The Bryan Cressey and Iliana Sweis Foundation focuses almost exclusively on supporting family-centered substance use recovery services and a smaller stream of religious/parish support in Chicago. Nearly all funding goes to one core grantee that provides recovery services for families, while a few substantial unrestricted gifts support St. James Cathedral, indicating an interest in local faith-based institutions.
Highly concentrated giving: the vast majority of dollars are large, unrestricted awards to a single repeat grantee (multiple grants to Above Beyond Family Recovery Center), with a small number of sizeable one-off unrestricted gifts to a local cathedral.
Notable grantees: Above Beyond Family Recovery Center, St. James Cathedral, St. James Cathedral Church
A single mission dominates the Bryan Cressey and Iliana Sweis Foundation’s recent giving: family-centered substance use recovery services. The largest grants in the file are repeated unrestricted awards to Above Beyond Family Recovery Center in Chicago, with multiple seven-figure grants across 2023, 2024, and 2025. That pattern signals a funder making sustained, high-dollar commitments to one core provider rather than spreading support broadly. The foundation also maintains a smaller but visible line of faith-based support in Chicago. St James Cathedral and St James Cathedral Church appear as recurring recipients, with gifts ranging from mid-sized to substantial unrestricted support. Beyond those anchors, the grant list includes a limited set of other Chicago-area nonprofits and occasional national institutions, but the overall record remains concentrated in a few organizations. Across the recent grants shown here, the foundation’s giving reads as flexible and relationship-oriented. Most awards are unrestricted, and several recipients receive repeated support in successive years. The result is a profile defined less by many small grants than by a handful of recurring, materially significant awards to organizations serving family recovery and local parish life.
The clearest cause area is family-focused substance use recovery. Above Beyond Family Recovery Center received multiple unrestricted grants, including $1,289,497 in 2025 and $1,339,648 in 2024, indicating a major, ongoing commitment to that service model. A second theme is Catholic parish and cathedral support in Chicago. St James Cathedral received $170,000 in 2023, while St James Cathedral Church received $160,000 in 2025 and $75,000 in 2023, both marked unrestricted use. The foundation also supports health and recovery-adjacent work. Revive Center for Housing and Healing received $100,000 in 2023 and $25,000 in 2024, and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance appears with multiple $40,000 unrestricted grants in 2023. These awards suggest interest in organizations serving overlapping needs around healing, support, and stability.
Typical grant size is $5,000 at the 25th percentile, $15,000 at the median, and $25,000 at the 75th percentile, though the recent grant list also includes much larger awards at the top end. The pattern is highly recurring: the same organizations appear across multiple years, and some receive several grants in the same year. Giving is almost entirely unrestricted, with general operating style language common in the records. The foundation is a non-individual funder and does not make program-related investments.
$1.9M
$3.8M
$210K
$1.9M
Most grants fall between $5K and $25K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$25K
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeFree Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeSign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Giving is concentrated in Illinois, which accounts for 63% of grants and is the top state by grant count. Chicago is the dominant recipient city, including Above Beyond Family Recovery Center, St James Cathedral, Revive Center for Housing and Healing, and the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Outside Illinois, the record also includes Cambridge, Boston, Nashville, and Virginia Beach. All grants in the country distribution shown here go to U.S. recipients.
The recent grants point to family-centered substance use recovery as the core focus, anchored by repeated support for Above Beyond Family Recovery Center. A smaller stream supports Catholic parish and cathedral institutions in Chicago, including St James Cathedral and St James Cathedral Church. There are also grants to health and recovery-adjacent nonprofits.
Most of the listed awards are unrestricted. The recent grants use phrases such as “unrestricted use” and “unrestricted” across the major recovery, faith-based, and health-related recipients, showing a preference for flexible support rather than tightly earmarked project funding.
The grant-size distribution centers at $5,000 for the 25th percentile, $15,000 at the median, and $25,000 at the 75th percentile. The recent grants also include much larger awards, including seven-figure gifts to Above Beyond Family Recovery Center and six-figure support to several Chicago organizations.
Illinois is the top state by grant count, with 63% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state. Chicago appears repeatedly in the recipient list, while other recipient cities include Cambridge, Boston, Nashville, and Virginia Beach.
Yes. Above Beyond Family Recovery Center appears repeatedly across 2023, 2024, and 2025 with multiple unrestricted grants. St James Cathedral and St James Cathedral Church also recur across years, and some other recipients appear more than once in the recent grants list.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABOVE BEYOND FAMILY RECOVERY CENTER | CHICAGO, IL | $1,400,786 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| AVOCET POLYMER TECHNOLOGIES INC | CHICAGO, IL | $260,000 | 2026 | RESEARCH |
| HEALTHSPERIEN | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| LAKE FOREST ACADEMY | LAKE FOREST, IL | $30,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| UIC DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY | CHICAGO, IL | $30,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR REBT | MT PROSPECT, IL | $28,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| HARVARD LAW SCHOOL | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $25,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICED USE |
| THE NATURE CONSERVANCY | CHICAGO, IL | $12,500 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| GATEWAY FOR CANCER RESEARCH | CHICAGO, IL | $10,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| LINCOLN PARK CONSERVANCY | CHICAGO, IL | $5,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| PCRM INC | WASHINGTON, DC | $5,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICED USE |
| REVIVE CENTER FOR HOUSING AND HEALI | CHICAGO, IL | $5,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| H FOUNDATION | LA GRANGE, IL | $5,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL WOMAN'S BOA | CHICAGO, IL | $5,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| THE SALVATION ARMY | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $1,000 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | LOS ANGELES, CA | $200 | 2026 | UNRESTRICTED |
| ABOVE BEYOND FAMILY RECOVERY CENTER | CHICAGO, IL | $1,289,497 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| ST JAMES CATHEDRAL CHURCH | CHICAGO, IL | $160,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| THE DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL SURGERY | CHICAGO, IL | $40,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED |
| HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $25,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| REVIVE CENTER FOR HOUSING AND HEALI | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| LAKE FOREST ACADEMY | LAKE FOREST, IL | $25,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| ADLER PLANETARIUM | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| PCRM INC | WASHINGTON, DC | $22,573 | 2025 | UNRESTRICED USE |
| JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT | CHICAGO, IL | $20,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICED USE |
| NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION | VIRGINIA BEACH, VA | $10,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| EPISCOPAL CHARITIES | CHICAGO, IL | $10,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER | CHICAGO, IL | $5,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| WILLOW FOUNDATION | DRUMS, PA | $5,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED |
| EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $5,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND | DENVER, CO | $3,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| IMMERMANS ANGELS | CHICAGO, IL | $2,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| COVENANT HOUSE | CHICAGO, IL | $1,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| SUSAN G KOMEN BREAST CANCER FDN | DALLAS, TX | $500 | 2025 | UNRESTRICED |
| PELOTONIA | COLUMBUS, OH | $500 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED |
| ABOVE BEYOND FAMILY RECOVERY CENTER | CHICAGO, IL | $1,339,648 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| ABOVE BEYOND FAMILY RECOVERY CENTER | CHICAGO, IL | $1,339,648 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| HARVARD LAW SCHOOL | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $125,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICED USE |
| HARVARD LAW SCHOOL | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $125,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICED USE |
| GREENLIGHT FUND | BOSTON, MA | $100,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| GREENLIGHT FUND | BOSTON, MA | $100,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| UIC CRANIOFACIAL INSTITUTE | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| UIC CRANIOFACIAL INSTITUTE | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $25,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| REVIVE CENTER FOR HOUSING AND HEALI | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| LAKE FOREST ACADEMY | LAKE FOREST, IL | $25,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| LAKE FOREST ACADEMY | LAKE FOREST, IL | $25,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| REVIVE CENTER FOR HOUSING AND HEALI | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| ADLER PLANETARIUM | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
| ADLER PLANETARIUM | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED USE |
ABOVE BEYOND FAMILY RECOVERY CENTER
$1,400,786UNRESTRICTED USE
AVOCET POLYMER TECHNOLOGIES INC
$260,000RESEARCH
HEALTHSPERIEN
$50,000UNRESTRICTED
LAKE FOREST ACADEMY
$30,000UNRESTRICTED USE
UIC DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY
$30,000UNRESTRICTED
CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR REBT
$28,000UNRESTRICTED USE
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
UNRESTRICED USE
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
$12,500UNRESTRICTED
GATEWAY FOR CANCER RESEARCH
$10,000UNRESTRICTED
LINCOLN PARK CONSERVANCY
$5,000UNRESTRICTED
PCRM INC
$5,000UNRESTRICED USE
REVIVE CENTER FOR HOUSING AND HEALI
$5,000UNRESTRICTED
H FOUNDATION
$5,000UNRESTRICTED
RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL WOMAN'S BOA
$5,000UNRESTRICTED
THE SALVATION ARMY
$1,000UNRESTRICTED
CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
$200UNRESTRICTED
ABOVE BEYOND FAMILY RECOVERY CENTER
$1,289,497UNRESTRICTED USE
ST JAMES CATHEDRAL CHURCH
$160,000UNRESTRICTED USE
THE DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL SURGERY
$40,000UNRESTRICTED
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
REVIVE CENTER FOR HOUSING AND HEALI
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
LAKE FOREST ACADEMY
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
ADLER PLANETARIUM
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
PCRM INC
$22,573UNRESTRICED USE
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT
$20,000UNRESTRICED USE
NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION
$10,000UNRESTRICTED USE
EPISCOPAL CHARITIES
$10,000UNRESTRICTED USE
RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
$5,000UNRESTRICTED USE
WILLOW FOUNDATION
$5,000UNRESTRICTED
EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF CHICAGO
$5,000UNRESTRICTED USE
AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND
$3,000UNRESTRICTED USE
IMMERMANS ANGELS
$2,000UNRESTRICTED USE
COVENANT HOUSE
$1,000UNRESTRICTED USE
SUSAN G KOMEN BREAST CANCER FDN
$500UNRESTRICED
PELOTONIA
$500UNRESTRICTED
ABOVE BEYOND FAMILY RECOVERY CENTER
$1,339,648UNRESTRICTED USE
ABOVE BEYOND FAMILY RECOVERY CENTER
$1,339,648UNRESTRICTED USE
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
$125,000UNRESTRICED USE
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
$125,000UNRESTRICED USE
GREENLIGHT FUND
$100,000UNRESTRICTED USE
GREENLIGHT FUND
$100,000UNRESTRICTED USE
UIC CRANIOFACIAL INSTITUTE
$50,000UNRESTRICTED USE
UIC CRANIOFACIAL INSTITUTE
$50,000UNRESTRICTED USE
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
REVIVE CENTER FOR HOUSING AND HEALI
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
LAKE FOREST ACADEMY
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
LAKE FOREST ACADEMY
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
REVIVE CENTER FOR HOUSING AND HEALI
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
ADLER PLANETARIUM
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE
ADLER PLANETARIUM
$25,000UNRESTRICTED USE