Westlake Health Foundation

Westlake Health Foundation operates as a classic community health endowment — self-sustaining, locally focused, and relationship-oriented. With $153.7M in assets and zero external donors, the Foundation answers entirely to its investment returns and to the long-term health of west suburban Cook County, Illinois.

The giving philosophy centers on six explicit funding pillars: health research, health education, illness prevention, health promotion, access to care, and direct health care. In practice, roughly 41% of dollars flow to health services, 26% to education (heavily concentrated in nursing and allied health workforce training), and 22% to social and human services that intersect with health outcomes. Geographic specificity is paramount: 228 of 231 tracked grants went to Illinois-based organizations, with Proviso Township named as the priority community.

For first-time applicants, the most critical insight is that Westlake favors multi-year institutional relationships over single-cycle grants. Top grantees like NAMI Metro Suburban (6 grants), UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago (13 grants), and Amita Health (8 grants) reflect genuine long-term partnerships built over years. Your first grant should be framed explicitly as an introduction to a durable relationship.

The application process is deliberately accessible on the front end — a 50-word statement of purpose and proof of 501(c)(3) status initiates the process. However, applicants must obtain an assigned ID number before submitting a formal proposal, which requires a direct phone call or email to Foundation staff. This pre-application step is a built-in relationship checkpoint, not administrative formality.

Capital projects are within scope: Fenwick High School received $7.29M across two grants for an Indoor Air Quality Improvement Project, and PCC Community Wellness Center received capital support for a Melrose Park clinic build-out. That said, capital asks typically follow years of program-level grantee relationships. New applicants should not lead with a facility or equipment request.

Organizations outside Illinois or outside west suburban Cook County should not apply — the geographic restriction is genuine, firmly enforced by a locally embedded board, and clearly stated in the Foundation's published grant policy.

Westlake's grantee database reveals a foundation with a wide but top-heavy distribution. The Foundation's stated median grant is $40,000, with an average of $79,777 and a range from $1,800 to $750,000. The typical program grant for established grantee organizations sits in the $50,000–$150,000 range per grant cycle.

Annual giving has ranged from $3.4M (2019) to $13.3M (2022) over the past decade, with 2022 representing a clear outlier. Normal-year grants paid sit between $4.4M and $5.5M, with total charitable disbursements reaching $5.3M–$7.3M. In 2024, the Foundation disbursed approximately $6.83M. The payout rate is roughly 3.5–4.8% of asset base — consistent with private foundation minimums plus modest discretionary giving. Revenue in 2024 reached $16.96M, with 88.1% driven by asset sales, meaning strong equity market performance directly fuels grant capacity in any given year.

By sector, the historical distribution breaks down as: - Health services: 41% (~$2.8M/year) — primary care access, behavioral health, disease prevention, hospital programs - Education: 26% (~$1.8M/year) — nursing scholarships across Dominican University, Concordia, Benedictine, Triton, Lewis, and Loyola - Social & Human Services: 22% (~$1.5M/year) — developmental disabilities, housing stability, food security, domestic violence services

The top five grantees — Fenwick High School ($7.29M), Dominican University ($5.03M), Suburban Primary Health Care Council ($3M), Amita Health ($2.1M), and Aspire of Illinois ($1.9M) — account for approximately $19.3M of $33.8M in total tracked giving, or roughly 57% of recorded disbursements. This concentration signals that once a grantee relationship is established, it can grow substantially in scope and dollar value over time.

Scholarship programs appear across six separate universities ($100,000 each to Lewis University, Loyola University of Chicago Mnson, and Concordia; $363,411 to Triton College; $600,000 to Benedictine University; $700,000 to Concordia University Chicago), indicating healthcare workforce development effectively functions as a signature programmatic pillar generating 10–15% of total giving.

Westlake Health Foundation occupies the mid-tier of U.S. community health endowments, with $153.7M in assets comparable to five regional peer foundations all operating in the $140M–$160M asset range. Key differentiators are its tight geographic focus on a single Illinois county and its accessible open-application process relative to most comparable foundations.

Westlake stands out for its accessible open-application process — only a 50-word statement plus 501(c)(3) documentation initiates a formal inquiry, whereas most comparable community health foundations use invitation-only or RFP-driven cycles with longer, more competitive processes. Westlake also funds a broader range of organization types than typical health foundations, including universities, K-12 schools, and housing providers alongside traditional healthcare nonprofits. The tradeoff is a highly concentrated geographic eligibility zone — Proviso Township and west suburban Cook County — that limits the applicant pool to a relatively small number of qualifying organizations competing for $5–7M annually.

No press releases, program announcements, or public communications for 2025–2026 were identified through web research. The Foundation maintains a minimal public profile consistent with board-governed endowments that communicate primarily through direct relationships rather than public channels. There is no identified active social media presence.

The most recent verified financial data (2024 fiscal year, per ProPublica) shows the Foundation with $153.7M in total assets and $6.83M in charitable disbursements. Revenue was $16.96M, with asset sales representing 88.1% of income — reflecting the Foundation's fully endowment-driven operating model. Assets have grown steadily from $97.6M in 2011 to $153.7M in 2024, a 57% increase over 13 years.

Leadership as of 2024: Fred Tomera, MD serves as Chairman/CEO (compensation: $352,909), and Rose Wesolek serves as Executive Vice President (compensation: $244,720). Both appear to be the principal staff decision-makers. Board directors including Raul Villasuso, MD, Sandra Spilotro, Lucille Cibelli, and Richard Montalbano serve without compensation.

The 2022 fiscal year represents the most notable recent giving event — grants paid surged to $11.5M against a typical annual range of $3.4–5.5M. This nearly 3x spike was not publicly explained and likely reflects a large multi-year capital commitment disbursed in a single year or a strategic post-COVID disbursement acceleration. The Fenwick High School $7.29M Indoor Air Quality project — the largest single grantee relationship in the tracked dataset — may partly account for this spike.

Start with a phone call, not a paper application. The Foundation's requirement for an assigned ID number before formal submission means your first contact with Fred Tomera, MD and Rose Wesolek at (630) 495-3800 or grants@westlakehf.com is a mandatory prerequisite. Use this conversation to introduce your organization, confirm geographic eligibility (west suburban Cook County / Proviso Township), and ask about current program priorities. Applications submitted without an ID number are automatically disqualified.

Master the 50-word statement of purpose. The initial inquiry requires a statement of approximately 50 words or less. Lead with your geographic service area (name Proviso Township or specific west Cook County communities), your primary health impact metric or population served, and a single compelling outcome. This is a strategic pitch, not a summary — every word carries weight.

Align your language to the six pillars exactly. The Foundation explicitly funds health research, health education, illness prevention, health promotion, access to care, and direct health care. Use this language in your proposal. Programs spanning multiple pillars — such as a community health navigation initiative addressing both access to care and illness prevention — are particularly strong fits.

Avoid all prohibited categories. Common rejection triggers include submissions lacking an assigned ID number, any religious programming component, endowment requests, event sponsorships, advocacy or lobbying work, and projects benefiting specific individuals rather than community populations. Screen your proposal against this list before submission.

Time your submission strategically. While the Foundation states it accepts proposals year-round, May 1 and November 1 are the primary review cycle deadlines cited by grant intelligence sources. Submit 2–3 weeks before these dates to ensure inclusion in the current review cycle.

Lead with program grants, not capital. Facility and equipment grants have been funded (Fenwick High School, PCC Community Wellness Center), but these appear to follow years of program-level relationships. First-time applicants should submit a focused program request in the $40,000–$150,000 range consistent with established grantee norms.

Think long-term from day one. Top grantees hold 4–13 grants on record spanning multiple years. Each funded cycle is an investment in the relationship. Submit rigorous impact reports on time, maintain communication with Rose Wesolek between cycles, and plan to reapply in subsequent grant rounds.