The Sidley Austin Foundation
No separate public website was found for the Sidley Austin Foundation; the foundation appears to operate as the corporate foundation of Sidley Austin LLP and is documented by ProPublica/Candid (EIN 20-3980527) and recent 990-PF filings. Sidley Austin's corporate site includes social responsibility and contact pages referencing the firm's charitable support but contains no dedicated grant application portal.
Source: Website · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
Established nonprofit organizations working in legal services, civil rights, and social justice or community-serving programs that can demonstrate alignment with the foundation’s focus and the capacity to absorb general support grants.
Good Fit
- • Provides legal aid, civil-rights, or justice-focused services at a city, state, or national level.
- • Requests general operating support or modest program funding (typical grants cluster in the $5K–$25K range).
- • Has an existing track record or profile that would be visible to corporate philanthropy staff or external nominators.
- • Operates in Illinois, New York, Washington DC or other states the foundation regularly funds.
Geography
Observed grants in 2023 went to organizations across 29 states; while Illinois received the largest single-state share (~31%), the majority of dollars (about 69%) went out of state, indicating a national multi-state footprint.
Recipient Variety
The latest year shows 291 distinct recipients and 366 grants, spanning many independent legal aid, education, health, and community organizations rather than a tiny closed circle, so the recipient set is broad for the foundation's size.
New Applicants
Direct evidence of public applicant-driven rounds is absent and the foundation states it funds only preselected organizations, but behaviorally 195 of 291 2023 grantees were new that year (about 67%), which is strong evidence that unfamiliar organizations can be added to the portfolio—likely via nomination or outreach rather than an open RFP.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
