The Donnini-Rudolph Family Foundation focuses almost exclusively on higher education, providing large, flexible gifts to major research universities. Their giving is concentrated and strategic—primarily unrestricted or "best use" support—directed at a small set of institutions, including both an elite private university (Yale) and a large public flagship (University of Illinois). This pattern suggests a preference for sustaining institutional capacity and research/academic priorities rather than funding many smaller projects or community organizations.
Highly concentrated: very few, large grants (multi-million-dollar); repeat giving to the same institutions; funds are mostly unrestricted/'best use' general support rather than many small or project-specific grants.
A $5,000,000 best-use grant to Yale University in 2025 is the clearest recent signal of how the Donnini-rudolph Family Foundation operates: large, flexible gifts to a small set of universities and related institutions. The foundation’s recent record centers on higher education, especially major research universities, with repeated support for Yale alongside sizable funding for the University of Illinois and other academic institutions. Its grantmaking also reaches a few local and regional nonprofits, including the Champaign Public Library Foundation, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, and United Way of Champaign County, but those awards sit alongside a much larger higher-education pattern. The foundation’s gifts are frequently labeled “best use,” indicating that recipients are being given discretion over how to deploy the funds. That approach is consistent with a portfolio aimed at institutional capacity rather than narrowly defined projects. In the recent-grants list, Yale appears across multiple years and at multiple amounts, while the University of Illinois received a seven-figure best-use grant in 2024. Together, those awards show a funder that favors concentrated, repeat support for established institutions.
Higher education is the foundation’s defining focus. In 2024, it gave $1,340,000 to the University of Illinois in Urbana for best use, and it also backed Stanford Graduate School of Business with $400,000 in 2025 and $500,000 in 2024. Yale University received repeated best-use grants of $1,000,000 in 2023, $1,000,000 in 2024, $1,300,000 in 2024, and $5,000,000 in 2025. The pattern points to support for university-level priorities rather than restricted program grants. Outside the university sector, the foundation has made large best-use gifts to community-serving organizations in Illinois. Examples include $800,000 to Spring Initiatives in Springfield in 2025 and $450,000 to Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago in 2024, followed by another $400,000 to the same school in 2025. It also supported Eastern Illinois Foodbank with $400,000 in 2024 and Partners in Health with $400,000 in 2025.
Typical grants are large: the p25 size is $35,000, the median is $150,000, and the p75 is $387,500. The recent record shows repeated awards to the same institutions across multiple years, especially Yale University and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, which indicates ongoing rather than one-time support. The foundation is classified as a regular funder, not a DAF or an individual-giving vehicle, and it does not make program-related investments. Many recent awards are marked “best use,” suggesting flexible operating or institutional support.
$10.1M
$215.1M
$30.3M
$11M
Most grants fall between $35K and $388K, with a median of $150K.
25th Percentile
$35K
Median
$150K
75th Percentile
$388K
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Notable grantees: Yale University, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
Grantmaking is regional and heavily weighted toward Illinois. Recipients in Illinois account for 64% of grants, and the top recipient cities in the recent list include Champaign, Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield. Outside Illinois, recent grants also went to New Haven, New York, Stanford, Philadelphia, Boston, and Brooklyn. All recent grants in the provided sample were made to U.S. recipients.
It focuses mainly on higher education, especially research universities. Recent grants show repeated best-use support for Yale University and the University of Illinois, along with other university recipients such as Columbia University, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the University of Pennsylvania.
The typical grant size is substantial: p25 is $35,000, the median is $150,000, and p75 is $387,500. Recent awards also include multi-million-dollar gifts, such as $5,000,000 to Yale University in 2025.
Yes. Yale University appears in multiple recent years with several best-use grants, including $1,000,000 in 2023, $1,000,000 and $1,300,000 in 2024, and $5,000,000 in 2025. Cristo Rey Jesuit High School also received grants in both 2024 and 2025.
Illinois is the top state by grant count, with 64% of grants going to recipients in the state. Recent Illinois recipients include organizations in Champaign, Urbana, Chicago, Springfield, and Savoy.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YALE UNIVERSITY | NEW HAVEN, CT | $5,000,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| SPRING INITIATIVES | SPRINGFIELD, IL | $800,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER | NEW YORK, NY | $600,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| DREAMM | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $412,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS | STANFORD, CA | $400,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| CRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL | CHICAGO, IL | $400,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| PARTNERS IN HEALTH | BOSTON, MA | $400,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| CHAMPION PARKS FOUNDATION | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $325,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| NATIONAL KIDNEY FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $250,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| COMMUNITY FOUNDATION EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $250,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOUNDATION | URBANA, IL | $200,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION | ROCKFORD, IL | $200,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| CHRON'S AND COLITIS FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $150,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| SOLA GRATIA | URBANA, IL | $150,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| SINAI TEMPLE | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $125,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| FEEDING OUR KIDS | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $100,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| CONNECTIONS FOUNDATION | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $80,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING | NEW YORK, NY | $75,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| VINEYARD CHURCH | URBANA, IL | $50,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| CHICAGO YOUTH PROGRAMS | CHICAGO, IL | $35,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA | READING, PA | $30,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| TEMPLE SHAARAY TEFILA | NEW YORK CITY, NY | $12,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| LINCOLN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| CHICAGO YOUTH CENTERS | CHICAGO, IL | $10,000 | 2025 | BEST USE |
| UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS | URBANA, IL | $1,340,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| YALE UNIVERSITY | NEW HAVEN, CT | $1,300,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| YALE UNIVERSITY | NEW HAVEN, CT | $1,000,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| CHAMPAIGN PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $800,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY | NEW YORK, NY | $600,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| STANFORD GSB | STANFORD, CA | $500,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| UNA FEDERATION NEW YORK | NEW YORK, NY | $500,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| CRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL | CHICAGO, IL | $450,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| EASTERN ILLINOIS FOODBANK | URBANA, IL | $400,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| DREAAM | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $375,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| NATIONAL KIDNEY FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $300,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| SPRING INITIATING | SPRINGFIELD, IL | $300,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| PARTNERS IN HEALTH | BOSTON, MA | $300,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| CHAMPAIGN URBANA UNITED WAY | SAVOY, IL | $300,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| BOSTON FOOD FOREST | BOSTON, MA | $250,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION | ROCKFORD, IL | $250,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY | CHICAGO, IL | $250,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| COMMUNITY FOUNDATION EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $250,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| START EARLY | CHICAGO, IL | $250,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| CHAMPAIGN PARKS FOUNDATION | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $200,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| CROHN'S COLITIS FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $150,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION | SANTA MONICA, CA | $150,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOL OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $150,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| CHAMPAIGN PARKS FOUNDATION | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $110,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| FEEDING OUR KIDS | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $85,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
| THE LAND CONNECTION FOUNDATION | CHAMPAIGN, IL | $80,000 | 2024 | BEST USE |
SPRING INITIATIVES
$800,000BEST USE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
$600,000BEST USE
DREAMM
$412,000BEST USE
STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
$400,000BEST USE
CRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL
$400,000BEST USE
PARTNERS IN HEALTH
$400,000BEST USE
CHAMPION PARKS FOUNDATION
$325,000BEST USE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOUNDATION
$200,000BEST USE
ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION
$200,000BEST USE
CHRON'S AND COLITIS FOUNDATION
$150,000BEST USE
SOLA GRATIA
$150,000BEST USE
SINAI TEMPLE
$125,000BEST USE
FEEDING OUR KIDS
$100,000BEST USE
CONNECTIONS FOUNDATION
$80,000BEST USE
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING
$75,000BEST USE
VINEYARD CHURCH
$50,000BEST USE
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
$30,000BEST USE
TEMPLE SHAARAY TEFILA
$12,000BEST USE
YALE UNIVERSITY
$1,300,000BEST USE
YALE UNIVERSITY
$1,000,000BEST USE
STANFORD GSB
$500,000BEST USE
UNA FEDERATION NEW YORK
$500,000BEST USE
CRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL
$450,000BEST USE
SPRING INITIATING
$300,000BEST USE
CHAMPAIGN URBANA UNITED WAY
$300,000BEST USE
BOSTON FOOD FOREST
$250,000BEST USE
ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION
$250,000BEST USE
FEEDING OUR KIDS
$85,000BEST USE