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John & Susan Dewan Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About John & Susan Dewan Foundation
The John & Susan Dewan Foundation concentrates almost all of its giving on Catholic K–12 education in the Chicago area, prioritizing tuition assistance for disadvantaged students and capital/program support to expand school capacity. The foundation makes relatively large, targeted gifts and repeatedly funds the same institutions, indicating a preference for deep, local impact rather than broad, diversified philanthropy.
Focus Areas
Jesuit middle/high school expansion in Chicago (Chicago Jesuit Academy)Tuition assistance for disadvantaged Catholic high school students (Josephinum Academy)Capital projects and program support for local Catholic K–12 schools
Who They Fund
disadvantaged / needy secondary-school studentshigh-school girls (college-readiness focus)homeless individuals (including young mothers and women)rural and impoverished community memberssmallholder coffee farmers and their families
About John & Susan Dewan Foundation
The John & Susan Dewan Foundation’s clearest pattern is repeated, large support for Chicago Jesuit Academy: $117,500 in 2023, 2024, and 2025 for education support for needy students and capital support for school expansion. That recurring gift points to a funder that backs long-term school capacity, not one-off sponsorships. The foundation also gives at the tuition-assistance level to Catholic high schools in Chicago, including Josephinum Academy and Josephinum Academy of the Sacred Heart, showing a steady interest in keeping disadvantaged students enrolled. Beyond that core, the foundation’s grants connect education with direct service, housing stability, job training, and international school support through U.S.-based charities. Its recent recipients include organizations serving students in Zambia, Kenya, Mali, Haiti, and Central America, often through Chicago-based intermediaries or mission-oriented nonprofits. The overall picture is of a small-asset foundation with a focused, hands-on style: targeted gifts, repeated relationships, and a strong preference for Catholic education and poverty-alleviation work.
What John & Susan Dewan Foundation Funds
Catholic secondary education is the foundation’s most visible theme. It gave $45,150 to Josephinum Academy in 2023 and then continued with $17,500 in 2025 to Josephinum Academy of the Sacred Heart for tuition support for disadvantaged high school students. It also gave $10,000 to Our Lady of Tepeyac High School in 2025 for a college-readiness program for needy high school girls. Direct service for people in poverty appears in several forms. New Moms received $10,042 in 2024 for job training for homeless young mothers, while Growing Home received $5,000 in 2025 for transitional jobs and training in organic agriculture social enterprise. School-based nutrition and basic support show up as well: Kiwimbi International received $5,000 in 2025 for a meal program for needy students in Amagoro, Kenya.
How John & Susan Dewan Foundation Gives
Typical grants cluster tightly around small-to-mid five figures, with a p25 of $2,500, median of $3,000, and p75 of $4,000. The recent list also shows a repeated relationship pattern: Chicago Jesuit Academy received the same $117,500 award in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and several other grantees reappear across multiple years. The foundation is a regular funder rather than a DAF, and it funds individuals as well as charities. Its general grant programs accept unsolicited requests from U.S. public charities, with stated special interest in smaller, faith-based organizations, primarily Roman Catholic, and in direct services for people in poverty.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$278K
Total Assets
$936K
Total Revenue
$505K
Total Expenses
$454K
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $3K and $4K, with a median of $3K.
25th Percentile
$3K
Median
$3K
75th Percentile
$4K
Geographic Reach
Regional13 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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