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· Private foundation

Gene & Ruth Posner Foundation Inc

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$387k
Granted FY2025still arriving
51
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$75k
Largest
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.

Education$837kArts & Culture$522kCrime & Legal$519kHuman Services$347kHealth$299kYouth Development$187kFood & Nutrition$171kInternational$75kOther$0
02FY2025 · 51 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k40 grants · $119k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $193k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $75k
$3,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$5.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAW$75,000
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN EYE INSTITUTE$30,000
COLLEGE POSSIBLE$30,000
SHARP LITERACY INC$25,000
HUNGER TASK FORCE$23,000
CLEAR CREEK RADIO INC$20,000
TOOLS FOR PEACE$20,000
DISCOVERY WORLD AT PIER WISCONSIN$15,000
MILWAUKEE BAR ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INC$10,000
CORO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA$10,000
AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICES$10,000
ACTS HOUSING$8,000
JEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION$7,500
CENTRO DE LA COMMUNIDAD UNITED COMMUNITY CENTER$7,500
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - ACE PROGRAM ARTS IN COMMUNITY EDUCATION PART$6,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY18–25, $506k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%DRESSEMBER FOUNDATION: $250 → 9%HARRY TOMPSON CENTER: $1k → 23%SHARP LITERACY INC: $50k → 17%SHARP LITERACY INC: $35k → 17%SHARP LITERACY INC: $30k → 17%SHARP LITERACY INC: $30k → 17%SHARP LITERACY INC: $30k → 17%SHARP LITERACY INC: $30k → 17%SHARP LITERACY INC: $30k → 17%SHARP LITERACY INC: $25k → 17%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE OF MILWAUKEE: $1k → 17%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE OF MILWAUKEE: $1k → 17%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE OF MILWAUKEE INC: $1k → 17%ST ANN CENTER FOR INTERGENERATIONAL CARE INC: $1k → 17%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE OF MILWAUKEE: $1k → 17%ST ANN CENTER FOR INTERGENERATIONAL CARE INC: $1k → 17%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE OF MILWAUKEE: $1k → 17%ST ANN CENTER FOR INTERGENERATIONAL CARE INC: $1k → 17%ST ANN CENTER FOR INTERGENERATIONAL CARE INC: $1k → 17%ST ANN CENTER FOR INTERGENERATIONAL CARE INC: $1k → 17%MILWAUKEE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENCE: $2k → 17%MILWAUKEE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENCE: $2k → 17%MILWAUKEE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENCE: $2k → 17%JEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION: $40k → 17%JEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION: $40k → 17%JEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION: $40k → 17%JEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION: $40k → 17%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 17%JEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION: $8k → 17%JEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION: $8k → 17%JEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION: $8k → 17%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $5k → 17%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $5k → 17%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $5k → 17%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $5k → 17%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $5k → 17%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $5k → 17%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $5k → 17%SOUJOURNER FAMILY PEACE CENTER: $3k → 17%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
WI
NY
MA
CA
CO
AR
DC
LA
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.0M · 80 repeat orgs$90k to everyone else

80 repeat relationships: 46 still active in FY2025, 34 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

80
21

Total granted

$3.0M
$86k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
+30%

Still filing today

57%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthHousing & ShelterCrime & LegalOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • SHARP LITERACY INC
    8× · 2018–2025 · $260k · revenue +8%
  • HUNGER TASK FORCE INC
    8× · 2018–2025 · $163k · revenue +77%
  • CP
    COLLEGE POSSIBLE INC
    8× · 2018–2025 · $135k · revenue +77%

Funded once

  • MJ
    MILWAUKEE JEWISH HOME
    one grant, 2018 · $40k
  • JC
    JEFFERSON COUNTY OPEN SCHOOL
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
  • JO
    JEFFERSON OPEN SCHOOL
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Milwaukee Women Inc

Milwaukee women inc is an organization of executives determined to change the quality and composition of corporate boards to maximize the performance of public and private companies with a focus on women and women of color.

Education
2
Radio Milwaukee Inc

To reach a new generation of radio listeners on air, online and in the community with a compelling selection of music and public affairs programming. the corporation celebrates milwaukee music, arts, heritage, and culture by supporting and…

Arts & Culture
3
Milwaukee Bar Association Inc

The mission of the milwaukee bar association is to be an inclusive, equitable and diverse organization that serves the interests of the lawyers, judges and the people of milwaukee county by working to promote the professional interests of…

—
4
Milwaukee Public Theatre Inc

Making the arts accessible to all

—
5
Wisconsin Policy Forum Inc

We conduct impartial public policy research and analysis to drive informed debate and effective decision-making in the state of wisconsin.

Public Benefit
6
Employ Milwaukee Inc

The mission of employ milwaukee, inc. is to build a strong workforce development system by planning, coordinating, collaborating and monitoring workforce initiatives with businesses, partners and community stakeholders at the local,…

Employment
7
Milwaukee Water Commons Inc

Milwaukee water commons is helping catalyze milwaukee as a true model water city-a place where we all have a stake in the health of our waters and all share in their stewardship and benefits. we are advancing our community envisioned water…

Environment
8
The University School of Milwaukee Corporation

University school of milwaukee cultivates excellence in learning, leadership, and citizenship for prekindergarten through 12th grade students. students are engaged, known, and valued within our passionate independent school community…

Education
9
Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee Inc

To promote interests and effectiveness of the nonprofit sector through strengthening organizational capacity, expanding volunteerism and encouraging collaboration.

—
10
Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc

Legal action exists to provide creative, effective, and high-quality legal representation in order to achieve justice for low-income people and others to whom it would otherwise be denied. we advocate for empowerment and systemic change to…

Crime & Legal
11
Milwaukee County War Memorial Inc

The war memorial center's mission is to honor the dead and serve the living. we commemorate the courageous men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom while preserving and sharing the stories, experiences, and…

Arts & Culture
12
Milwaukee Community Service Corps Inc

The milwaukee community service corps (mcsc) is a non-profit vocational training organization providing employment, education and life skills to training youth adults and unemployed and underemployed of milwaukee, wisconsin.

Employment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Jewish Family Services Inc; the most unlike its peers is American Pennies for Hunger. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

64 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 64 of the 106 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
15
Early backer (in before they grew)
62/64
Grantees still filing
42/64
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAW: $355,000 · OtherMARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAWMARQUETTE LAW SCHOOL: $195,000 · OtherMARQUETTE LAW SCHOOLMEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN - EYE INSTITUTE: $180,000 · OtherMEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN - EYE INSTITUTEHUNGER TASK FORCE INC: $163,000 · OtherHUNGER TASK FORCE INCDISCOVERY WORLD AT PIER WISCONSIN: $120,000 · OtherDISCOVERY WORLD AT PIER WISCONSINOPERATION DREAM INC: $100,000 · OtherOPERATION DREAM INC+61 more: $645,080 · Other+61 moreSHARP LITERACY INC: $260,000 · Human ServicesSHARP LITERACY INCJEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION INC: $182,500 · Human ServicesJEWISH HOME AND CA…JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES INC: $45,000 · Human ServicesJEWISH FAMILY SERV…+7 more: $19,200 · Human ServicesCOLLEGE POSSIBLE INC: $135,000 · EducationCOLLEGE POSSIBLE…TOOLS FOR PEACE: $96,000 · EducationTOOLS FOR PEACETHE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC: $60,000 · EducationTHE MEDICAL COLL…THE MR HOLLAND'S OPUS FOUNDATION: $57,000 · EducationTHE MR HOLLAND'S…LIGHTHOUSE WRITERS WORKSHOP INC: $30,000 · EducationLIGHTHOUSE WRITE…THE FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE INC: $27,500 · EducationTHE FRIENDSHIP C…ALVERNO COLLEGE: $21,500 · EducationPearls for Teen Girls Inc: $19,500 · Education+3 more: $12,000 · EducationMILWAUKEE BALLET COMPANY INC: $54,000 · Arts & CultureCLEAR CREEK RADIO INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureMILWAUKEE FILM INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureYoung Playwrights Theater: $25,000 · Arts & CultureUNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND INC: $20,000 · Arts & CultureMILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM INC: $11,500 · Arts & CultureMILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM INC: $7,500 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $8,300 · Arts & CultureMILWAUKEE BAR ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 · Crime & LegalLEGAL AID SOCIETY OF MILWAUKEE INC: $18,000 · Crime & Legal+1 more: $100 · Crime & LegalAMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC: $75,000 · International+1 more: $1,500 · InternationalCORO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INC: $50,000 · Public Benefit+1 more: $1,500 · Public Benefit
Other$1,758,080Human Services$506,700Education$458,500Arts & Culture$206,300Crime & Legal$98,100International$76,500Public Benefit$51,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSHARP LITERACY INC: $260,000 over 8y, 4.9% of budgetJEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION INC: $182,500 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetHUNGER TASK FORCE INC: $163,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCOLLEGE POSSIBLE INC: $135,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetOPERATION DREAM INC: $100,000 over 5y, 5.3% of budgetTOOLS FOR PEACE: $96,000 over 8y, 20% of budgetMILWAUKEE BAR ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 over 8y, 6.5% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC: $75,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC: $60,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MR HOLLAND'S OPUS FOUNDATION: $57,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetMILWAUKEE BALLET COMPANY INC: $54,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCORO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICES INC: $45,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCLEAR CREEK RADIO INC: $40,000 over 2y, 45% of budgetMILWAUKEE FILM INC: $40,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMOUNT EVANS HOSPICE INC DBA MOUNT EVANS HOME HEALTH CARE AND HOS: $35,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetLIGHTHOUSE WRITERS WORKSHOP INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTHE FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE INC: $27,500 over 8y, 2.6% of budgetYoung Playwrights Theater: $25,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER MILWAUKEE INC: $22,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetALVERNO COLLEGE: $21,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION INC: $21,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetBIG BROTHERS AND BIG SISTERS OF METRO MILWAUKEE: $20,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND INC: $20,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER MILWAUKEE & WAUKESHA COUNTY INC: $20,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetPearls for Teen Girls Inc: $19,500 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetACTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $18,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLEGAL AID SOCIETY OF MILWAUKEE INC: $18,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ALS ASSOCIATION INC WISCONSIN CHAPTER: $16,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetCHILDREN'S OUTING ASSOCIATION: $12,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM INC: $11,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $10,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $8,300 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetPLYMOUTH AREA COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: $8,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetLITERACY SERVICES OF WISCONSIN INC: $8,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM INC: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WISCONSIN INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE OF MILWAUKEE INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetST ANN CENTER FOR INTERGENERATIONAL CARE: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENCE INC: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetA PLACE CALLED HOME: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFIRST STAGE MILWAUKEE: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRUACH INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetPlymouth Public Library Corporation: $3,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetSOJOURNER FAMILY PEACE CENTER INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW BEDFORD LIGHT: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSt Francis Center: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATHAN HALE FOUNDATION INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds SHARP LITERACY INC ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH HOME AND CARE CENTER FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds HUNGER TASK FORCE INC ↗
  • Who funds COLLEGE POSSIBLE INC ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION DREAM INC ↗
  • Who funds TOOLS FOR PEACE ↗
  • Who funds MILWAUKEE BAR ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC ↗
  • Who funds THE MR HOLLAND'S OPUS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MILWAUKEE BALLET COMPANY INC ↗
  • Who funds CORO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INC ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds CLEAR CREEK RADIO INC ↗
  • Who funds MILWAUKEE FILM INC ↗
  • Who funds MOUNT EVANS HOSPICE INC DBA MOUNT EVANS HOME HEALTH CARE AND HOS ↗
  • Who funds LIGHTHOUSE WRITERS WORKSHOP INC ↗
  • Who funds THE FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE INC ↗
  • Who funds Young Playwrights Theater ↗
  • Who funds BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER MILWAUKEE INC ↗
  • Who funds ALVERNO COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds MILWAUKEE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds BIG BROTHERS AND BIG SISTERS OF METRO MILWAUKEE ↗
  • Who funds UNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF GREATER MILWAUKEE & WAUKESHA COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds Pearls for Teen Girls Inc ↗
  • Who funds ACTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF MILWAUKEE INC ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Herbert H Kohl Charities IncWI47.8× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Herbert H Kohl Charities Inc · Ralph Evinrude Foundation Inc · Greater Milwaukee Foundation Inc · Green Bay Packers Foundation · Joseph and Vera Zilber Family Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County Inc · Brewers Community Foundation Inc · Anon Charitable Trust · Milwaukee Jewish Federation Inc · Baird Foundation Inc · Peck Foundation Milwaukee Ltd · Gardner Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Gene & Ruth Posner Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gene & Ruth Posner Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
23report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 106 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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