Wisconsin · Nonprofit
PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES
PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES (Wisconsin) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $55,400 to it, the largest being UNITED WAY OF GREATER MILWAUKEE & WAUKESHA COUNTY INC ($40,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2017
- $1.0M
- Funders on record
- 2
- Grants received
- $55k
- Net assets
- $2.2M
What Public Policy Forum Inc Researching Community Issues does
Mission
We seek, discover, and disclose true and accurate information to enhance the effectiveness of government and public policy in southeastern Wisconsin; and we facilitate public policy discussion and action.
As stated on its FY2017 Form 990.
Program
In terms of impact and outreach, 2017 has been an unqualified success. Our high-quality research is enhancing local government decision-making, and our special events are providing timely information to voters and citizens. Our impact has been demonstrated in various ways, including the following:Our report comparing the City of Milwaukees revenue structure to those of peer cities On the Money? has captured the attention of the Citys business and political leadership and launched a community-wide discussion on potential ways to diversify the Citys revenue portfolio. Our report on last mile transit solutions to connect workers to jobs won a national award from the Governmental Research Association and prompted the Milwaukee County Board to adopt a resolution on potential implementation of our research findings. Our multi-part series on local government infrastructure has brought much-needed attention to the condition of local buses, roads, sewer/water mains, and government buildings; it also has helped frame debates on a proposed County wheel tax and replacement of lead service lines in the City of Milwaukee.
The first program described on its most recent Form 990, which lists programs largest first by expense.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2018: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $10k → $45k.
1 of 2 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 28% 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 PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES’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
PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES leans on a few funders — its largest provides 72% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
100% 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 PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 88% — 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.
Where its funders are
100% of PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES's grant income comes from Wisconsin funders.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $15k 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.
Organizations like PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES
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
74% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
69%
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 PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES: 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 PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES?
- PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES (Wisconsin) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $55,400 to it, the largest being UNITED WAY OF GREATER MILWAUKEE & WAUKESHA COUNTY INC ($40,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES have?
- IRS filings report 2 organizations giving $55,400 in grants to PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES?
- UNITED WAY OF GREATER MILWAUKEE & WAUKESHA COUNTY INC is the largest funder on record, with $40,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PUBLIC POLICY FORUM INC RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ISSUES 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 Public Policy Forum Inc Researching Community Issues →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2017 (financials across 2017–2017), and the filings of 2 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