About Butler Family Foundation
The Butler Family Foundation appears to make targeted, significant gifts to regional nonprofit initiatives focused on adaptive sports and disability-accessible recreation. Its sole reported grant funds the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, suggesting a philanthropic interest in enabling inclusive athletic opportunities in the Great Lakes / Illinois area. The foundation favors direct, sizable support for operational or general purposes rather than many small, restricted grants.
Focus Areas
Adaptive sports and recreation for people with disabilities (Great Lakes / Illinois region)Regional disability inclusion and accessibility programmingGeneral operating support for nonprofit service organizations
Who They Fund
general_publicreligious_communities_congregationsstudents_and_educational_institutionsscientific_research_community
Giving Approach
Concentrated, high-dollar giving to a single regional grantee; appears to prefer one-off or major gifts for general operating support rather than distributing many small grants.
About Butler Family Foundation
A clear pattern in Butler Family Foundation’s recent giving is support for Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, which received $165,000 in 2025 after a $70,000 grant in 2023. That repeated support points to a funder with sustained interest in adaptive sports and disability-accessible recreation, especially in the Lake Forest and broader Illinois area. Beyond that anchor, the foundation also backs a mix of arts, education, human services, and community-serving organizations, including Art Institute of Chicago, Ravinia Festival Association, and Lake Forest Country Day School. Its recent grants show sizeable direct gifts rather than a long list of small awards, with several recipients returning across multiple years. The pattern also includes support for organizations serving health, education, and public benefit needs, such as Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Inc - Metro NY Region, Make a Wish Foundation of America, and Jackson Laboratory. Taken together, the record suggests a regional family foundation making targeted institutional grants to nonprofits that provide accessible recreation, cultural enrichment, education, and broader community support.
What Butler Family Foundation Funds
Adaptive sports and disability inclusion are the clearest throughline. In 2025, Butler Family Foundation gave $165,000 to Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Assoc for general charitable purposes, following a $70,000 grant in 2023 to the same organization. The foundation also supports human-services and special-needs programming through its active grant programs, with a stated focus on individuals with disabilities and special needs. Arts and cultural institutions appear as another recurring theme: it gave $90,000 in 2023, $81,000 in 2024, and $66,000 in 2025 to Art Institute of Chicago. Education is also present through grants to Lake Forest Country Day School and Dominican University. Community and environment show up as well, with support for Lake Forest Open Lands Association and Urban Rivers Inc.
How Butler Family Foundation Gives
Typical grant size sits at $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $15,000 at the median, and $30,000 at the 75th percentile, though recent awards include several much larger gifts. The grant list shows repeat recipients across 2023, 2024, and 2025, which indicates recurring support rather than one-off transactions. Butler Family Foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. One active program, General Grants and Project Support, accepts unsolicited proposals; the others listed do not.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.8M
Total Assets
$17.9M
Total Revenue
$2.5M
Total Expenses
$2.1M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $30K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$30K
Geographic Reach
Regional18 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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