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Wisconsin · Nonprofit

MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE

MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE (Wisconsin) receives grants from 15 organizations whose IRS filings report $547,388 to it, the largest being JPC FOUNDATION ($200,000). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$981k
Funders on record
15
Grants received
$547k
Net assets
$1.3M
7/15 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 44%
01What it does

What Milwaukee Preservation Alliance does

Mission

Milwaukee Preservation Alliance's mission is devoted to promoting stewardship and awareness of the historic, cultural, and economic value of milwaukee's built heritage. Mpa aims to strengthen milwaukee's neighborhoods by advocating for preservation in order to foster a strong and vibrant community.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Save the soldiers home is a project to restore a national historic landmark. The soldiers home was established as a place for civil war soldiers to recuperate and transition back into society. Todays veterans continue to believe its regenerative powers should remain accessible to aging veterans and soldiers returning from iraq and afghanistan. The organization is part of an enhanced use lease (eul) agreement with the u.s. Department of veterans affairs (va), the alexander company and the housing authority of the city of milwaukee led a team chosen by the va to restore and rehabilitate six of the milwaukee va soldiers home historic district's buildings. We were excited to offer free guided walking tours of the soldiers home to show off the nationally recognized preservation success at old main. Our work on finding new uses for the still vacant and endangered soldiers home chapel, theater, and governor's mansion continued as well, as the va moves closer to an agreement or rfp for their rehabilitation.

    $101,489 spentof which $85,990 as grants
    55% of program spending
  2. Milwaukee's historic buildings tell the story of our city's past, reflecting the craftsmanship, culture, and community that have shaped our neighborhoods. At Milwaukee Preservation Alliance (mpa), we work to ensure these irreplaceable places are protected for future generations.through advocacy, education, and hands-on support, mpa empowers residents and decision-makers to recognize the value of our built heritage. By preserving milwaukee's unique architectural character, we not only honor our history but also create a stronger, more vibrant future for all.

    $46,480 spent
    25% of program spending
  3. With hundreds of participants attending our programs, we've expanded our educational opportunities throughout the city. From exploring key sites in milwaukee's history, to engaging with local neighborhoods and representatives, mpa continues to be a voice for the community and advocate for the protection of our historic resources and built environment.

    $29,859 spent$1,419 earned by the program
    16% of program spending
  4. Our treasured and iconic mitchell park domes remain at a critical juncture. We continue to work with decision makers to ensure they understand the many tools available that can enable the long-term preservation solution the public has consistently supported. This work has helped advance efforts at the county to move forward with decision-making about the future of the domes. Milwaukee Preservation Alliance is thrilled to take on the full restoration of historic 1885 catherine foley tavern. From start to finish, following nps, shpo local hpc and third ward arb guidelines, we're going to bring 266 e. Erie street back to life - the right way.

    $7,642 spent
    4% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $185,470.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 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.

100 = 20182018 Revenue 100 ($359k) Expenses 100 ($48k) Net assets 100 ($500k)2019 Revenue 237 ($850k) Expenses 1427 ($679k) Net assets 134 ($671k)2020 Revenue 100 ($359k) Expenses 245 ($117k) Net assets 209 ($1.0M)2021 Revenue 62 ($224k) Expenses 1559 ($742k) Net assets 106 ($529k)2022 Revenue 45 ($160k) Expenses 488 ($232k) Net assets 91 ($457k)2023 Revenue 114 ($411k) Expenses 470 ($224k) Net assets 129 ($644k)2024 Revenue 273 ($981k) Expenses 703 ($334k) Net assets 258 ($1.3M)
2018201920202021202220232024
Revenue (273)Expenses (703)Net assets (258)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $673k to $9.7M (+1336%).

$508k
$673k
$9.7M
$9.4M
$9.5M
$13M
$21M
2018201920202021202220232024
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2021 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

97% of MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (64% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 19,547 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 7 reported years ran a deficit.

$311k
’18
$171k
’19
$242k
’20
−$518k
’21
−$72k
’22
$187k
’23
$647k
’24
23
months of
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.

2018201920202021202220232024
Listed9101013151412
Joined·+1+5+4+6+2+3
No longer listed·051435
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 3 funders, grant income rose $500 → $46k.

2 of 15 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 MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE’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

MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 37% of grant income and the top three 75%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

33% 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 MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE.

37%
largest funder
75%
top three
~5
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 91% · 2019 57% · 2020 95% · 2021 83% · 2022 57% · 2023 86% — 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

11% of MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 47% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y

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

75% of MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE's grant income comes from Wisconsin funders.

WI
MD
DC
FL

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Wisconsin out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $52k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits its size.

Operating margin66% · top quartile
Months of reserve23.4mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)18% · above the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024

Organizations like MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE

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

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

55% of spending goes to programs.

Program 55%Management 24%Fundraising 21%

Governance

11
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy–Whistleblower policy–Document retention–Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

73%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

WI

Part of a family of 1 related entity

  • Catherine Foley Tavern Restoration LLC · disregarded

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE: 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.

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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 MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE?
MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE (Wisconsin) receives grants from 15 organizations whose IRS filings report $547,388 to it, the largest being JPC FOUNDATION ($200,000). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE have?
IRS filings report 15 organizations giving $547,388 in grants to MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE?
JPC FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $200,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE 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 FY2024 (financials across 2018–2024), and the filings of 15 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