The Walsh Family Foundation makes concentrated, locally-focused gifts in the Madison area that support higher education, cultural institutions, and neighborhood-serving human services. Their largest grants go to the University of Wisconsin and to prominent local civic organizations (Goodman Community Center, Overture Center), with additional support for basic needs like The River Food Pantry. Giving appears driven by place-based civic stewardship rather than national or issue-only philanthropy.
Concentrated local giving with a small number of large grants; a mix of repeat multi-year support to core Madison institutions and transfers to the family’s donor-advised fund.
A defining feature of DAVID G and NANCY B WALSH FAMILY FOUNDATION LTD is how often its giving returns to Madison institutions tied to education, civic life, and neighborhood support. The foundation’s recent grants include repeated support for the University of Wisconsin Foundation, Goodman Community Center, Overture Center Foundation, and The River Food Pantry, all in Madison. Those patterns point to a funder that favors place-based, community-serving organizations over broad national campaigns. Its largest recent award in the dataset is a $150,000 gift to the David and Nancy Walsh Donor Advised Fund in 2025, followed by large commitments to higher education and community anchors. The University of Wisconsin Foundation received $101,000 in 2024 and $97,000 in 2023, while the Goodman Community Center received $52,500 in both 2023 and 2024. Overture Center Foundation also appears with matching $50,000 grants in 2023 and 2024. Alongside those larger gifts, the foundation supports local human services and access-oriented nonprofits, including food assistance and blindness-related organizations. The result is a portfolio that combines recurring institutional support with smaller community grants.
Higher education is a clear area of support. In 2024, the foundation gave $101,000 to UW Foundation for general charitable purposes, and it added another $70,000 to University of Wisconsin Foundation the same year. That concentration around Madison’s university network shows up more than once across the recent grants list. Community services are another recurring theme. Goodman Community Center received $52,500 in 2023 and $52,500 in 2024, plus a further $30,000 in 2025. The River Food Pantry also appears with a $51,000 grant in 2024, and St Vincent De Paul received $15,000 in 2024 after a $15,000 grant in 2023. The foundation also funds arts and accessibility-related work. Overture Center Foundation received $50,000 in both 2023 and 2024, while Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired received $25,000 in 2023 and 2024 and $15,000 in 2024 under a second listing. Flight for Sight Inc and Foundation Fighting Blindness also appear in the grant list.
Typical awards are modest to mid-sized: p25 is $1,000, median grant size is $2,100, and p75 is $10,000. The recent list also shows a few larger institutional gifts, which sit well above the median. Repeated awards to the same organizations across 2023, 2024, and 2025 indicate multi-year support rather than isolated one-time checks. The foundation is a regular funder, not a program-related-investment maker, and it does not fund individuals. The 2025 filing year is the latest 990 on file, and the recent grants list shows general charitable support as the dominant grant purpose.
$352K
$4.3M
$791K
$426K
Most grants fall between $1K and $10K, with a median of $2K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$2K
75th Percentile
$10K
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Notable grantees: University of Wisconsin/Foundation, Goodman Community Center, Overture Center Foundation, The River Food Pantry, David and Nancy Walsh Donor Advised Fund
The foundation’s grants are heavily concentrated in Wisconsin: 74% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state. Madison accounts for most of the named grants in the recent list, with additional gifts to Monona, WI. Illinois is the top state by grant count outside Wisconsin, and the recipient country distribution is entirely U.S.-based. Named non-Wisconsin examples in the list include Houston, TX; Baltimore, MD; and Winston-Salem, NC.
The recent grants list shows repeated support for higher education, community centers, food assistance, arts institutions, and blindness-related organizations. Examples include the University of Wisconsin Foundation, Goodman Community Center, Overture Center Foundation, The River Food Pantry, and Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired.
Yes. 74% of its grants go to recipients in Wisconsin, and many recent awards are to Madison-based organizations. The recent list also includes a smaller number of grants outside Wisconsin, such as organizations in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina.
The foundation’s grant-size distribution is small to mid-sized: p25 is $1,000, the median is $2,100, and p75 is $10,000. The recent list also includes larger awards, but the central tendency is in the low-thousands.
Yes. Several recipients appear across multiple years in the recent grants list, including the University of Wisconsin Foundation in 2023 and 2024, Goodman Community Center in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and Overture Center Foundation in 2023 and 2024.
No. The foundation’s profile indicates it does not fund individuals.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David and Nancy Walsh Donor Advised Fund | Madison, WI | $150,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Goodman Community Center | Madison, WI | $30,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Blind Travel Foundaton Inc | Madison, WI | $30,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin | Madison, WI | $17,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Monona Grove Education Foundation | Monona, WI | $15,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Rooted & Rising Washington Park | Milwaukee, WI | $10,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Senior Services Inc | WinstonSalem, NC | $10,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Foundation for Dane County Parks | Madison, WI | $10,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| The Foundation for Black Women's Wellness | Madison, WI | $10,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| The Center for Black Excellence and Culture | Madison, WI | $10,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| United Churches of Galena Food Pantry | Galena, IL | $10,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Vera Court Neighborhood Center Inc | Madison, WI | $8,500 | 2025 | General Charitable |
| St Vincent DePaul - Galena | Galena, IL | $5,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| HOPE Foundation - Jo Daviess County | Galena, IL | $5,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Explore Children's Museum of Sun Prairie | Sun Prairie, WI | $5,000 | 2025 | General Charitable |
| Operation Fresh Start | Madison, WI | $5,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Gathering Waters Inc | Madison, WI | $2,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| United Way of Dane County | Madison, WI | $2,000 | 2025 | General Charitable |
| Agrace Foundation | Madison, WI | $2,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Madison Public Library Foundation | Madison, WI | $2,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| The Langdon Club | Madison, WI | $2,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| St Vincent DePaul - Madison | Madison, WI | $2,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Bayview Foundation | Madison, WI | $2,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| TSC Alliance | Silver Spring, MD | $1,040 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Drew Lenz Charitable Fund | Madison, WI | $1,000 | 2025 | General Charitable |
| Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired | Madison, WI | $1,000 | 2025 | General Charitable |
| University of Wisconsin Foundation | Madison, WI | $1,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Attic Angel Association | Middleton, WI | $1,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| Bless our Priests Diocese of Madison | Madison, WI | $1,000 | 2025 | General charitable |
| St Bernard Catholic Church | Madison, WI | $500 | 2025 | General charitable |
| St Therese Catholic Church | Waunakee, WI | $500 | 2025 | General charitable |
| UW Foundation | Madison, WI | $101,000 | 2024 | General Charitable |
| University of Wisconsin Foundation | Madison, WI | $70,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| Goodman Community Center | Madison, WI | $52,500 | 2024 | General charitable |
| The River Food Pantry Inc | Madison, WI | $51,000 | 2024 | General Charitable |
| Overture Center Foundation | Madison, WI | $50,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| Irwin A and Robert D Goodman Community Center Inc | Madison, WI | $39,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| Salvation Army of Dane County | Madison, WI | $30,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| Foundation Fighting Blindness | Baltimore, MD | $26,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| Jump In Foundation Inc Miracle League of Dane County | Madison, WI | $25,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired | Madison, WI | $25,000 | 2024 | General Charitable |
| Flight for Sight Inc | Madison, WI | $25,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired | Madison, WI | $15,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| St Vincent De Paul | Madison, WI | $15,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| Monona Grove Education Foundation | Monona, WI | $15,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| The Workshop | Galena, IL | $10,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| The Workshop- Galena | Galena, IL | $10,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| St Vincent DePaul - Galena | Galena, IL | $10,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| McPherson Eye Research Institute | Madison, WI | $10,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
| Foundation for Dane County Parks | Madison, WI | $10,000 | 2024 | General charitable |
David and Nancy Walsh Donor Advised Fund
$150,000General charitable
Goodman Community Center
$30,000General charitable
Blind Travel Foundaton Inc
$30,000General charitable
Monona Grove Education Foundation
$15,000General charitable
Rooted & Rising Washington Park
$10,000General charitable
United Churches of Galena Food Pantry
$10,000General charitable
St Vincent DePaul - Galena
$5,000General charitable
HOPE Foundation - Jo Daviess County
$5,000General charitable
Explore Children's Museum of Sun Prairie
$5,000General Charitable
The Langdon Club
$2,000General charitable
St Vincent DePaul - Madison
$2,000General charitable
TSC Alliance
$1,040General charitable
Drew Lenz Charitable Fund
$1,000General Charitable
Attic Angel Association
$1,000General charitable
Bless our Priests Diocese of Madison
$1,000General charitable
St Bernard Catholic Church
$500General charitable
St Therese Catholic Church
$500General charitable
Overture Center Foundation
$50,000General charitable
Salvation Army of Dane County
$30,000General charitable
Jump In Foundation Inc Miracle League of Dane County
$25,000General charitable
Flight for Sight Inc
$25,000General charitable
Monona Grove Education Foundation
$15,000General charitable
The Workshop
$10,000General charitable
The Workshop- Galena
$10,000General charitable
St Vincent DePaul - Galena
$10,000General charitable
McPherson Eye Research Institute
$10,000General charitable