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Wisconsin · Private foundation

Michael W Louis Private Foundation

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.

$775k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
30
Grants FY2025
21
Organizations funded FY2024
14%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$11,250
Largest grant, FY2025
$100,000
Organizations funded a year
12 to 25
FY2017 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
10
Total assets, FY2025
$8.3M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 14% of the organizations Michael W Louis Private Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 5% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $40k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesHealthArts & CultureEnvironmentFood & NutritionOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving28$714k29%
FY202421$785k14%
FY202322$525k36%
FY202219$505k11%
FY202121$555k19%
FY202025$555k48%
FY201818$520k50%
FY201712$545kn/a
96% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$1.7MHealth$951kEnvironment$560kRecreation & Sports$465kCivil Rights$415kPhilanthropy$221kArts & Culture$193kCommunity Improvement$90kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
IL
WI
NY
MA
CT
CA
UT
CO
VA
MD
AZ
DC

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 44 grantees
All grantees of Michael W Louis Private Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
National Louis University$870,00070%
The Foundation Fighting Blindness Inc$455,00080%
The Colorado College$375,00060%
Valleywise Health Foundation$253,50031%
Arizona Golf and Life Skills Inc Dba First Tee - Phoenix$250,00074%
Lake Owen Association Inc$244,500846%
Barrow Neurological Foundation$150,00070%
Uc San Diego Foundation$110,00050%
Desert Botanical Garden Inc$100,00040%
Phoenix Country Day School$97,50060%
The Adler Planetarium$95,00020%
Design Build Bluff$90,000253%
University of Arizona Foundation$80,00030%
Winter Sports School in Park City$70,00051%
Sandra Day O'Connor Institute for American Democracy$60,00033%
Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Associati$52,50054%
Honorhealth Foundation$50,0001n/a
Park City Education Foundation$45,00021%
New Canaan Nature Center Association Inc$45,00051%
Ballet West$40,00020%
Cable Natural History Museum Inc$37,50034%
Mama's Kitchen$22,00020%
The New Canaan Library Inc$21,25020%
Graland Country Day School$20,00020%
Step Student Expedition Program Inc$20,00041%
The Heard Museum$20,00020%
Denver Zoological Foundation$20,00020%
Phoenix Children's Hospital$15,00020%
Arizona Cycling Association$12,50024%
Utah Outdoor Partners$10,0001n/a
There With Care$10,00020%
New Way Academy$10,00010%
Transportation Children's Center Inc$10,00011%
Christ Church School Inc$10,00010%
Nourishphx$10,0001n/a
Food Allergy Research & Education Inc$10,00020%
The Morton Arboretum$10,00010%
Washington and Lee University$7,50010%
Rye Fund for Education Inc$5,50024%
Food Bank of the Rockies$5,00010%
Port Chester Carver Center Inc$5,00020%
The Diaper Bank of Connecticut Inc$5,00010%
Teach for America Inc$5,00010%
5 Steps to Five$2,00011%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 14 recipients with no EIN on record ($868k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Michael W Louis Private Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 2 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 41 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetNational Louis University: $870,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetThe Foundation Fighting Blindness Inc: $455,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetThe Colorado College: $375,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetValleywise Health Foundation: $253,500 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetArizona Golf and Life Skills Inc Dba First Tee - Phoenix: $250,000 over 7y, 3.8% of budgetLake Owen Association Inc: $244,500 over 8y, 46% of budgetBarrow Neurological Foundation: $150,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetUc San Diego Foundation: $110,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDesert Botanical Garden Inc: $100,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetPhoenix Country Day School: $97,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetThe Adler Planetarium: $95,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetDesign Build Bluff: $90,000 over 2y, 53% of budgetUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $80,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWinter Sports School in Park City: $70,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetSandra Day O'Connor Institute for American Democracy: $60,000 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetChequamegon Area Mountain Bike Associati: $52,500 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetPark City Education Foundation: $45,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetNew Canaan Nature Center Association Inc: $45,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetBallet West: $40,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCable Natural History Museum Inc: $37,500 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetMama's Kitchen: $22,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetThe New Canaan Library Inc: $21,250 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGraland Country Day School: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetStep Student Expedition Program Inc: $20,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetThe Heard Museum: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDenver Zoological Foundation: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPhoenix Children's Hospital: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetArizona Cycling Association: $12,500 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetThere With Care: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNew Way Academy: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTransportation Children's Center Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetChrist Church School Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFood Allergy Research & Education Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Morton Arboretum: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWashington and Lee University: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRye Fund for Education Inc: $5,500 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetFood Bank of the Rockies: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPort Chester Carver Center Inc: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Diaper Bank of Connecticut Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget5 Steps to Five: $2,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 41.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Louis Foundation IncAZ17.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Louis Foundation Inc · Half Moon Foundation · Arizona Community Foundation · Century Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · National Philanthropic Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Pfizer Foundation Inc

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.

Compare Michael W Louis Private Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Michael W Louis Private Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Michael W Louis Private Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

About Michael W Louis Private Foundation

How much does Michael W Louis Private Foundation give?
Michael W Louis Private Foundation reported 30 grants totaling $775,000 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 12 and 25 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2024.
What does Michael W Louis Private Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (34%), Health (19%), Environment (11%).
Who are Michael W Louis Private Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: National Louis University ($870k), The Foundation Fighting Blindness Inc ($455k), The Colorado College ($375k).
Does Michael W Louis Private Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 14% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Michael W Louis Private Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Michael W Louis Private Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Louis Foundation Inc, Half Moon Foundation, Arizona Community Foundation.
Where is Michael W Louis Private Foundation based?
Michael W Louis Private Foundation is based in WI.

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 60 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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