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The Cara Foundation (Fka the Milwaukee Insurance Foundation) at a glance

· Private foundation

The Cara Foundation (Fka the Milwaukee Insurance 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.

$162k
Granted FY2025still arriving
24
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$22k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Education$247kHuman Services$100kAnimals$47kRecreation & Sports$41kEnvironment$39kArts & Culture$30kHousing & Shelter$28kHealth$26kOther$0
02FY2025 · 24 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k17 grants · $67k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $95k
$5,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$1.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOSTON COLLEGE - CITY CONNECTS$22,000
INTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION$20,000
COLUMBUS SCHOOL FOR GIRLS$12,500
STREET SOCCER USA$10,000
PARK CITY DAY SCHOOL$10,000
FISH OF SANCAP$10,000
PARENTS PLACE$10,000
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTECOMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH$8,000
NATIONAL ABILITY CENTER$7,500
REGIS UNIVERSITY$6,000
URBAN ECOLOGY CENTER$5,594
MEQUON NATURE PRESERVE INC$5,000
GOODWILL OF SE WISCONSIN$5,000
WISCONSIN ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION$5,000
VERSITI BLOOD RESEARCH INSTITUTE$5,000
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 (FY19–25, $85k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 82% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%STREET SOCCER USA: $10k → 20%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $500 → 14%MANKIND PROJECT: $4k → 6%MANKIND PROJECT USA INC: $5k → 14%FISH OF SANCAP: $15k → 11%MANKIND PROJECT: $1k → 6%FISH OF SANCAP: $10k → 11%THE WOMEN'S CENTER: $3k → 5%FISH OF SANCAP: $10k → 11%THE WOMEN'S CENTER: $3k → 5%FISH OF SANCAP: $5k → 11%FISH OF SANCAP: $5k → 11%THE WOMEN'S CENTER: $2k → 5%SHARP LITERACY: $3k → 17%FISH OF SANCAP: $5k → 11%THE WOMEN'S CENTER: $1k → 5%THE WOMEN'S CENTER: $1k → 5%THE WOMEN'S CENTER: $500 → 5%DOUGLAS F MCKEY CHRISTMAS CLUB INC: $500 → 5%MILWAUKEE DIAPER MISSION: $1k → 17%MILWAUKEE DIAPER MISSION: $1k → 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

MN
IL
WI
MA
OR
CA
UT
CO
AR
DC
HI
GA
TX
FL
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.

73%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$555k · 26 repeat orgs$204k to everyone else

26 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
56

Total granted

$555k
$156k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
+30%

Still filing today

73%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $49k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationAnimalsEnvironmentHealthYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • INTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION INC
    7× · 2019–2025 · $55k · revenue +53%
  • FISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $50k · revenue +22%
  • MC
    MILWAUKEE COUNTY WAR MEMORIAL INC
    6× · 2019–2025 · $33k · revenue +224%

Funded once

  • TRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE
    one grant, 2022 · $22k · revenue +12%
  • CH
    Community Housing and Resources Incgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $20k · revenue +233%
  • MU
    MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL
    one grant, 2019 · $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
Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County Inc

The humane animal welfare society of waukesha county leads the community in animal welfare and assures sanctuary for animals in need.

Animals
2
Wisconsin Waterfowl Association Inc

The purpose of the association shall be to restore and conserve wisconsin's waterfowl and wetland resources; to educate state waterfowlers during their progression from natural resource consumer to steward; and to promote governmental…

Environment
3
Natural Resources Foundation of

To protect wisconsin's lands, waters, and wildlife by providing funding, leading partnerships, and connecting all people with nature.

—
4
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
5
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
6
Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association Inc

To protect, conserve, and enhance wisconsin's natural resources by advocating for and supporting county conservation efforts, for current and future generations.

Environment
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
Disability Rights Wisconsin Inc

Legal protection and advocacy to protect the rights of people with disabilities in wisconsin.

—
9
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
10
The Medical College of Wisconsin Inc

The medical college of wisconsin (mcw) is a distinguished leader and innovator in the education and development of the next generation of physicians, (continued in schedule o)

Education
11
Community Care Health Plan Inc

Community care health plan's mission is to develop and demonstrate innovative, flexible, community-based approaches to care for at-risk adults, in order to optimize their quality of life and optimize the allocation of community resources.

Health
12
Friends of Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Inc

Schlitz audubon nature center conserves our land's diverse habitats on lake michigan and provides meaningful experiences and environmental education for all.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wisconsin Humane Society; the most unlike its peers is Alpine Humane Society. 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

62 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 62 of the 93 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
59/62
Grantees still filing
45/62
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL: $101,000 · OtherCRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOLBOSTON COLLEGE - CITY CONNECTS: $66,000 · OtherBOSTON COLLEGE - CITY CONNECTSPARENTS PLACE INC: $20,000 · OtherANOTHER WAY SCHOOL: $17,500 · OtherST ANN CENTER: $17,500 · OtherNATIONAL ABILITY CENTER: $27,950 · OtherNATIONAL ABILITY CENTERCommunity Housing and Resources Inc: $20,000 · Other+52 more: $146,746 · Other+52 morePARK CITY DAY SCHOOL: $30,000 · EducationPARK CITY DA…TRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE: $22,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF …REGIS UNIVERSITY: $16,000 · EducationREGIS UNIVER…Columbus School for Girls: $12,500 · EducationColumbus Sch…SPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION: $5,000 · EducationSPECIAL OPER…+3 more: $1,750 · EducationFISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesFISH OF SANI…THE WOMEN'S CENTER INC: $10,500 · Human ServicesTHE WOMEN'S …STREET SOCCER USA INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesSTREET SOCCE…Mankind Project: $4,500 · Human ServicesThe Mankind Project USA: $4,500 · Human Services+4 more: $5,500 · Human Services+4 moreINTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION INC: $55,000 · AnimalsINTERNATI…THE MAXFUND INC: $2,148 · Animals+5 more: $6,000 · Animals+5 moreRESTORING LANDS INC: $17,000 · EnvironmentMequon Nature Preserve Inc: $15,000 · EnvironmentURBAN ECOLOGY CENTER INC: $12,594 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF KISHWAUKETOE: $2,500 · Environment+2 more: $1,500 · EnvironmentMILWAUKEE COUNTY WAR MEMORIAL INC: $32,500 · Arts & CultureWISCONSIN ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATI: $22,500 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER MILWAUKEE INC: $4,000 · Youth DevelopmentPLAYWORKS EDUCATION ENERGIZED: $2,500 · Youth Development
Other$416,696Education$87,250Human Services$85,000Animals$63,148Environment$48,594Arts & Culture$32,500Youth Development$29,000

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 budgetINTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION INC: $55,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetFISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC: $50,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetMILWAUKEE COUNTY WAR MEMORIAL INC: $32,500 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetPARK CITY DAY SCHOOL: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL ABILITY CENTER: $27,950 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWISCONSIN ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATI: $22,500 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE: $22,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPARENTS PLACE INC: $20,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetCommunity Housing and Resources Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetRESTORING LANDS INC: $17,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetREGIS UNIVERSITY: $16,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMequon Nature Preserve Inc: $15,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetURBAN ECOLOGY CENTER INC: $12,594 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetColumbus School for Girls: $12,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE WOMEN'S CENTER INC: $10,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetSTREET SOCCER USA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBENEDICT CENTER INC: $5,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetDIGITAL BRIDGE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLA CLINICA TEPEYAC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALMA CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF WAUKESHA COUNTY INC: $4,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetMankind Project: $4,500 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetThe Mankind Project USA: $4,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER MILWAUKEE INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S OUTING ASSOCIATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWARRIORS & WALLEYE'S OUTDOORS: $3,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetHUNGER TASK FORCE INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetChrist in the City: $3,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF OZAUKEE COUNTY: $3,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetOREGON FOOD BANK: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPLAYWORKS EDUCATION ENERGIZED: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHARP LITERACY INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF KISHWAUKETOE: $2,500 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetMEQUON-THIENSVILLE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetTHE MAXFUND INC: $2,148 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDRIVE FORE A CURE FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetMILWAUKEE DIAPER MISSION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD PANTRY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALDO LEOPOLD FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY ADVOCATES INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTRAIN FOR THE BRAIN INC: $1,040 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLines for Life: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNuzzles & Co: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

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.

Greater Milwaukee Fou…United Way of Greater…Herbert H Kohl Charit…Green Bay Packers Fou…Baird Foundation IncRalph Evinrude Founda…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Anon Charitable TrustYouth Foundation IncArchdiocese of Milwau…Evan & Marion Helfaer…Generac Foundation Inc
Greater Milwaukee Foundation IncWI43.2× affinity20 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Milwaukee Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County Inc · Herbert H Kohl Charities Inc · Green Bay Packers Foundation · Baird Foundation Inc · Ralph Evinrude Foundation Inc · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Anon Charitable Trust · Youth Foundation Inc · Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholic Community Foundation Inc · Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation · Generac 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Cara Foundation (Fka the Milwaukee Insurance Foundation) funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Cara Foundation (Fka the Milwaukee Insurance Foundation). Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 21%
  • Lines for Life: 70% of income from government
  • Oregon Food Bank: 21% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
18report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 93 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

Play a game based on Cara Foundation (Fka the Milwaukee Insurance Foundation)’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home