Buckeye Foundation

The Buckeye Foundation is a tightly-held, family-governed private foundation based at 20940 S Frankfort Square Rd in Frankfort, Illinois (Will County, south suburban Chicago), operating since April 1996. Three members of the Patrick family run all operations on a part-time basis: Marilyn M. Patrick (President, unpaid), Thomas H. Patrick (Secretary, unpaid), and Mary Karen Patrick Philip (Treasurer, $100,000 annual compensation). There are zero full-time employees and no professional grants staff.

The single most important strategic fact: this foundation explicitly makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. This policy is disclosed in every IRS 990-PF filing and has been in place throughout the foundation's 28-year history. No application portal, no LOI process, no published grant guidelines, and no open deadline cycles exist. All known grantees are listed as "See Statement Attached" in public filings — the foundation actively avoids public disclosure of recipient identities.

Classified under NTEE code X99Z (Religion Related, Spiritual Development, N.E.C.) with IRS activity code 602 (churches and religious organizations), the foundation's giving is anchored entirely in the religion and spiritual development space. All known grantees are Illinois-based, confirming a strong geographic tie to the Chicago metro region.

For any organization seeking to enter this funder's orbit, the entire strategic approach must center on relationship cultivation rather than proposal development. The Patrick family decides who receives funding based on prior personal relationships, shared community ties, and mission alignment — not competitive merit review. Organizations most likely to succeed have: (1) an existing personal connection to the Patrick family through shared religious community, civic networks, or philanthropic overlap; (2) an Illinois-based operation in religion, faith-based service, or spiritual development; and (3) patience for a multi-year cultivation horizon.

First-time applicants should understand that "applying" means, in practice, positioning your organization to be discovered and championed by someone who already has the Patrick family's trust. The foundation's $35.8M in assets and consistent $1.1–2.1M in annual giving confirm real money moves through this foundation — but it moves through personal relationships, not grant cycles. Any engagement strategy must prioritize identifying a board member, clergy connection, or civic leader who bridges your organization to the Patrick family before any direct contact is attempted.

Ten-plus years of IRS 990-PF filings reveal a foundation with remarkably consistent, high-value grantmaking funded entirely by investment returns. The Buckeye Foundation has received zero charitable contributions in all but one reported year ($2,000 in FY2014), operating purely as a steward of its endowment.

Grants paid by year: FY2023: $1,101,400 | FY2022: $1,409,400 | FY2021: $1,173,500 | FY2020: $1,470,000 | FY2019: $1,269,261 | FY2015: $1,415,236 | FY2014: $2,056,452 | FY2013: $1,994,895 | FY2012: $1,125,112. The 9-year average is approximately $1.45M per year, with a median near $1.34M. The range spans $1.10M (FY2023 low) to $2.06M (FY2014 high). Total giving — which includes non-grant charitable disbursements — runs $400–700K above grants paid in most years, suggesting some direct charitable expenditure beyond formal grants.

Individual grant size is large. Grantmakers.io reports three grants in a recent filing cycle: $1,409,400, $1,286,196, and $1,101,400 — all above $1M. Database records show an average of $1,255,400 across two identified Illinois grantees. The pattern strongly implies the foundation makes fewer than five grants per year, each exceeding $1M, rather than distributing modest amounts broadly.

Geographic pattern: All known recipients are Illinois-based, consistent with the foundation's Frankfort, IL headquarters in Will County.

Focus area: Entirely Religion/Spiritual Development (NTEE X99Z, IRS code 602). No diversification into education, health, arts, or other categories is evident in any available filing.

Asset trajectory: Assets have been stable at $33–39M for over a decade — declining from a $39M peak in FY2012 to the current $35.8M (FY2024). Investment performance drives annual variation: net investment income ranged from $443K (FY2019, a low-yield year) to $3.15M (FY2021, a strong market year). FY2024 revenue of $3.35M — including $1.31M in dividends and $2.28M in asset sale gains — signals a healthy portfolio. No published grant cycle calendar exists; disbursement timing is at the Patrick family's discretion.

The Buckeye Foundation occupies a well-defined niche among mid-sized ($30–42M assets) private family foundations with Religion/Spiritual Development missions that maintain minimal public profiles. Its five closest database peers by asset size and NTEE classification share nearly identical structural characteristics.

Buckeye is notable within this peer set for two reasons. First, its annual giving data is at least partially verifiable through IRS filings ($1.1–2.1M/year), whereas most comparable peers publish no useful giving figures at all. Second, Buckeye's Illinois geographic anchor gives it something close to a regional monopoly in religion-focused private family philanthropy in the Chicago south suburbs — its peers are distributed across FL, NJ, OH, and WI with no apparent Chicagoland overlap. None of the five peers maintain public websites with grant guidelines; all operate on invitation-only or preselected models. This uniformity confirms that relationship is the universal entry point across the entire peer group — not proposal quality.

The Buckeye Foundation generates no public news coverage, maintains no social media presence, and has never issued a press release in any available public record. Its most recent 990-PF filing (for FY2024) was submitted to the IRS on November 6, 2025, and is publicly accessible via ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer. That filing documents $3,354,893 in revenue and approximately $1,425,650 in charitable disbursements, with total assets of $35,779,087 as of December 31, 2024 — a modest increase from $34,791,463 at year-end FY2023.

The investment portfolio performed strongly in FY2024: dividends of $1,306,914 and net gains from asset sales of $2,276,068 drove the revenue figure. Officer compensation held at $100,000 (Treasurer Mary Karen Patrick Philip), with President Marilyn M. Patrick and Secretary Thomas H. Patrick again serving without compensation — a pattern consistent across all available filings.

No leadership transitions have been publicly reported. The Patrick family has held all three officer roles since at least FY2012 with no documented changes. There is no evidence of any advisory board, external trustees, or grantmaking committee.

The most notable recent development is the FY2023 giving dip: grants paid of $1,101,400 was the lowest figure across the full 10-year data set, down from $1,409,400 in FY2022. The partial rebound visible in FY2024 disbursements ($1,425,650) suggests this was a one-year contraction rather than a structural reduction. No public explanation for the FY2023 decline is available.

The Buckeye Foundation's preselected-only policy makes conventional grant-writing guidance largely irrelevant — the foundation does not review LOIs, accept proposals, or respond to grant inquiry letters from unknown organizations. The following tips are specific to this funder's closed model and are calibrated for organizations willing to invest in long-horizon relationship development.

Verify a connection pathway before any outreach. Map your board, advisory council, clergy leadership, and major donors for anyone with a personal relationship with the Patrick family in the Chicago south suburbs. A cold email or call to (708) 799-6800 or the Frankfort, IL mailing address will not be productive.

Research the Patrick family's community footprint. Marilyn M. Patrick (President) and Thomas H. Patrick (Secretary) are anchored in Will County. Identify their parish affiliation, civic club memberships, and any nonprofit board seats — these are the institutional contexts where organic introductions are possible.

Lead with faith and mission, not programmatic metrics. If a warm introduction is secured, frame your work in terms of religious mission, spiritual development, and community of faith. The foundation's NTEE classification (X99Z) and IRS activity code (602) both signal a deep religious identity. Avoid business-case framing, outcome dashboards, or ROI language — emphasize values alignment and stewardship.

Budget 18–24 months minimum. No organization should expect to move from first contact to a grant invitation in less than two years with a preselected family foundation. Build the relationship through shared events, volunteer engagement, and genuine participation in their charitable community — not follow-up funding inquiry calls.

Monitor the annual 990-PF. Filed each November–December on ProPublica, this filing is the only public window into grant activity. If the foundation ever moves beyond "See Statement Attached" and names specific grantees, those organizations are the best clues to how the Patrick family's relationships are structured.

Do not pursue this funder if your organization is outside Illinois. Every known grantee is Illinois-based. No out-of-state grant has been documented in any available filing. Geographic proximity to Will County is a baseline qualification.