Lynn S Nicholas Family Foundation Inc
Mequon, WI · EIN 87-1448491. Reported 48 grants totalling $8,610,000 to 28 recipients across tax years 2022-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
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. Lynn S Nicholas Family Foundation Inc did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $100,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $50,000 and $400,000; the smallest was $10,000 and the largest $500,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Foundation | Milwaukee, WI | $2,000,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Rogers Behavioral Health Foundation | Oconomowoc, WI | $1,600,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Uwm Foundation | Milwaukee, WI | $1,600,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Macc Fund | Milwaukee, WI | $1,200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Medical College of Wisconsin | Milwaukee, WI | $800,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Watertown Humane Society | Watertown, WI | $400,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Aurora Health Care Foundation | Wauwatosa, WI | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Delta Gamma Foundation | Columbus, GA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Uw Foundation | Madison, WI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wags and Walks | Los Angeles, CA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| La Belle Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lafd Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Love Leo Rescue | Santa Monica, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pasadena Humane | Pasadena, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| St Jude's Children's Research Hospital | Memphis, TN | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| World Central Kitchen | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Haws of Waukesha County Inc | Waukesha, WI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Oshkosh Area Humane Society | Oshkosh, WI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House | Wauwatosa, WI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Ridges Sanctuary | Baileys Harbor, WI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Elmbrook Humane Society | Brookfield, WI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hunger Task Force | West Milwaukee, WI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Milwaukee Center for Independence | Milwaukee, WI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design | Milwaukee, WI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Occupaws Guide Dog Association | Madison, WI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Waunakee Hoops Club | Waunakee, WI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Center for Deaf Blind Persons Inc | West Allis, WI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Marcus Lutheran School | Milwaukee, WI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
8 of 28 (29%) 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 67%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. 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.
- Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Foundation
ADVANCE THE WORK OF PEDIATRIC PATIENT CARE, RESEARCH AND TEACHING BY CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS. - Rogers Behavioral Health Foundation
TO HELP SUPPORT THE NEW RESEARCH CENTER AND MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENTS IN GENERAL. TO CREATE AWARENESS AROUND MENTAL HEALTH - Uwm Foundation
SUPPORTING UW MILWAUKEE STUDENTS, FACULTY, COMMUNITY PROGRAMS, AND THE COMMUNITY. - Macc Fund
SUPPORTS RESEARCH INTO THE EFFECTIVE TREATMENT AND CURE FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER. - Medical College of Wisconsin
SUPPORTING A PRIVATE MEDICAL SCHOOL, PHARMACY, AND GRADUATE SCHOOL IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN. - Aurora Health Care Foundation
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FOR KRADWELL SCHOOL. PROVIDE CARE FOR OVER 3 MILLION PEOPLE THROUGH COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND PATIENT CARE. PROMOTING EDUCATION AND WELLNESS PROGRAMS.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 27 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.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 24 | $2,510,000 | $37,500 |
| 2023 | 9 | $2,150,000 | $200,000 |
| 2024 | 6 | $1,900,000 | $350,000 |
| 2025 | 9 | $2,050,000 | $200,000 |
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
94% 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.
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $100,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Wisconsin.
- 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.
- 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 Lynn S Nicholas Family Foundation Inc's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). 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: 10309 N River Rd, Mequon, WI, 53092. 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 87-1448491 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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