The Power Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Chicago, IL EIN: 36-4381677

The Power Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Its 2025 filing is marked as the organization’s final return: it says the foundation used its remaining funds for operational expenses and charitable distributions in line with its intention to dissolve, then ceased operations with no remaining assets. It therefore appears to have wound down and stopped grantmaking.

Key facts about The Power Family Foundation

In short: The Power Family Foundation gave $2.6M across 20 grants in 2025 (avg $128K), mostly in Illinois. 35% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
36-4381677
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$2,552,138
Grants made (2025)
20
Average grant
$127,607
Median grant
$10,000
New grantees (estimate)
35% first-time grantees (7 of 20, 2025)
Primary geography
Illinois (52% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to apply
The foundation stated in its final filing that it made contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

—

-100.0% YoY

Annual Giving

$2.6M

+322.9% YoY

Grant Count

20

+25.0% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$128K

+238.3% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Power Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $34K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Is The Power Family Foundation open to new grantees?

35%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 7 of 20 grantees (35%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $163K; repeat grants $108K. How we count

Medians: $10K first-time, $10K repeat.

  • 45% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 1029% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out well above 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.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

No foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for education-related organizations, community organizations, a food bank, health-related organizations, and other charitable recipients. These descriptions reflect the grantees’ own missions, not a stated mission of the foundation. For example, Big Shoulders Fund says it supports underserved schools providing quality, values-based education for Chicago children; Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation says it invests in early-career doctors and innovative research to help eradicate breast cancer.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation reported 20 grants totaling $2,552,138. The median grant was $10,000; grants ranged from $1,000 to $1,150,000. The largest listed grants were $1,150,000 to the University of Notre Dame for general support; $1,049,138 to the Power Family Charitable Gift Fund for general support; $110,000 to Big Shoulders Fund for general support; and $50,000 to Beverly Area Planning Association for general support. Other listed recipients included St Barnabas Catholic Church ($35,000), The Ireland Funds ($25,000), Historic Royal Palaces Foundation ($25,000), Cleveland Clinic ($20,000), Mercy Home for Boys and Girls ($15,000), Greater Chicago Food Bank ($10,000), Leo High School ($10,000), and Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation ($10,000).

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 52% of grant dollars went to recipients in Illinois, 45% to Indiana, 2% to New York, and 1% to Ohio. These figures describe the locations of grant recipients.

Grant Distribution by State

6states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 20 itemized grants.

Cities

ChicagoNew YorkNotre DameClevelandBlue IslandSouth BendCarsonDes PlainesGlen EllynLa PorteNapervillePhiladelphiaRiver ForestSpringfield

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$1M$2M$3M11 grants2020 7 grants2021 17 grants2022 14 grants2023 16 grants2024 20 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $106K (2021) to $2.6M (2025). In 2025 it made 20 grants totaling $2.6M.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

University of Notre Dame: $1.1MUniversity of Notre Dame$1.1MPower Family Charitable Gift Fund: $1.0MPower Family Charitable GiftFund$1.0MBig Shoulders Fund: $110KBig Shoulders Fund$110KBeverly Area Planning Association: $50KBeverly Area PlanningAssociation$50KSt Barnabas Catholic Church: $35KSt Barnabas Catholic Church$35KThe Ireland Funds: $25KThe Ireland Funds$25KHistoric Royal Palaces Foundation: $25KHistoric Royal PalacesFoundation$25KCleveland Clinic: $20KCleveland Clinic$20KMercy Home for Boys and Girls: $15KMercy Home for Boys and Girls$15KGreater Chicago Food Bank: $10KGreater Chicago Food Bank$10K

The largest 2025 recipient was University of Notre Dame ($1.1M). Together the top 10 received $2.5M.

Grant Size Distribution

74 grants across all recorded years

56<$50K6$50–100K10$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M2$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 56 grants of 74 (76%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, INGeneral Support$1,150,000
Power Family Charitable Gift Fund Chicago, ILGeneral Support$1,049,138
Big Shoulders Fund Chicago, ILGeneral Support$110,000
Beverly Area Planning Association Chicago, ILGeneral Support$50,000
St Barnabas Catholic Church Chicago, ILGeneral Support$35,000
The Ireland Funds New York, NYGeneral Support$25,000
Historic Royal Palaces Foundation New York, NYGeneral Support$25,000
Cleveland Clinic Cleveland, OHGeneral Support$20,000
Mercy Home for Boys and Girls Chicago, ILGeneral Support$15,000
Greater Chicago Food Bank Chicago, ILGeneral Support$10,000

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants Grant count
2025 — $666,762 $2,567,528 $2,552,138 20
2024 $1,900,838 $232,500 $626,023 $603,500 16
2023 $2,299,653 $228,588 $843,292 $822,500 14

— = not provided.

Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$1M$2M$3M2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets—$1,900,838$2,299,653
Revenue$666,762$232,500$228,588
Expenses$2,567,528$626,023$843,292
Qualifying Distributions$2,555,156$607,299$825,212
Net Investment Income$653,714$210,173$199,538
Distributable Amount$34,093$74,508$74,240

Data update history

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 August 8, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS July 6, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS July 11, 2025)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS July 26, 2024)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 11, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Joseph A Power Jr as president and director, and Susan V Power and Joseph A Power III as directors.

The Power Family Foundation is led by Joseph A. Power Jr., President & Director on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Joseph A. Power Jr.

    President & Director

    On filings since 2020

    0.1 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Joseph A. Power III

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    0.1 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Susan V. Power

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    0.1 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.

Contact

Mailing address: 70 W Madison Street 55Th Floor, Chicago, IL 60602-4212
Phone: (312) 236-9381

Frequently asked questions about The Power Family Foundation

How much does The Power Family Foundation give each year?

The Power Family Foundation gave $2.6M across 20 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $604K across 16 grants.

What is The Power Family Foundation's typical grant size?

The Power Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $127,607, across 20 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Power Family Foundation that year got $163K on average.

Where does The Power Family Foundation give grants?

The Power Family Foundation gives mostly in Illinois: 52% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Indiana (45%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (14 grants) and New York, NY (3 grants).

Does The Power Family Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of The Power Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (20 of 20) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are The Power Family Foundation's largest grantees?

The Power Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include University of Notre Dame ($1,150,000), Power Family Charitable Gift Fund ($1,049,138) and Big Shoulders Fund ($110,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 90% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

What does The Power Family Foundation fund?

No foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for education-related organizations, community organizations, a food bank, health-related organizations, and other charitable recipients. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The Power Family Foundation?

The foundation stated in its final filing that it made contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

How much is The Power Family Foundation required to give away each year?

Private foundations must generally distribute about 5% of their assets annually. For 2025, The Power Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $34K on its IRS Form 990-PF — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

What is The Power Family Foundation's EIN?

The Power Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-4381677. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does The Power Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?

No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

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