Funders › Wisconsin

Col L C Christensen Charitable and

Racine, WI · EIN 39-6096022. Reported 150 grants totalling $651,505 to 47 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$2,900median grant
$651,505granted, 2021-2024
47recipients, as named on its returns
87%of grantees funded again the next year
$4,155,119assets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Col L C Christensen Charitable and did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $2,900. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,500 and $3,500; the smallest was $500 and the largest $70,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
10 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
117 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
9 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
11 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
1 grant
$50,000 - $100,000
2 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
School District of AbbotsfordAbbotsford, WI$111,275842024
City of AbbotsfordAbbotsford, WI$90,000222024
Salvation ArmyRacine, WI$34,500442024
St Monica's Senior Citizens HomeRacine, WI$32,000442024
Racine Habitat for HumanityRacine, WI$28,500442024
Abbotsford City ParksAbbotsford, WI$25,000112022
Luther CollegeDecorah, IA$24,000222023
Holy Communion Lutheran ChurchRacine, WI$21,000742024
Abbotsford Fire and Ambulance Serv IncAbbotsford, WI$18,400222024
St Catherine's High SchoolRacine, WI$16,000442024
Bethany ApartmentsRacine, WI$15,000442024
Christ Lutheran ChurchAbbotsford, WI$15,000442024
Halo Inc (homeless Assistance Leadership Org)Racine, WI$14,200332023
Racine Literacy CouncilRacine, WI$12,000442024
Racine Lutheran High SchoolRacine, WI$12,000442024
St Mary's Catholic SchoolColby, WI$12,000442024
St Bernard's Catholic ChurchAbbotsford, WI$11,000442024
St Paul's Lutheran ChurchCurtiss, WI$11,000442024
Zion Lutheran ChurchColby, WI$11,000442024
Colby Public LibraryColby, WI$10,500442024
Ronald Mcdonald House - MarshfieldMarshfield, WI$10,500442024
Racine YMCARacine, WI$10,000442024
Community United PantryColby, WI$9,500442024
Abbotsford LibraryAbbotsford, WI$8,730332024
Adult Literacy of Clark CountyNeillsville, WI$8,000442024
Racine Symphony Orchestra Association IncRacine, WI$8,000442024
St Patrick's Catholic Church- John Xxiii Education CenterRacine, WI$6,500112022
Toys for TotsTriangle, VA$6,500442024
Abbotsford Girl ScoutsAbbotsford, WI$6,000442024
River Bend Nature CenterRacine, WI$6,000442024
Klossner-Dietzler VFW Post #5729Medford, WI$5,000112024
Root Pike Watershed Initative Network IncKenosha, WI$5,000222023
Choral Arts Society IncRacine, WI$4,400332024
Elk Mound School DistrictElk Mound, WI$4,000112022
Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers of Clark County IncNeillsville, WI$4,000442024
Racine Christian SchoolRacine, WI$4,000442024
Racine Art MuseumRacine, WI$3,600442024
Abbotsford Boy ScoutsAbbotsford, WI$3,000332023
Abbotsford Cub ScoutsAbbotsford, WI$3,000332023
Racine Theatre GuildRacine, WI$2,400442024
Abbotsford BrowniesAbbotsford, WI$2,000222022
Camp Hope IncAmherst, WI$2,000112023
Holy Communion Lutheran Church - Food PantryRacine, WI$2,000112024
Abbotsford Fire & Ambulance ServiceAbbotsford, WI$1,000112021
Our Harmony ClubSturtevant, WI$1,000112022
Camp Forest SpringsWestboro, WI$500112021
Racine Concert Band AssociationRacine, WI$500112023

37 of 47 (79%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 87%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 29 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.

Arts & Culture
8 grants
Health Care
5 grants
Human Services
5 grants
Housing & Shelter
4 grants
Environment
4 grants
Education
2 grants
Public Safety & Disaster Relief
1 grant

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202136$151,000$2,000
202240$179,580$3,000
202340$162,500$3,000
202434$158,425$2,450

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Where its money goes

95% of its giving went to organizations in Wisconsin. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

Wisconsin
$621K
Iowa
$24K
Virginia
$6K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.

Racine Community Foundation Inc10 shared recipientsLang Family Foundation Inc7 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc7 shared recipientsThe Blackbaud Giving Fund5 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund5 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program4 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $2,900. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Wisconsin.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Col L C Christensen Charitable and's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.

Address of record on the latest return: 840 Lake Avenue 300, Racine, WI, 53403. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 39-6096022 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.