The foundation concentrates its support on cultural and community-serving organizations, with a strong, recurring commitment to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden in Springfield and additional grants to performing arts groups and local food security. While most grants are to arts and humanities organizations, they also fund practical community needs like the Central Illinois Foodbank. Their giving mixes local place-based investment with a few geographically diverse arts grants.
Concentrated, relatively small program of giving: few but sizable grants, including repeat funding to a flagship local grantee (Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden), plus one-off large gifts to arts and community service organizations in diverse locations.
A $75,000 grant to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation in Springfield anchors the Dale and Deborah Smith Foundation C/o Dale and Deborah Smith’s recent giving. That award sits alongside repeated support for the same garden organization, indicating a sustained relationship with a local cultural and heritage institution. The foundation’s other recent grants point to a mix of arts, community, and food-security support: Classical Theatre of Harlem received $30,000, Central IL Foodbank received $30,000, and Hoogland Arts Center received $25,000. This pattern suggests a funder that combines place-based support in Springfield with select grants to arts organizations beyond Illinois. The grants shown in the recent list are all for program services, which points to support tied to specific activities rather than unrestricted giving. Across the current record, the foundation appears to favor organizations that deliver public-facing cultural or community services, with Springfield recipients forming the core of its portfolio and a smaller set of outside-the-state grantees extending that reach.
The foundation’s strongest thematic thread is public garden and heritage work in Springfield. It gave $75,000 to Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation and another $30,000 to the same organization, both to further program services. Arts access is another clear area: Classical Theatre of Harlem received $30,000 for program services, and Hoogland Arts Center received $25,000 for the same purpose. Food security also appears in the portfolio, with Central IL Foodbank receiving $30,000 to further program services. A smaller but recurring arts-access pattern shows up with Artreach St Croix, which received $30,000 in 2025 and $24,000 in 2024. These grants show a consistent preference for organizations delivering programs directly to the public rather than capital projects or individual support.
Typical grant size is clustered tightly around $30,000: the p25 is $27,500, the median is $30,000, and the p75 is also $30,000. That narrow spread suggests a fairly standardized grantmaking approach, with one larger outlier at $75,000. The recent list also shows repeat support to the same organizations, including Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation and Artreach St Croix, which points to recurring relationships rather than one-off awards. The foundation is a c/o entity, and the grants shown are all programmatic, with language such as “to further program services.” It funds organizations rather than individuals.
$865K
$10.6M
$454K
$917K
Most grants fall between $28K and $30K, with a median of $30K.
25th Percentile
$28K
Median
$30K
75th Percentile
$30K
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Notable grantees: Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation, Central Illinois Foodbank, Classical Theatre of Harlem, ArtReach St. Croix
Illinois is the center of gravity in this portfolio: 57% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state, and Springfield appears repeatedly in the recent list. Outside Illinois, the foundation also funded New York, with Classical Theatre of Harlem in New York, NY, and Minnesota, with Artreach St Croix in Stillwater, MN. The recipient country distribution is entirely U.S.-based, with 7 grants to U.S. organizations. Recent Springfield recipients include Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation, Central IL Foodbank, and Hoogland Arts Center.
Recent grants show support for cultural and community-serving organizations, including a public botanical and heritage garden, a performing arts company, a food bank, and an arts center. The grants are consistently described as being for program services.
Yes. Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation appears twice in the recent grants list, and Artreach St Croix appears in both 2025 and 2024. That pattern suggests repeat support for some organizations.
The grant-size distribution is tightly grouped: p25 is $27,500, the median is $30,000, and p75 is $30,000. Most recent awards sit at or near $30,000, with one larger $75,000 grant.
Recipients in Illinois receive the largest share of grants, at 57% of the total. Springfield is especially prominent among recent recipients, with grants to Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation, Central IL Foodbank, and Hoogland Arts Center.
Recent out-of-state grants include $30,000 to Classical Theatre of Harlem in New York, NY, and $30,000 and $24,000 to Artreach St Croix in Stillwater, MN. These awards show that the foundation also supports select arts organizations beyond Illinois.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ILLINOIS COLLEGE | JACKSONVILLE, IL | $500,000 | 2026 | FACULTY COLLABORATION ENDOWED FUND |
| ABRAHAM LINCOLN MEMORIAL GARDEN FOUNDATION | SPRINGFIELD, IL | $200,000 | 2026 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN | WASHINGTON, DC | $40,000 | 2026 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| CENTRAL IL FOODBANK | SPRINGFIELD, IL | $30,000 | 2026 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| ARTREACH ST CROIX | STILLWATER, MN | $30,000 | 2026 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| CLASSICAL THEATRE OF HARLEM | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2026 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| SIU FOUNDATION | CARBONDALE, IL | $25,000 | 2026 | SMITH ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH CENTER |
| BENNINGTON COLLEGE | BENNINGTON, VT | $10,000 | 2026 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| ABRAHAM LINCOLN MEMORIAL GARDEN FOUNDATION | SPRINGFIELD, IL | $75,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| ARTREACH ST CROIX | STILLWATER, MN | $30,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| CLASSICAL THEATRE OF HARLEM | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| CENTRAL IL FOODBANK | SPRINGFIELD, IL | $30,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| ABRAHAM LINCOLN MEMORIAL GARDEN FOUNDATION | SPRINGFIELD, IL | $30,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| HOOGLAND ARTS CENTER | SPRINGFIELD, IL | $25,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
| ARTREACH ST CROIX | STILLWATER, MN | $24,000 | 2024 | TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES |
ABRAHAM LINCOLN MEMORIAL GARDEN FOUNDATION
$200,000TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN
$40,000TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES
CENTRAL IL FOODBANK
$30,000TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES
TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES
SIU FOUNDATION
$25,000SMITH ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH CENTER
BENNINGTON COLLEGE
$10,000TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES
ABRAHAM LINCOLN MEMORIAL GARDEN FOUNDATION
$75,000TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES
CENTRAL IL FOODBANK
$30,000TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES
ABRAHAM LINCOLN MEMORIAL GARDEN FOUNDATION
$30,000TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES
HOOGLAND ARTS CENTER
$25,000TO FURTHER PROGRAM SERVICES