Wisconsin · Nonprofit
ESTHER INC
ESTHER INC (Wisconsin) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $534,473 to it, the largest being THE WILLIAM J AND BARBARA A SCHMIDT FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($236,351). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $297k
- Funders on record
- 10
- Grants received
- $534k
- Net assets
- $266k
What Esther Inc does
Mission
Faith communities working together to impact justice.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Esther received money from the wisconsin department of heath services as part of a mobilizing communities for a just response grant. We used this money for eight housing advocates with lived experience to lead our homelessness efforts. They are individuals who are formerly incarcerated, struggling with housing insecurity, young adults, immigrants, individuals from the recovery community and the formerly evicted. They are compensated for their work, which is collaborating with their peers about housing insecurity issues, and then meeting regularly as a team for debriefing and training. Members of the team have spoken publicly about their personal experiences and have written articles for the local newspaper. They have organized themselves into a housing advocate team and have taken on the issue of homelessness because it directly impacts them. They want to see public policies that directly benefit them (their self-interests) and those whom they care about.our housing advocates in oshkosh are very engaged in community organizing. They are collecting personal stories from those impacted by inaccessible housing. They collect stories from people at food pantries, homeless shelters,…
$23,208 spent$28,375 earned by the program17% of program spendingThe volunteers for circles of support work with returning citizens from the criminal justice system. They meet with them on a regular basis and offer them support and encouragement as they reintegrate back into the community. Circles of support will on occasion help out with acute financial needs but for the most part is there as a support system.
$3,300 spent$339 earned by the program2% of program spendingThe equity and racial justice committee and other volunteers support and participate in community events dedicated to equitable treatment and support for all people in our communities.
$2,921 spent2% of program spendingOther program services (description is optional)the lead organizer, communications coordinator and all expenses except the office assistant and office supplies are dedicated to program services. The lead organizer is not "management", but an active participant in all programming.
$109,079 spent$23,885 earned by the program79% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $138,508.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $138k to $272k (+97%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
79% of ESTHER INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Katie Olson
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 3 funders, grant income rose $21k → $60k.
1 of 10 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 10% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of ESTHER INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
ESTHER INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 44% of grant income and the top three 74%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
98% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund ESTHER INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 86% · 2018 42% · 2019 69% · 2020 51% · 2021 42% · 2022 52% · 2023 50% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
29% of ESTHER INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 80% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
93% of ESTHER INC's grant income comes from Wisconsin funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $52k arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
ESTHER INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 7,117 philanthropy nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,117 philanthropy nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like ESTHER INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Wisconsin
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
82%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Wisdom Inc · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for ESTHER INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds ESTHER INC?
- ESTHER INC (Wisconsin) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $534,473 to it, the largest being THE WILLIAM J AND BARBARA A SCHMIDT FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($236,351). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does ESTHER INC have?
- IRS filings report 10 organizations giving $534,473 in grants to ESTHER INC, 8 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of ESTHER INC?
- THE WILLIAM J AND BARBARA A SCHMIDT FAMILY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $236,351 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like ESTHER INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Wisconsin. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Esther →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 10 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing