Nelson & Vera Hicks Charitable Fdn
Madison, WI · EIN 39-1582654. Reported 185 grants totalling $1,040,000 to 52 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
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. Nelson & Vera Hicks Charitable Fdn did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $45,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Ambrose Academy | Madison, WI | $90,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Church Health Services | Beaver Dam, WI | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Moraine Park Technical College | Beaver Dam, WI | $54,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Beaver Dam Scholarship Foundation | Beaver Dam, WI | $46,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre Building Project | Beaver Dam, WI | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Madison Area Technical College | Madison, WI | $44,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Green Valley Enterprises & Alzheimer Unit | Beaver Dam, WI | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pave | Beaver Dam, WI | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Rawhide Boys Ranch | New London, WI | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Vincent Depaul Beaver Dam | Beaver Dam, WI | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Beaver Dam Public Library | Beaver Dam, WI | $25,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| World Orphan Fund | Randolph, WI | $25,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Beaver Dam Family Center | Beaver Dam, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Central Wisconsin Christian School | Waupun, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Charish Classical Academy | Madison, WI | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Dodge County Center for the Arts | Beaver Dam, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Fox Lake Public Library | Fox Lake, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Horicon Public Library | Horicon, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hustiford Public Library | Hustiford, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hutchinson Memorial Library | Randolph, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Iron Ridge Public Library | Iron Ridge, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Juneau Public Library | Juneau, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lomira Public Library | Lomira, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| New Beginnings Care Center | Wisconsin Dells, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pediatrics Oncology Research Fund | Madison, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Reeseville Public Library | Reeseville, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Katharine Drexel Parish School Libraries | Beaver Dam, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Stephens Luthern School Library | Beaver Dam, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Theresa Public Library | Theresa, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Waupun Public Library | Waupun, WI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Dodge County Community Concert Association | Beaver Dam, WI | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pregnancy Support Center of Dodge County | Beaver Dam, WI | $11,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Gathering Source | Juneau, WI | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Arts for All Wisconsin | Madison, WI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Dodge County & Watertown Community | Watertown, WI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Dodge County Toy Bank | Beaver Dam, WI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mary's Room - Clothes 4 Kids | Beaver Dam, WI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Opportunity International | Chicago, IL | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Salvation Army of Dane County | Madison, WI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| University of Wisconsin Foundation Cancer Center | Madison, WI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Mark's Episcopal Church | Beaver Dam, WI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Beaver Dam High School | Beaver Dam, WI | $7,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Bridges of Dodge County | Beaver Dam, WI | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Dodge County Historical Foundation | Beaver Dam, WI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boy Scout Troops 736 724 | Beaver Dam, WI | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| YMCA of Dodge County | Beaver Dam, WI | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Reach Out and Read - Children's Health Alliance Wi | Beaver Dam, WI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Badger Rock Middle School | Madison, WI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pal - Partners Are Learning | Beaver Dam, WI | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Arc of Dodge County | Beaver Dam, WI | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Juliette Low Girl Scout Activity Center | Beaver Dam, WI | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boy Scout Troops 736 724 & 750 | Beaver Dam, WI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
47 of 52 (90%) 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 96%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. 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 the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Church Health Services
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT CAMPAIGN - Green Valley Enterprises & Alzheimer Unit
GENERAL FUNDING - ALZHEIMERS UNIT - Bridges of Dodge County
GENERAL FUNDING (HOSPICE CARE)
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 53 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | $280,500 | $5,000 |
| 2022 | 47 | $258,500 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 47 | $240,000 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 47 | $261,000 | $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. 99% of this one's giving went to organizations in Wisconsin. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
Find more foundations like Nelson & Vera Hicks Charitable Fdn
We email you newly filed foundations whose giving matches your state and cause, as the IRS publishes them. Free.
No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.
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.
How to approach this foundation
- 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.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Wisconsin.
- 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.
- 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.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Nelson & Vera Hicks Charitable Fdn'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: 5339 Irish Ln, Madison, WI, 53711. 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 39-1582654 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.