The Fritz Family Foundation concentrates its philanthropy almost exclusively on the University of Wisconsin via sizeable charitable gifts. Grants are large and directed to the UW Foundation, indicating a strategic focus on supporting public higher education in Wisconsin rather than a broad portfolio of causes.
Highly concentrated: a small number of large gifts directed to a single institutional beneficiary (repeat support to the UW Foundation), rather than many small or diversified grants.
Fritz Family Foundation Inc has an especially clear pattern: its largest recent grants go to the University of Wisconsin system, including multiple six-figure gifts to UW Foundation in Madison. That sustained support suggests a long-running commitment to public higher education in Wisconsin, with the foundation using charitable grants to back university fundraising, student support, and campus priorities. The recent record also shows related gifts to UW-Platteville Foundation, UW Athletics, and UW Carbone Cancer Center, indicating that the University of Wisconsin is the central institutional relationship in the foundation’s giving. The foundation’s grant record is not broad or diffuse. Instead, it concentrates on a small number of Wisconsin institutions and closely tied community organizations, often in amounts that are large enough to support campaign, endowment, or program-specific work. Alongside university gifts, the foundation has made grants to local organizations in Potosi, Platteville, Madison, and Dubuque, showing some regional reach while keeping the same general institutional style of philanthropy. Its giving profile points to a family foundation that favors directed support over a wide mix of unrelated causes.
At the University of Wisconsin, the foundation has backed several distinct needs. It gave $39,380 to UW-Platteville Foundation in 2024 and $34,600 in 2025, alongside earlier gifts of $10,380 in 2023, showing repeated support for that campus. It also made a $7,500 grant to UW Foundation Athletics South End Zone in 2024 and a $7,500 gift to WI Athletics in 2023, linking its university giving to athletics infrastructure. Beyond higher education, the foundation has supported community and service organizations. It gave $20,000 to Hickory Hill Park Foundation in Iowa City in 2025, $11,000 to Feeding America Eastern Wi in Milwaukee in 2023, and $13,500 to Family Advocates in Platteville in 2025. In health and community giving, it also supported Mercy One Foundation in Dubuque across multiple years.
Typical grants are modest to mid-sized, with a p25 of $1,000, a median of $2,500, and a p75 of $5,875. The recent record also includes repeated gifts to the same institutions across multiple years, especially UW Foundation and UW-Platteville Foundation, which points to ongoing rather than one-off relationships. The foundation is a family foundation by name and gives programmatically rather than through individual grants or program-related investments. The data does not show an application process, and the pattern of directed institutional gifts suggests grants are likely made through established relationships.
$548K
$3.7M
$219K
$561K
Most grants fall between $1K and $6K, with a median of $3K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$3K
75th Percentile
$6K
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Notable grantees: UW Foundation (University of Wisconsin Foundation)
Grant recipients are overwhelmingly in Wisconsin: 78% of grants go to recipients in the foundation’s headquarters state, and the top giving state is also WI. Madison appears frequently through UW Foundation, Varsity Collective, Garding Against Cancer, and UW Carbone Cancer Center. Platteville and Potosi are also recurring recipient locations, while Dubuque, Iowa appears in several grants, including Mercy One Foundation and National Mississippi River Museum. All recorded grants in the dataset went to U.S. recipients.
The foundation’s recent grants center on the University of Wisconsin, especially UW Foundation and UW-Platteville Foundation, plus related university priorities such as athletics and student support. It also funds a smaller set of local and regional nonprofits, including organizations in health, food access, community services, and civic revitalization.
The grant-size distribution is relatively compact: p25 is $1,000, the median is $2,500, and p75 is $5,875. The recent record also includes several much larger gifts to UW-related entities, including multiple six-figure grants.
Yes. UW Foundation appears in multiple years with large grants, and UW-Platteville Foundation also receives repeated support across 2023, 2024, and 2025. Mercy One Foundation is another repeated recipient, with grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Most grants go to Wisconsin recipients: 78% of grants are to organizations in WI, which is also the foundation’s top giving state. Madison and Platteville show up often in the grant record, along with Potosi and several other Wisconsin communities.
No. While Wisconsin is the dominant state, the recent record includes recipients in Iowa as well, such as organizations in Iowa City and Dubuque. Even so, every grant in the dataset went to a U.S. recipient.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UW FOUNDATION | MADISON, WI | $277,320 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| SOUTHWEST TECH FOUNDATION | FENNIMORE, WI | $75,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| VARSITY COLLECTIVE | MADISON, WI | $53,367 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| UW PLATTEVILLE FOUNDATION | PLATTEVILLE, WI | $49,760 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| ST ANDREW THOMAS CHURCH | POTOSI, WI | $15,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| FAMILY ADVOCATES | PLATTEVILLE, WI | $12,500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| MERCY ONE FOUNDATION | DUBUQUE, IA | $10,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| HILLS & DALES FOUNDATION | DUBUQUE, IA | $8,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| DICKEYVILLE PARK FOUNDATION | DICKEYVILLE, WI | $5,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| UW FOUNDATION ANDY NORTH & FRIENDS CANCER FUND | MADISON, WI | $5,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| ADVANCE SHULLSBURG INC | SHULLSBURG, WI | $3,334 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| POTOSI FOUNDATION | POTOSI, WI | $2,500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| FRIENDS OF POTOSI WI INC | POTOSI, WI | $2,500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| ASHLEY FOR THE ARTS | ARCADIA, WI | $2,500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| TWO BY TWO CHARACTER DEV | DUBUQUE, IA | $2,500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| BENTON LIBRARY MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY | BENTON, WI | $2,500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| TRISTATE DELTA WATERFOWL | BISMARK, ND | $2,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| GARDING AGAINST CANCER | MADISON, WI | $2,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| STEEPLE SQUARE | DUBUQUE, IA | $2,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| SOUTHWEST HEALTH FOUNDATION | PLATTEVILLE, WI | $2,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| WISCONSIN BADGER CAMP | PLATTEVILLE, WI | $2,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| DICKEYVILLE RESCUE SQUAD | DICKEYVILLE, WI | $2,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONSERVANCY | LA CROSSE, WI | $1,500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| VAN BUREN CEMETARY ASSOC | POTOSI, WI | $1,250 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| BOYS & GIRLS CLUB | WAUNAKEE, WI | $1,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| POTOSI RESCUE SQUAD | POTOSI, WI | $1,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| ABA MUSEUM FOUNDATION | BROOKFIELD, WI | $1,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| ICIPHS SCHOLARSHIP FUND | PLATTEVILLE, WI | $500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| LANCASTER SCHOLARSHIP FUND | LANCASTER, WI | $500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| GASTRO-INTESTINAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION | HIGHLAND PARK, IL | $500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| SHULLSBURG COMMUNITY FUND | MONROE, WI | $500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| HOLY GHOST IMMACULATE CONCEPTION | DICKEYVILLE, WI | $265 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION | MADISON, WI | $250 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| GILDAN'S CLUB | MADISON, WI | $250 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SW WI (BENTON) | JANESVILLE, WI | $250 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| WRTL ORG | MILWAUKEE, WI | $100 | 2026 | CHARITABLE |
| UW FOUNDATION | MADISON, WI | $263,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| UW-PLATTEVILLE FOUNDATION | PLATTEVILLE, WI | $34,600 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| VARSITY COLLECTIVE | MADISON, WI | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| SILVER LINING CHARITABLE FUND | WEST BEND, WI | $21,300 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| HICKORY HILL PARK FOUNDATION | IOWA CITY, IA | $20,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| SS ANDREW THOMAS CHURCH | POTOSI, WI | $14,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| FAMILY ADVOCATES | PLATTEVILLE, WI | $13,500 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| MERCY ONE FOUNDATION | DUBUQUE, IA | $10,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| NATIONAL MISSISSIPPI RIVER MUSEUM | DUBUQUE, IA | $10,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| HILLS & DALES FOUNDATION | DUBUQUE, IA | $6,500 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| DICKEYVILLE PARK FOUNDATION | DICKEYVILLE, WI | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| BOYS & GIRLS CLUB | WAUNAKEE, WI | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER DUBUQUE | DUBUQUE, IA | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| LA CROSSE AIRFEST | LA CROSSE, WI | $2,500 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
SOUTHWEST TECH FOUNDATION
$75,000CHARITABLE
ST ANDREW THOMAS CHURCH
$15,000CHARITABLE
FAMILY ADVOCATES
$12,500CHARITABLE
MERCY ONE FOUNDATION
$10,000CHARITABLE
HILLS & DALES FOUNDATION
$8,000CHARITABLE
DICKEYVILLE PARK FOUNDATION
$5,000CHARITABLE
UW FOUNDATION ANDY NORTH & FRIENDS CANCER FUND
$5,000CHARITABLE
ADVANCE SHULLSBURG INC
$3,334CHARITABLE
POTOSI FOUNDATION
$2,500CHARITABLE
FRIENDS OF POTOSI WI INC
$2,500CHARITABLE
ASHLEY FOR THE ARTS
$2,500CHARITABLE
BENTON LIBRARY MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY
$2,500CHARITABLE
TRISTATE DELTA WATERFOWL
$2,000CHARITABLE
GARDING AGAINST CANCER
$2,000CHARITABLE
STEEPLE SQUARE
$2,000CHARITABLE
SOUTHWEST HEALTH FOUNDATION
$2,000CHARITABLE
WISCONSIN BADGER CAMP
$2,000CHARITABLE
DICKEYVILLE RESCUE SQUAD
$2,000CHARITABLE
VAN BUREN CEMETARY ASSOC
$1,250CHARITABLE
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
$1,000CHARITABLE
POTOSI RESCUE SQUAD
$1,000CHARITABLE
ABA MUSEUM FOUNDATION
$1,000CHARITABLE
ICIPHS SCHOLARSHIP FUND
$500CHARITABLE
LANCASTER SCHOLARSHIP FUND
$500CHARITABLE
SHULLSBURG COMMUNITY FUND
$500CHARITABLE
HOLY GHOST IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
$265CHARITABLE
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
$250CHARITABLE
GILDAN'S CLUB
$250CHARITABLE
WRTL ORG
$100CHARITABLE
SILVER LINING CHARITABLE FUND
$21,300CHARITABLE
HICKORY HILL PARK FOUNDATION
$20,000CHARITABLE
SS ANDREW THOMAS CHURCH
$14,000CHARITABLE
FAMILY ADVOCATES
$13,500CHARITABLE
MERCY ONE FOUNDATION
$10,000CHARITABLE
NATIONAL MISSISSIPPI RIVER MUSEUM
$10,000CHARITABLE
HILLS & DALES FOUNDATION
$6,500CHARITABLE
DICKEYVILLE PARK FOUNDATION
$5,000CHARITABLE
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
$5,000CHARITABLE
LA CROSSE AIRFEST
$2,500CHARITABLE