Wisconsin · Nonprofit
Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest
Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest (Wisconsin) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $181,742 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($83,000). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 92% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $929k
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $182k
- Net assets
- $768k
What Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest does
Mission
To support and promote the lapham peak unit of the kettle moraine state forest by sponsoring or promoting fundraising events organizing volunteer work days to assist with various projects at the property and offering additional services to park visitors while also helping the wi department of natural resources park personnel
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Finished the construction of the Lapham Lodge a 5000 square foot building to be enjoyed year round. It is heated and placed next to the ski trail making it very convenient in the winter but it is also air conditioned and a great place to gather in the summer. It is reservable for events such as weddings and hence is a source of income for the WI park system. Building the lodge was a multi-year project. In the previous years we had put $1,622,099 of equity into the building and this year we added another $1,276,732 making the total value of lodge $2,898,831. The lodge was given to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for use by the general public and hence is no longer an asset of this non-profit the Friends of Lapham Peak Unit. While the building is now owned by the state of WI the Friends group has an agreement to maintain it for 5 years and retains a fund of about $200,000 to do so.
$4,172,650 spentof which $2,898,831 as grants94% of program spendingThe snowmaking program provides man-made snow on ski trails for cross country skiing hiking and snowshoeing. Snowmaking this past year provided a thick layer of man-made snow on approximately 2.4 kilometers of trails. The trails were groomed regularly from december through march resulting in 90 days of skiing on man-made snow compared to only 42 days of skiing on other trails with natural snow and marginal conditions. This project benefits more than 300,000 visitors to the park annually for their recreation. Work is in progress to both better maintain and to expand the trails.
$136,387 spentof which $15,650 as grants$12,706 earned by the program3% of program spendingMaintain a nature center for the education of visitors about the history of the area and the local natural environment.
$44,463 spentof which $15,050 as grants1% of program spendingThe organization dedicated significant efforts to trail prairie and habitat restoration enhancing the parks natural environment. Volunteer contributions were substantial with over 7,000 hours invested in removing invasive species like buckthorn honeysuckle box elders ash and black locust. In the past year more than 225 piles of these invasive species were cut and burned along with 48 truckloads of invasive grasses such as pampas and phragmites and garlic mustard improving the parks ecological balance and biodiversity. Additionally improvements were made to signage aiding park visitors in navigating trails and utilizing park facilities effectively.
$43,638 spentof which $12,500 as grants1% of program spendingMaintain the natural prairie section north of the Nature Center and maintain the wheelchair assessable path.
$20,683 spent0% of program spendingDevelop and maintain a flower garden for general enjoyment and for butterflies.
$526 spent0% of program spendingProvide support for the betterment of Lapham Peak Park.
$0 spent$5,892 earned by the program0% of program spending
The 7 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,418,347.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 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 2024 to 2025, from $3.6M to $768k (−78%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 7% · 2021 5% · 2022 2% · 2023 2% · 2024 74% · 2025 57%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
88% of Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 6 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 5 funders, grant income rose $8k → $45k.
8 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 92% 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 Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest’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
Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest leans on a few funders — its largest provides 46% of grant income and the top three 73%; 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 Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 82% · 2021 57% · 2022 97% · 2023 63% — 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
75% of Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 33% 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
92% of Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $14k that is directly attributable, 83% of it comes from Wisconsin funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $168k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 states 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
Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest has grown faster than three-quarters of the 2,606 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,606 environment nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Government funding Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.3M on record.
- Department of Commerce$1.3M
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest
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
98% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
94%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest: 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 Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest?
- Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest (Wisconsin) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $181,742 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($83,000). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 92% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $181,742 in grants to Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $83,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Friends of Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine State Forest 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.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2020–2025), and the filings of 12 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing