The Stare Fund concentrates its giving on performing arts—especially jazz—while making a smaller proportion of grants to international health or development work. Most dollars are funneled to a single long-term arts beneficiary, with a handful of smaller, targeted gifts outside the arts. The foundation appears comfortable providing general operating support rather than project-restricted funding.
A recurring pattern defines The Stare Fund: several large, unrestricted grants to the Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association across 2023, 2024, and 2025. That long-running support sits at the center of a broader portfolio that also reaches into youth music training, scholarships, social services, civil rights, and select international health and development work. The foundation’s grants are mostly modest in size, but it also makes occasional six-figure awards, which suggests a mix of anchor support and smaller targeted gifts. Recent awards show a strong preference for flexible funding. The Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association received multiple general-purpose and unrestricted grants, including awards tied to different years and locations in the Chicago area. The same pattern appears in other arts grants, where support is directed to ensembles and symphony organizations rather than narrow projects. Outside the arts, The Stare Fund has also funded Health Horizons International Foundation and Global Partners for Development, while a separate set of gifts supports education and community-oriented organizations. The result is a portfolio that is concentrated in performing arts, but not limited to one field or one type of institution.
Performing arts are the clearest theme in the foundation’s recent giving. The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras received $30,000 in 2025 for a jazz scholarship, showing direct support for students in a music-training pipeline. Santa Rosa Symphony Association also appeared multiple times, with awards of $42,500, $30,500, and $29,000 in 2025 for general purpose support. Education-related gifts extend beyond the arts. Northwestern University received $40,000 in 2025 for general purpose support and $30,000 in 2024 for scholarships. Roosevelt University was awarded $40,000 in 2023 for the general purposes of the institution and later received $20,000 in 2024 for scholarships, linking the foundation’s education support to both institutional and student-level needs. The Stare Fund also makes non-arts grants to social and civic organizations. In 2025, it gave $35,047 to Aclu for general purpose support, and $25,000 to Jewish Family Service of Metrowest for general purpose support.
Typical grants are small relative to the funder’s annual activity: the p25 size is $3,250, the median is $6,000, and the p75 is $15,000. That distribution points to a large base of modest awards, with selected larger grants layered on top. The recent record also shows repeat recipients across multiple years, especially in the arts and in select health or development organizations. The fund appears to give primarily through straightforward grants rather than program-related investments, and the available records show both unrestricted and general-purpose support as common structures.
$585K
$14M
$403K
$716K
Most grants fall between $3K and $15K, with a median of $6K.
25th Percentile
$3K
Median
$6K
75th Percentile
$15K
About 9% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeFree Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeSign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Highly concentrated: the vast majority of funding goes to one repeat grantee (multiple unrestricted grants to a single jazz orchestra), with one or two smaller, separate gifts to non-arts causes.
Notable grantees: Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association, Health Horizons International Foundation, Inc., Other regional performing arts ensembles (multiple small or repeat grants)
The foundation gives nationally, but recipient concentration is strongest in Louisiana. Among recent grants, Chicago and the broader Chicago area appear frequently, alongside Santa Rosa, California and several Connecticut recipients. Baton Rouge also appears through LSU Foundation grants. All recorded grants in the dataset went to U.S. recipients, and 9% of grants were awarded to organizations in Massachusetts. The map of giving points to a national footprint with repeated clustering in a few cities rather than broad one-off dispersion.
The foundation’s recent grants center on performing arts, especially jazz, with additional support for scholarships, social services, civil rights work, and small numbers of international health and development grants. The recent record also includes awards for senior services, addiction recovery, food security, and coastal conservation-related work through the broader topic taxonomy.
Yes. Recent grants include unrestricted and general-purpose awards, especially in the arts and health/development categories. The Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association, Health Horizons International Foundation, and Global Partners for Development all received flexible support in multiple years.
Yes. Recent examples include a $30,000 jazz scholarship to Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras in 2025 and scholarship support to Northwestern University in 2024. Roosevelt University also received $20,000 in 2024 for scholarships.
Several recipients appear in multiple years, which suggests recurring relationships rather than isolated one-time awards. The Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association, Santa Rosa Symphony Association, Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, Health Horizons International Foundation, and Global Partners for Development all received repeat support.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association | Skokie, IL | $105,047 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Santa Rosa Symphony Association | Santa Rosa, CA | $42,500 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $40,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| ACLU | New York, NY | $35,047 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Jewish Family Service of Metrowest | Florham Park, NJ | $25,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Global Partners for Development | Petaluma, CA | $22,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| LSU Foundation | Baton Rouge, LA | $15,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| St Vincent de Paul Place | Middletown, CT | $15,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Hearthstone Village | Ukiah, CA | $15,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Roosevelt University | Chicago, IL | $14,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology | Boston, MA | $13,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Natick Service Council | Natick, MA | $13,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Healdsburg Jazz Fest | Healdsburg, CA | $12,500 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Health Horizons International Foundation | Bloomfield, CT | $12,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Friend Memorial Public Library | Brooklin, ME | $12,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Malta House of Care | Hartford, CT | $11,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Rural California Broadcasting Corporation | Rohnert Park, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Southern Poverty Law Center | Montgomery, AL | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Career Technical Education Foundation | Santa Rosa, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Northeast Woodland Chartered Public School | Conway, NH | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| University of Colorado Foundation | Denver, CO | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Maine Mobile Health Program | Augusta, ME | $8,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Maine Coast Heritage Trust | Topsham, ME | $6,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| National Multiple Sclerosis Society | New York, NY | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Sonoma State University | Rohnert Park, CA | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Blue Hill Society for Aid to Children | Blue Hill, ME | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Catholic Charities Santa Rosa | Santa Rosa, CA | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of America | New York, NY | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| American Cancer Society | Hagerstown, MD | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Kismet Rock Foundation | North Conway, NH | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Trad Jass | Santa Rosa, CA | $4,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Needham Community Council Inc | Needham, MA | $3,047 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Durham Public Library | Durham, CT | $3,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Reach For Home | Healdsburg, CA | $2,500 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Russian Riverkeeper | Healdsburg, CA | $2,500 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa | Santa Rosa, CA | $2,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Chicago Symphony Orchestra | Chicago, IL | $2,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| National Alliance on Mental Illness | Arlington, VA | $2,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Stop Poverty Foundation | West Covina, CA | $2,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| National Association of Railroad Passengers | Washington, DC | $2,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Luther Burbank Center for the Arts | Santa Rosa, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Healdsburg Center for the Arts | Healdsburg, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $1,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Santa Rosa Players | Santa Rosa, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association | Skokie, IL | $108,910 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Health Horizons International Foundation | Bloomfield, CT | $37,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $30,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras | Chicago, IL | $30,000 | 2025 | Jazz Scholarship |
Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association
$105,047General Purpose
Jewish Family Service of Metrowest
General Purpose
LSU Foundation
$15,000General Purpose
St Vincent de Paul Place
$15,000General Purpose
Hearthstone Village
$15,000General Purpose
Natick Service Council
$13,000General Purpose
Healdsburg Jazz Fest
$12,500General Purpose
Health Horizons International Foundation
$12,000General Purpose
Friend Memorial Public Library
$12,000General Purpose
Career Technical Education Foundation
$10,000General Purpose
Northeast Woodland Chartered Public School
$10,000General Purpose
Maine Mobile Health Program
$8,000General Purpose
Sonoma State University
$5,000General Purpose
Blue Hill Society for Aid to Children
$5,000General Purpose
American Cancer Society
$5,000General Purpose
Kismet Rock Foundation
$5,000General Purpose
Trad Jass
$4,000General Purpose
Needham Community Council Inc
$3,047General Purpose
Durham Public Library
$3,000General Purpose
Reach For Home
$2,500General Purpose
Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa
$2,000General Purpose
National Alliance on Mental Illness
$2,000General Purpose
Stop Poverty Foundation
$2,000General Purpose
National Association of Railroad Passengers
$2,000General Purpose
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
$1,000General Purpose
Healdsburg Center for the Arts
$1,000General Purpose
Santa Rosa Players
$1,000General Purpose
Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association
$108,910General Purpose
Health Horizons International Foundation
$37,000General Purpose