Form 990 for tax year 2023

Totals

Total revenue

$1,351,964

Total expenses

$1,536,381

Contributions and grants received

$1,340,190

Grants paid

$263,235

Program service revenue

$0

Investment income

$11,774

Other revenue

$0

Total assets, end of year

$391,145

Total liabilities, end of year

$190,986

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$200,159

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$947,716

Management and general expenses

$412,099

Fundraising expenses

$176,566

Program service expenses (Part III)

$947,716

Program services were 61.7% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2023

• GRANT PROGRAM - THE WHC'S GRANT PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC HUMANITIES PROGRAMS THAT STRENGTHEN OUR DEMOCRACY THROUGH EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS THAT BUILD CONNECTIONS AND UNDERSTANDING AMONG PEOPLE OF ALL BACKGROUNDS AND BELIEFS THROUGHOUT THE STATE. GRANTS ARE OFFERED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO SUPPORT LOCALLY INITIATED PUBLIC HUMANITIES PROGRAMS THAT PROMOTE REFLECTION, DIALOGUE, AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION. FOR THIS TAX YEAR, 28 NEW GRANTS WERE AWARDED. THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 220 GRANT-RELATED EVENTS FUNDED, WITH A TOTAL AUDIENCE OF MORE THAN 80,000 PEOPLE THIS PAST YEAR.

  Expenses $455,174 · Grants $263,235

• COMMUNITY POWERED PROJECT PROGRAM- THE COMMUNITY POWERED PROGRAM LAUNCHED AS A PILOT IN FALL OF 2021, BUILDS RESILIENCE AMONG WISCONSIN COMMUNITIES BY HELPING THEM RECOGNIZE, COMMUNICATE, AND ACT UPON THEIR STRENGTHS, CHALLENGES, AND HISTORIES TO ENVISION A VIBRANT FUTURE.AS THE PROJECT BEGINS ITS THIRD YEAR OF PROGRAMMING, 8 FELLOWS WERE HIRED FROM AROUND THE STATE WHO HAVE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN SIX MONTHS OF TRAINING WORKSHOPS TEACHING THEM SKILLS IN DOCUMENTING LOCAL HISTORY, TELLING COMMUNITY STORIES, AND ACTIVATING COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN LOCAL PROJECTS. THIS TRAINING WILL BE FOLLOWED BY SIX MONTHS OF MENTORSHIP AS THE WISCONSIN HUMANITIES FELLOWS PUT THEIR TRAINING TO WORK IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, SHARING WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED AND HELPING RESIDENTS WORK TOWARD A MORE VIBRANT FUTURE. TWO ADDITIONAL SETS OF FELLOWS WILL BE TRAINED NEXT YEAR. 18 TRAINING WORKSHOPS WERE HELD IN TAX YEAR 2023 AND 2 PUBLIC MEETINGS.ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING UNDER THE COMMUNITY POWERED PROGRAM UMBRELLA INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A "STAND UP TO HATE" CURRICULUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND A TEACHER GUIDE FOR TEACHERS. 4 SCHOOL EVENTS WERE HELD DURING THIS TAX YEAR, WITH OVER 1,000 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ATTENDING.

  Expenses $215,828

• LOVE WISCONSIN PROJECT - THE LOVE WISCONSIN PROJECT "CELEBRATES OUR STATE, OUR LIVES AND OUR SHARED FUTURE" VIA A DIGITAL STORYTELLING PROJECT FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON FACEBOOK, USING THE FACEBOOK GROUPS PLATFORM. THIS PLATFORM HAS CREATED AN ONLINE COMMUNITY THAT STRIVES TO BRING ABOUT A MORE CONNECTED, COMPASSIONATE, AND ENGAGED WISCONSIN. THIS PAST YEAR, 17 NEW STORIES HAVE BEEN SHARED, ALONG WITH DOZENS OF INSTAGRAM POSTS, WITH A MONTHLY REACH OF OVER 34,000 PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK, RESULTING IN NUMEROUS DIGITAL CONVERSATIONS INVOLVING THOUSANDS OF PARTICIPANTS.

  Expenses $177,988

• PODCAST PROJECT - "HUMAN POWERED" IS A PODCAST SERIES ABOUT HOW PEOPLE MAKE PLACES BETTER. IT'S ABOUT WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN PASSIONATE, CREATIVE PEOPLE ENGAGE DEEPLY WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS AND FIND WAYS TO STRENGTHEN THE ROOTS OF COMMUNITY LIVES. THE FINAL THREE EPISODES OF THE SECOND SEASON OF THE PODCAST DEBUTED THIS YEAR FOCUSING ON PEOPLE IMPACTED BY THE JUSTICE SYSTEM. OVER 3,700 PEOPLE LISTENED TO THE WISCONSIN HUMANITIES COUNCIL PODCASTS ON WHC PLATFORMS THIS YEAR, AND AN ADDITIONAL 6,300 PEOPLE VISITED THE PODCAST WEBSITE.

  Expenses $64,258

• PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP - IN ADDITION TO ITS OWN PROGRAMMING, THE WHC PROVIDES FINANCIAL SUPPORT OUTSIDE OF THE GRANT PROGRAM FOR HUMANITIES PROGRAMING BY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. THIS YEAR THE WHC CONTINUED ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO AND "WISCONSIN LIFE" RADIO PROGRAMMING, AIRING RADIO ESSAYS THAT CELEBRATE WHAT MAKES WISCONSIN UNIQUE THROUGH THE DIVERSE STORIES OF ITS PEOPLE, WITH APPROXIMATELY 70,000 RADIO LISTENERS PER WEEK. THE WHC ALSO CONTINUED ITS SUPPORT OF THE WISCONSIN POET LAUREATE COMMISSION AND THE WISCONSIN POET LAUREATE, THE STATE'S AMBASSADOR FOR POETRY. THE WHC IS ONE OF SIX MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND REPRESENTATIVES TO SERVE ON THE POET LAUREATE COMMISSION.

  Expenses $34,468

• IMMIGRANT JOURNEYS PROJECT - THE TRAVELLING EXHIBIT TITLED "IMMIGRANT JOURNEYS FROM SOUTH OF THE BORDER" SHOWCASES THE STORIES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE IMMIGRATED TO WISCONSIN FROM COLOMBIA, HONDURAS, MEXICO AND URUGUAY, AND A WEBSITE DEDICATED TO THE PROGRAM. IN TAX YEAR 2023, THE EXHIBIT TRAVELED TO 1 LOCATION IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN, AND OVER 750 PEOPLE VIEWED THE EXHIBIT.

As filed on the 2023 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those.

Grants on this return

• UW-MILWAUKEE

  $15,758

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

• BARRON CO HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC

  $10,000

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

• DRIFTLESS CURIOSITY INC

  $10,000

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

• EAU CLAIRE AREA HMONG MUTUAL ASSISTANCE

  $10,000

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

• HMONG AMERICAN CENTER INC THE

  $10,000

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

• PAINE ART CENTER & GARDENS INC

  $10,000

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

• PESHTIGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

  $10,000

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

• RURAL WISCONSIN INC

  $10,000

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

• THE COMMUNITY

  $10,000

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

• UW-MADISON

  $10,000

  GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2023

Filed

25 February 2025

IRS schema version

2023v6.0

Source object

202540569349301044

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

The source document this was parsed from is served over the API, which is where bulk and document access live.