Everett Mckinley Dirksen Endowment Fund
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About Everett Mckinley Dirksen Endowment Fund
The Everett McKinley Dirksen Endowment Fund concentrates on supporting civic and political education in Illinois, particularly through scholarships and congressional research opportunities. Grants are targeted, modest in number, and aim to develop future public servants and scholars with ties to the region and to congressional/public-affairs work.
Focus Areas
Congressional research awards and fellowships (supporting student research tied to Congress)Ray LaHood scholarships for Illinois undergraduates pursuing public service or political studiesCivic and public affairs education programs linked to Illinois institutions
Who They Fund
university/college students (scholarship recipients)students participating in civic education programsinterns in legislative or congressional offices
Giving Approach
Very concentrated giving with few, mid-sized grants; supports specific programs rather than broad general operating funding; appears focused on local/Illinois institutions and recurrent programmatic awards rather than wide geographic distribution.
About Everett Mckinley Dirksen Endowment Fund
A $10,000 scholarship to Bradley University and multiple congressional research awards show the Everett Mckinley Dirksen Endowment Fund’s core pattern: it uses modest grants to support public-service education, congressional study, and student research tied to civic life. The fund’s giving is built around named programs rather than open-ended support, with awards routed through the Dirksen Congressional Center and related education channels. In the recent grant list, recipients range from individual researchers in Durham and Los Angeles to Illinois institutions and students, reflecting a focus on congressional scholarship that reaches beyond one campus. The foundation also supports internship and scholarship pathways for students in Illinois, including awards connected to the LaHood Scholarships and the Michel–LaHood Internship Program. That mix suggests a funder interested in building practical experience as well as academic study. Recent grantees such as Pekin Community High School, James Madison University, Trinity University, and University of North Carolina at Charlotte show that the fund’s support extends to universities and secondary education partners when the purpose aligns with congressional research, civic education, or public affairs training.
What Everett Mckinley Dirksen Endowment Fund Funds
One major theme is congressional research. The fund gave $11,808 to Emily Baer for Congressional Research Awards and $8,971 to Mridu Chandra for Congressional Research Reward, indicating direct support for student and scholar work on the U.S. Congress. Another recurring area is scholarship support tied to public service and American government. In that lane, Bradley University received $10,000 for Ray LaHood Scholarships, and the same institution received $8,000 for a scholarship payment to be disbursed to two students. The fund also supports internship-based learning. Three 2025 Michel–LaHood Internship Program awards went to Annabel Lomeli, Chase Wildermuth, and Will Cypert. A separate civic-education example is Pekin Community High School’s $5,000 Close Up Foundation grant to help support twelve students. Across these categories, the emphasis is on education linked to Congress, government, and public affairs rather than broad institutional operating support.
How Everett Mckinley Dirksen Endowment Fund Gives
Typical awards are small and clustered tightly: the p25 grant size is $3,146, the median is $4,963, and the p75 is $5,000. That points to a funder that generally makes modest, targeted grants rather than large one-off commitments. The recent record also shows repeated support to the same program areas and, in some cases, the same recipients across multiple years, especially for congressional research awards and internship support. The fund is not a program-related investor and does fund individuals, which fits the scholarship and fellowship pattern. Several programs accept unsolicited applications, while others, such as the Dirksen Congressional Center Scholarships & Fellowships, do not.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$132K
Total Assets
$7.6M
Total Revenue
$458K
Total Expenses
$580K
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $3K and $5K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$3K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$5K
Geographic Reach
National9 states funded
About 52% of grants go to recipients in IL.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Everett Mckinley Dirksen Endowment Fund Funds
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Everett Mckinley Dirksen Endowment Fund.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 25 | $125K | 92.6% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 2 | $7K |
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