WISCONSIN HISTORY FOUNDATION INC

As filed

Subsection

03

NTEE code

A118

Classification

2300

Street

816 STATE ST

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Other organizations at this address

4 other organizations in the IRS Business Master File list the same street address. matched by us

We match the street line and ZIP code as the IRS gives them, ignoring case and outer spaces and nothing else, so "AVE" and "AVENUE" count as different streets and this list can miss some. A shared address can mean related organizations or a shared office, but it can also be a registered agent, a mail drop or a service provider holding mail for unrelated clients. It is not, by itself, evidence that two organizations are connected.

• LAIRD FOUNDATION FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION INC

  EIN 31-1610615

• STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN

  EIN 39-6006447

• WISCONSIN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY INC

  EIN 23-7401838

• WISCONSIN HISTORICAL REAL ESTATE FOUNDATION INC

  EIN 30-0595385

Mission and programs · 2024

• HISTORY CENTER CAMPAIGN: TO RAISE FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE PLANNING, DESIGN, AND CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW HISTORY CENTER.

  Expenses $5,858,280 · Grants $5,602,056

• MUSEUMS AND HISTORIC SITES: THE DIVISION OF MUSEUMS AND HISTORIC SITES COLLECTS AND PRESERVES THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF WISCONSIN AND INTERPRETS THE STATE'S HISTORY AND PREHISTORY FOR THE PUBLIC. THE DIVISION FULFILLS ITS EDUCATIONAL ROLE THROUGH EXHIBITIONS, TOURS AND A VARIETY OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS CONDUCTED AT THE WISCONSIN HISTORICAL MUSEUM IN MADISON, AND AT HISTORIC SITES AND OTHER VENUES THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

  Expenses $1,938,724 · Grants $1,868,842

• WHF SUPPORT FOR SOCIETY: WHF MANAGES FUNDS THAT SUPPORT THE SOCIETY'S OPERATIONS. THESE FUNDS INCLUDE ENDOWMENTS, SPEND-DOWN FUNDS, FUNDS WITHOUT DONOR RESTRICTIONS, AND A BOARD DESIGNATED QUASI-ENDOWMENT. EXPENDITURES FROM ENDOWMENTS AND SPEND-DOWN FUNDS RESTRICTED TO THE SOCIETY'S PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS ARE MANAGED THROUGH THE SOCIETY'S ANNUAL BUDGET PLANNING PROCESS. WHF INFORMS THE SOCIETY OF AVAILABLE FUND BALANCES, AND THE SOCIETY'S LEADERSHIP DETERMINES FUNDS TO BE TRANSFERRED. DEPENDING ON THE FUND TYPE, WHF CHARGES FEES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF FUNDS. THESE FEES HELP OFFSET WHF OPERATING COST.

  Expenses $1,179,040 · Grants $1,168,847 · Revenue $7,185

• LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES: THE DIVISION OF LIBRARY, ARCHIVES AND MUSEUM COLLECTIONS ACQUIRES, PRESERVES AND PROVIDES ACCESS TO DOCUMENTARY AND ARTIFACTUAL EVIDENCE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF WISCONSIN, THE UNITED STATES, AND CANADA. WITH OVER 4 MILLION ITEMS, ITS GENEALOGY AND HISTORY COLLECTIONS ARE AMONG THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE IN THE WORLD DOCUMENTING NORTH AMERICAN HISTORY. THE SOCIETY'S LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES IS ALSO THE AMERICAN HISTORY LIBRARY FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, AN OFFICIAL DEPOSITORY FOR LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS, AND THE STATE ARCHIVES WHICH PRESERVES STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE. THE AREA RESEARCH CENTER NETWORK, A UNIQUE ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE FOUR-YEAR CAMPUSES OF THE UW SYSTEM, MAKES MOST OF THE ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS AVAILABLE WITHIN EASY DRIVING DISTANCE OF ALL STATE RESIDENTS.

  Expenses $586,190 · Grants $491,215

• WHF OPERATIONS: WHF WAS FOUNDED IN 1954 AND ITS OPERATIONS ARE FOCUSED ON THE SUPPORT OF THE SOCIETY'S MISSION BY PROVIDING PHILANTHROPIC, FINANCIAL, AND OPERATIONAL SERVICES TO THE SOCIETY. AS A SUPPORTING FOUNDATION, WHF MUST SUPPORT FINANCIALLY ITS OWN OPERATIONS WHILE AT THE SAME TIME FULFILL ITS MISSION TO SUPPORT THE SOCIETY. LIKE OTHER SUPPORTING FOUNDATIONS, WHF UTILIZES A NUMBER OF REVENUE STREAMS TO SUPPORT OPERATING COSTS, INCLUDING CONTRIBUTIONS, FEES ON THE FUNDS IT HOLDS, ENDOWMENT DISTRIBUTIONS, AND SERVICE REVENUE. WHF OPERATIONS GENERATE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE SOCIETY INITIATIVES AND OPERATIONS AND PROVIDES OTHER SUPPORT TO THE SOCIETY.

  Expenses $447,448 · Revenue $2,953,260

• OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT: THE OFFICE OF PROGRAMS AND OUTREACH HELPS PEOPLE CONNECT WITH THEIR PAST BY PUBLISHING BOOKS AND MAGAZINES, PROVIDING EXPERT PROFESSIONAL ADVICE TO LOCAL HISTORIANS, AND SUPPORTING K-12 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. IT ALSO OFFERS TRAVELLING EXHIBITS AND SPEAKERS TO COMMUNITY CENTERS, LIBRARIES, SCHOOLS, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE STATE, VISITING HUNDREDS OF COMMUNITIES EACH YEAR.

  Expenses $161,552 · Grants $156,596

• HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND PUBLIC HISTORY: THE SOCIETY IS THE FEDERALLY-DESIGNATED STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE (SHPO). IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS, THE SHPO WORKS TO IDENTIFY, INTERPRET AND PRESERVE HISTORIC PLACES FOR THE BENEFIT OF PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.

  Expenses $105,601 · Grants $72,030

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Officers and directors · 2024

As listed in Part VII of the 2024 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

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. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

• 2024

  Revenue

  $35,049,150

  Expenses

  $14,747,525

  Contributions

  $30,072,466

  Grants paid

  $9,359,586

• 2023

  Revenue

  $19,561,127

  Expenses

  $14,522,621

  Contributions

  $15,355,611

  Grants paid

  $9,411,559

• 2022

  Revenue

  $8,488,313

  Expenses

  $7,733,852

  Contributions

  $4,793,974

  Grants paid

  $3,016,386

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

• 2021 · 990

  Revenue

  $14,378,166

  Expenses

  $7,116,324

  Assets (EOY)

  $57,186,900

• 2020 · 990

  Revenue

  $8,796,089

  Expenses

  $4,607,523

  Assets (EOY)

  $42,677,251

• 2019 · 990

  Revenue

  $8,474,172

  Expenses

  $5,618,168

  Assets (EOY)

  $34,546,322

• 2018 · 990

  Revenue

  $15,767,021

  Expenses

  $5,400,981

  Assets (EOY)

  $31,867,454

• 2017 · 990

  Revenue

  $10,270,867

  Expenses

  $6,422,280

  Assets (EOY)

  $21,134,738

• 2016 · 990

  Revenue

  $6,263,529

  Expenses

  $5,089,058

  Assets (EOY)

  $16,609,524

• 2015 · 990

  Revenue

  $4,784,335

  Expenses

  $4,025,830

  Assets (EOY)

  $14,385,688

• 2014 · 990

  Revenue

  $4,749,297

  Expenses

  $4,659,904

  Assets (EOY)

  $14,126,155

• 2013 · 990

  Revenue

  $4,607,597

  Expenses

  $4,172,751

  Assets (EOY)

  $14,064,703

• 2012 · 990

  Revenue

  — not reported

  Expenses

  $5,849,264

  Assets (EOY)

  $12,723,700

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all. Showing the 10 most recent; the API carries the rest.

Grants made

• WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

  $9,359,586

  2024 · GENERAL SUPPORT

• WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

  $5,258,059

  2023 · GENERAL SUPPORT

• WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

  $3,016,386

  2022 · GENERAL SUPPORT

Where these grants went next →

Grants received

• KOHLER TRUST FOR PRESERVATION

  $837,000

  2025 · CHANGE MANAGEMENT & AGENCY PLANNING, ALIGN CORE SERVICES WITH AGENCY PLANNING, AND MARKETING, BRAND & WEBSITE IMPLEMENTATION.

• KOHLER TRUST FOR PRESERVATION

  $800,000

  2024 · DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT & STAFFING PREPARATION FOR NEW HISTORY CENTER, CORE SERVICES: COLLECTIONS & HISTORIC SITES, WHS BRAND DEVELOPMENT, NEW WEBSITE AND MARKETING.

• KOHLER TRUST FOR PRESERVATION

  $350,000

  2023 · COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION, CARE, AND ACCESS; STORYLINE DEVELOPMENT; AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSITIONAL COSTS.

• FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

  $293,883

  2022 · For grant recipient's exempt purposes

• FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

  $291,903

  2024 · For grant recipient's exempt purposes

• FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

  $240,222

  2023 · For grant recipient's exempt purposes

• KOHLER TRUST FOR PRESERVATION

  $200,000

  2022 · COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION, CARE, AND ACCESS; STORYLINE DEVELOPMENT; AND STATEWIDE ENGAGEMENT

• WISCONSIN HISTORICAL REAL ESTATE FOUNDATION INC

  $157,617

  2022 · GENERAL SUPPORT

• GREATER MILWAUKEE FOUNDATION INC

  $147,967

  2023 · BLACK POINT ESTATE AND GARDENS EXPENSES FOR 2023 FISCAL YEAR

• GREATER MILWAUKEE FOUNDATION INC

  $135,830

  2022 · BLACK POINT ESTATE AND GARDENS

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

Related organizations

From Schedule R Part II, where a filer lists the tax-exempt organizations it is related to by control. It does not record shared board members or money.

Other IRS files