FundersWisconsin

Knox Foundation

Milwaukee, WI · EIN 41-2008608. Reported 176 grants totalling $2,049,336 to 86 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$5,000median grant
$2,049,336granted, 2021-2024
86organizations funded
62%of grantees funded again the next year
$12.7Massets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Knox Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $181,136. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
35 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
78 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
44 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
10 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
6 grants
$100,000 and Up
3 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Planned ParenthoodSt Paul, MN$331,136222024
Planned Parenthood N Central StatesSaint Paul, MN$210,500222023
Maria Mitchell AssociationNantucket, MA$150,000332024
Walker Art CenterMinneapolis, MN$95,000442024
Community Foundation for NantucketNantucket, MA$80,000442024
Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH$75,000442024
St Paul Academy & Summit SchoolSt Paul, MN$70,000442024
University of Minnesota FoundationMinneapolis, MN$70,000222022
LaxartHollywood, CA$55,000332023
Minneapolis Institute of ArtMinneapolis, MN$41,700442024
National Gallery of ArtLandover, MD$40,000222024
Nantucket Conservation FoundationNantucket, MA$35,000442024
Compas IncSaint Paul, MN$30,000222024
Hammer MuseumLos Angeles, CA$30,000332023
Nantucket AtheneumNantucket, MA$30,000332024
Nantucket Historical AssociationNatucket, MA$29,000442024
The Family PartnershipMinneapolis, MN$25,000442024
University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, MN$25,000112023
University of Minnesota Foundation (hheiMinneapolis, MN$25,000112024
Minnesota Dance TheaterMinneapolis, MN$22,500332023
Nantucket Land CouncilNantucket, MA$20,000442024
Nantucket Yacht Club FoundationNantucket, MA$20,000442024
New York Studio SchoolNew York, NY$20,000112023
Northfield Mt Hermon SchoolMt Hermon, MA$20,000442024
School of DesignNew Orleans, LA$20,000222023
Second Harvest HeartlandSt Paul, MN$20,000222022
Sharing and Caring HandsMinneapolis, MN$20,000442024
St Paul's Church in NantucketNantucket, MA$20,000442024
Woodcock MinnesotaDetroit Lakes, MN$20,000442024
Linda Loring Nature FoundationNantucket, MA$15,000332023
Ordway Center for the Performing ArtsSaint Paul, MN$15,000332024
Plymouth Congregational Church MplsMinneapolis, MN$15,000332024
Sustainable NantucketNantucket, MA$15,000332023
Minnesota OperaMinneapolis, MN$12,500332023
Catholic Charities of St Paul & MplsMinnepaolis, MN$10,000112021
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese ofMinneapolis, MN$10,000112022
Connecticut CollegeNew London, CT$10,000112021
Friends of the Hennepin Co LibraryMinneapolis, MN$10,000222022
Minneapolis Parks FoundationMinneapolis, MN$10,000222022
Moma PS1Queens, NY$10,000112024
Museum of Contemporary ArtJacksonville, FL$10,000112022
Nantucket AthenumNantucket, MA$10,000112021
Nantucket Cottage HospitalNantucket, MA$10,000222023
Neighborhood HouseMilwaukee, WI$10,000222023
New York City Audubon Society IncNew York, NY$10,000222023
People for the American Way FoundationWashington, DC$10,000112024
Sculpture Center IncLong Is City, NY$10,000222023
The Loppet FoundationMinneapolis, MN$10,000442024
University of Chicago BoothChicago, IL$10,000112022
University of Chicago Booth School of BusinessChicago, IL$10,000112021
University of Pennsylvania School of DesignPhiladelphia, PA$10,000112021
University of Pennsylvania School of DsgPhiladelphia, PA$10,000112024
VocalessenceMinneapolis, MN$10,000442024
A Safe Place IncNantucket, ME$7,500332023
Mak Center for Art & Architecture LaWest Hollywood, CA$5,500112023
Cape and Islands United WayCenterville, MA$5,000112021
First Congregational Church of NantucketNantucket, MA$5,000112024
Nantucket Community SailingNantucket, MA$5,000112021
Nantucket Cottage Hosp FdnNantucket, MA$5,000112021
Nantucket Cottage Hospital FoundationNantucket, MA$5,000112024
Nantucket Preservation TrustNantucket, MA$5,000112021
Neighborhood HouseSt Paul, MN$5,000112021
New York Studio School of Drawing PaintiNew York, NY$5,000112022
Nyc AudubonNew York, NY$5,000112024
Nantucket Maria Mitchell AssocNantucket, MA$5,000112021
Ordway Center for the Performing ArtSaint Paul, MN$5,000112021
Plymouth Congregational ChurchMinneapolis, MN$5,000112021
SculpturecenterLong Island City, NY$5,000112024
The University of Chicago Booth SchoolChicago, IL$5,000112024
United Way WorldwideAlexandria, VA$5,000222023
Wilderness InquiryMinneapolis, MN$5,000442024
YMCAWashington, DC$5,000112022
YMCA of the Greater Twin CitiesMinneapolis, MN$5,000112021
Midway Contemporary ArtMinneapolis, MN$4,500332024
Knox Fdn Donor Advised FundSt Paul, MN$4,000112022
A Safe Place NantucketNantucket, MA$2,500112024
Camp Sankaty Head FoundationSiasaconset, MA$2,500112022
Camp Sankaty Head Sankaty Head FoundatiSiasconset, MA$2,500112024
Common Bond CommunitiesSt Paul, MN$2,500112024
Housing NantucketNantucket, MA$2,500112024
Nantucket Dreamland FoundationNantucket, MA$2,500112021
Sankaty Head FoundationSiasconset, MA$2,500112023
The Art Student LeagueNew York, NY$2,500112022
The Art Students League of NyNew York, NY$2,500112021
The Film Society of Minneapolis St PaulMinneapolis, MN$2,000222022
Camp Sankaty HeadSiasaconset, MA$1,000112021

44 of 86 (51%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 62%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 107 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Arts & Culture
43 grants
Education
15 grants
Environment
14 grants
Recreation & Sports
10 grants
Human Services
9 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
8 grants
Housing & Shelter
3 grants
Food & Nutrition
2 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202147$534,136$5,000
202250$463,500$5,000
202341$503,500$5,000
202438$548,200$5,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Where its money goes

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 56% of this one's giving went to organizations in Minnesota. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

Minnesota
$1.1M
Massachusetts
$505K
California
$90K
New Hampshire
$75K
New York
$70K
Maryland
$40K
Illinois
$25K
Louisiana
$20K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc43 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund42 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc29 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust27 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program27 shared recipientsAmerican Endowment Foundation22 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Minnesota.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding arts & culture in MassachusettsEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in MassachusettsEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Knox Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 0634, Milwaukee, WI, 53201. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 41-2008608 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.