William R Johnson Family Foundation
The William R Johnson Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Libertyville, Illinois. In its 2025 filing, it reported 29 grants totaling $267,602 to charitable organizations and an individual recipient.
William R Johnson Family Foundation at a glance
In short: William R Johnson Family Foundation gave $268K across 29 grants in 2025 (avg $9K), mostly in Illinois. 19% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $267,602
- -5.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 29
- -3.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $9,228
- -2.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $4,146,459
- +5.6% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 19% first-time grantees (5 of 26, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Illinois (83% 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 William R Johnson Family 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: 29402 North Victoria Lane, Libertyville, IL 60048
Phone: (312) 715-5251
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who William R Johnson Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Nicasa Behavioral Health ($26K). Together the top 10 received $134K.
Organizations only. It also paid 2 individual scholarships ($40,000), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
127 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 127 grants of 127 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 83% of grant dollars went to recipients in Illinois, 9% to recipients in Oklahoma, and 7% to recipients in Wisconsin.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 29 itemized grants.
Cities
Is William R Johnson Family Foundation open to new grantees?
19%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 26 grantees (19%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $4K; repeat grants $10K. How we count
Medians: $3K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 81% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+16%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 94% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. 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 $116K (2019) to $283K (2024). In 2025 it made 29 grants totaling $268K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Nicasa Behavioral Health Round Lake, IL | Teen Court and General Purposes | $26,000 |
| Danny Did Foundation Chicago, IL | Hearts and Hugs Program; General Research | $22,576 |
| 2 individual scholarships Recipients not named | — | $40,000 |
| Toby Keith Foundation Oklahoma City, OK | General Purpose | $15,000 |
| Catholic Charities Lake County Illinois Waukegan, IL | Food Pantry | $10,000 |
| Christmas Store of Cleveland CO Norman, OK | Holiday Food and Gifts | $10,000 |
| Cornerstone Educatonal Services Long Grove, IL | Future Leaders Program | $10,000 |
| Fraternite Notre Dame Chicago, IL | Soup Kitchen | $10,000 |
| Loyola Academy Wilmette, IL | Scholarship Program | $10,000 |
| Mercy Home for Boys and Girls of Chicago Chicago, IL | Youth Residential Program | $10,000 |
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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 | $4,146,459 | $542,378 | $323,012 | $267,602 | 29 | $272,102 | $489,021 | $288,672 |
| 2024 | $3,927,093 | $552,613 | $335,597 | $283,459 | 30 | $287,959 | $504,975 | $262,645 |
| 2023 | $3,710,077 | $104,312 | $295,215 | $247,600 | 27 | $252,100 | $61,197 | $242,312 |
| 2022 | $3,900,980 | $266,731 | $265,408 | $231,000 | 21 | $231,000 | $265,067 | $247,983 |
| 2021 | $3,899,657 | $421,793 | $226,306 | $174,500 | 20 | $179,000 | $374,487 | $273,297 |
| 2020 | $3,704,170 | $311,220 | $166,745 | $122,000 | 20 | — | $270,862 | $224,488 |
| 2019 | $3,559,695 | $209,800 | $146,179 | $115,500 | 20 | — | $183,621 | $191,231 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, William R Johnson Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $289K 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 mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of purposes, including teen court, tuition assistance and scholarships, youth residential services, food pantries and soup kitchens, and research.
Among its grantees, the Danny Did Foundation describes its work as advancing awareness of epilepsy and the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, protecting people with epilepsy, and preventing seizure-related deaths. The Toby Keith Foundation describes operating the OK Kids Korral, temporary housing for families who travel to Oklahoma City for pediatric cancer treatment. Other grantees describe work in cancer research and care, youth and family programs, support for people who are homeless, and services for people affected by burn injuries.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 29 grants totaling $267,602. Grant amounts ranged from $2,500 to $26,000, with a median of $10,000.
The largest reported grants included $26,000 to NICASA Behavioral Health for Teen Court and general purposes; $22,576 to Danny Did Foundation for its Hearts and Hugs program and general research; and $20,000 each for an individual recipient High School’s Corsair Center and tuition assistance, and scholarships to an individual recipient. Other grants included $15,000 to the Toby Keith Foundation for general purposes and $10,000 each to Catholic Charities Lake County Illinois for a food pantry, the Christmas Store of Cleveland County for holiday food and gifts, Cornerstone Educational Services for its Future Leaders Program, and several organizations for soup kitchen, scholarship, youth residential, and pregnancy and parenting programs.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Karen Gillespie as president, secretary, and director, and William Gillespie as director.
William R Johnson Family Foundation is led by Karen Gillespie, President, Secretary & Director on every filing since 2019; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Karen Gillespie
President, Secretary & Director
On filings since 2019
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
William Gillespie
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (2)
- Former: Linda Johnson (2019–2024) — Treasurer & Director
- Former: Alan Rosenson (2019) — Director
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 William R Johnson Family Foundation
How much does William R Johnson Family Foundation give each year?
William R Johnson Family Foundation gave $268K across 29 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $283K across 30 grants.
What is William R Johnson Family Foundation's typical grant size?
William R Johnson Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $9,228, across 29 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from William R Johnson Family Foundation that year got $4K on average.
Where does William R Johnson Family Foundation give grants?
William R Johnson Family Foundation gives mostly in Illinois: 83% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Oklahoma (9%) and Wisconsin (7%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (6 grants), Round Lake, IL (2 grants), Libertyville, IL (2 grants) and Kenosha, WI (2 grants).
Does William R Johnson Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 17% of William R Johnson Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (5 of 29) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Food Pantry" (5 grants).
Who are William R Johnson Family Foundation's largest grantees?
William R Johnson Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Nicasa Behavioral Health ($26,000), Danny Did Foundation ($22,576) and Toby Keith Foundation ($15,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 2 individual scholarships ($40,000), which are not listed by name. Together they received 24% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is William R Johnson Family Foundation?
William R Johnson Family Foundation reported $4.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $272K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $289K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does William R Johnson Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of purposes, including teen court, tuition assistance and scholarships, youth residential services, food pantries and soup kitchens, and research. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from William R Johnson Family 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 William R Johnson Family Foundation's EIN?
William R Johnson Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 46-5560433. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does William R Johnson 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
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS August 31, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS July 19, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS August 16, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 11, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS June 26, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 22, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
Explore Open Grants
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). William R Johnson Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/william-r-johnson-family-foundation-morg_28b8832154084d709e56bb93144e8b9f
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_465560433_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{William R Johnson Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/william-r-johnson-family-foundation-morg_28b8832154084d709e56bb93144e8b9f},
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 William R Johnson 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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