
What is The Knowles Foundation's typical grant size?
The Knowles Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $50,000, and its average grant was $57,440, across 25 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does The Knowles Foundation give grants?
The Knowles Foundation gives mostly in Illinois: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (17 grants), Hoffman Estates, IL (2 grants) and Lisle, IL (2 grants).
Does The Knowles Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 56% of The Knowles Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (14 of 25) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Knowles Foundation's largest grantees?
The Knowles Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Merit School of Music ($292,500 across 4 grants), Ray Graham Association ($128,500 across 2 grants) and Gigi's Playhouse Inc ($100,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 36% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Knowles Foundation?
The Knowles Foundation reported $22.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.5M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.3M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Knowles Foundation fund?
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for music education, performances, school experiences, health programs, river conservation, and food assistance. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Knowles 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 The Knowles Foundation's EIN?
The Knowles Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-6051968. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does The Knowles 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 2020 (received by the IRS July 21, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS August 10, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 10, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS August 1, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS August 8, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 13, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Knowles Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-knowles-foundation-morg_541f278a1247459583e51479e6aba961
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_366051968_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Knowles Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-knowles-foundation-morg_541f278a1247459583e51479e6aba961},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Knowles 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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