The Melvin F. and Ellen L. Wagner Foundation concentrates on recurring, unrestricted support to a mix of local faith congregations, health and disease-focused charities, higher-education scholarships, and community service agencies—frequently in the Sheboygan/Milwaukee region. Grants are often identical in size and repeated to the same organizations, indicating a stable set of core beneficiaries the foundation sustains year-to-year rather than a high-volume grantmaking strategy.
A defining feature of Melvin F and Ellen L Wagner Fdn is its repeated, often identical support for a small set of organizations, with grant amounts clustering around the same figures across consecutive years. The foundation’s recent giving shows a steady mix of church support, scholarship funding, health-related charities, and local community agencies, rather than a broad one-time grant portfolio. Recipients include Sheboygan County Humane Society, which received general operating support in 2023 and again in 2025, and Lakeland University, which received scholarship support in multiple years. The pattern also includes recurring support for faith communities such as Unity Christian Church and St James United Church of Christ, plus health organizations like Alzheimers Association and Children’s Hospital & Health. Several grants are unrestricted general operating awards, while scholarship awards appear alongside them for educational institutions and church-linked recipients. That combination points to a funder that sustains a stable circle of beneficiaries across nonprofit, faith, health, and education settings. The foundation’s recent grants are all to U.S. recipients.
In faith-based giving, Melvin F and Ellen L Wagner Fdn supported Unity Christian Church with general operating funding in 2023 and scholarship support in 2025, and it also backed St James United Church of Christ with both general operating support and scholarship support. In education access, the foundation awarded scholarship grants to Lakeland University in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and to Uw-sheboygan County Foundation in 2023 and 2024. Health and disease-focused giving appears in awards to Alzheimers Association, which received both general operating and scholarship support, and to Muscular Dystrophy Association for general operating support. Community service funding includes United Way Worldwide and The Salvation Army, both supported with general operating grants.
Typical grant size is tightly grouped: p25 is $38,638, the median is $41,000, and p75 is $45,334. The recent record shows recurring support rather than isolated awards, with several recipients appearing across 2023, 2024, and 2025. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it also funds individuals. Its giving includes both unrestricted general operating support and scholarship awards, often to the same organizations in different years.
$474K
$7.9M
$659K
$581K
Most grants fall between $39K and $45K, with a median of $41K.
25th Percentile
$39K
Median
$41K
75th Percentile
$45K
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Concentrated, repeat grants of similar large amounts to a small roster of core grantees; mix of national disease charities and local institutions, with emphasis on general operating support and scholarship funding rather than one-off project grants.
Notable grantees: Alzheimer's Association, UW–Sheboygan County Foundation, Unity Christian Church, Sheboygan County Humane Society, United Way Worldwide
Grantmaking is regional, and 73% of grants go to recipients in Wisconsin. Sheboygan appears repeatedly through organizations in Sheboygan itself and nearby Plymouth, while Milwaukee also recurs through health and human-services grantees. The top state by grant count is Virginia, reflected in awards to Alexandria-based recipients such as United Way Worldwide and The Salvation Army. Other recipient locations include Chicago, Illinois, and Newton, Wisconsin. All recent grants in the dataset went to U.S. recipients.
The foundation supports churches and faith communities, scholarship funds, health and disease-focused charities, and local service organizations. Recent grants include support for congregations, universities, hospital-related charities, and community agencies, with both general operating and scholarship awards appearing in the record.
Yes. The recent record shows repeated support for the same organizations across multiple years. Lakeland University appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Alzheimers Association appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and Unity Christian Church, The Salvation Army, and Uw-sheboygan County Foundation also recur.
The foundation’s grant sizes are closely clustered. The 25th percentile is $38,638, the median is $41,000, and the 75th percentile is $45,334, which indicates a fairly narrow range of award amounts.
Most grants go to Wisconsin recipients, with 73% of grants in the foundation’s HQ state. The most common recipient state overall is Virginia, driven by grants to Alexandria-based organizations such as United Way Worldwide and The Salvation Army.
It provides both general operating support and scholarship support. In the recent grants list, churches, health charities, and community organizations often received general operating grants, while educational institutions and some other recipients received scholarship awards.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE SALVATION ARMY | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $43,050 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & HEALTH | MILWAUKEE, WI | $43,050 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UW-SHEBOYGAN COUNTY FOUNDATION | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $43,050 | 2026 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| UNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $43,050 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UNITED WAY WORLDWIDE | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $43,050 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION | CHICAGO, IL | $43,050 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| LAKELAND UNIVERSITY | PLYMOUTH, WI | $43,050 | 2026 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| ST JAMES UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST | NEWTON, WI | $43,050 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| SHEBOYGAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $43,050 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION | MILWAUKEE, WI | $43,050 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| AURORA HEALTH FOUNDATION | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $43,050 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & HEALTH | MILWAUKEE, WI | $41,000 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| UW-SHEBOYGAN COUNTY FOUNDATION | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $41,000 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| UNITED WAY WORLDWIDE | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $41,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $41,000 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| SHEBOYGAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $41,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION | CHICAGO, IL | $41,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION | MILWAUKEE, WI | $41,000 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| ST JAMES UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST | NEWTON, WI | $41,000 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| AURORA HEALTH FOUNDATION | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $41,000 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| LAKELAND UNIVERSITY | PLYMOUTH, WI | $41,000 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| SALVATION ARMY NATIONAL CORP | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $41,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| ST JAMES UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST | NEWTON, WI | $38,638 | 2024 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| UW-SHEBOYGAN COUNTY FOUNDATION | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $38,638 | 2024 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| AURORA HEALTH FOUNDATION | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $38,638 | 2024 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION | MILWAUKEE, WI | $38,638 | 2024 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| UNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $38,638 | 2024 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & HEALTH | MILWAUKEE, WI | $38,638 | 2024 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| THE SALVATION ARMY | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $38,638 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION | CHICAGO, IL | $38,638 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UNITED WAY WORLDWIDE | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $38,638 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| LAKELAND UNIVERSITY | PLYMOUTH, WI | $38,638 | 2024 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| SHEBOYGAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $38,638 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| THE SALVATION ARMY | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $45,334 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & HEALTH | MILWAUKEE, WI | $45,334 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UNITED WAY WORLDWIDE | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $45,334 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION | CHICAGO, IL | $45,334 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| LAKELAND UNIVERSITY | PLYMOUTH, WI | $45,334 | 2023 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| SHEBOYGAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $45,334 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UW-SHEBOYGAN COUNTY FOUNDATION | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $45,334 | 2023 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| ST JAMES UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST | NEWTON, WI | $45,334 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| AURORA HEALTH FOUNDATION | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $45,334 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH | SHEBOYGAN, WI | $45,334 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION | MILWAUKEE, WI | $45,334 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
THE SALVATION ARMY
$43,050GENERAL OPERATING
UW-SHEBOYGAN COUNTY FOUNDATION
$43,050SCHOLARSHIP
UNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
$43,050GENERAL OPERATING
GENERAL OPERATING
ST JAMES UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
$43,050GENERAL OPERATING
SHEBOYGAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY
$43,050GENERAL OPERATING
ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION
$43,050GENERAL OPERATING
AURORA HEALTH FOUNDATION
$43,050GENERAL OPERATING
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & HEALTH
$41,000SCHOLARSHIP
UW-SHEBOYGAN COUNTY FOUNDATION
$41,000SCHOLARSHIP
UNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
$41,000SCHOLARSHIP
SHEBOYGAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY
$41,000GENERAL OPERATING
ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION
$41,000SCHOLARSHIP
ST JAMES UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
$41,000SCHOLARSHIP
AURORA HEALTH FOUNDATION
$41,000SCHOLARSHIP
SALVATION ARMY NATIONAL CORP
$41,000GENERAL OPERATING
ST JAMES UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
$38,638SCHOLARSHIP
UW-SHEBOYGAN COUNTY FOUNDATION
$38,638SCHOLARSHIP
AURORA HEALTH FOUNDATION
$38,638SCHOLARSHIP
ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION
$38,638SCHOLARSHIP
UNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
$38,638SCHOLARSHIP
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & HEALTH
$38,638SCHOLARSHIP
THE SALVATION ARMY
$38,638GENERAL OPERATING
SHEBOYGAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY
$38,638GENERAL OPERATING
THE SALVATION ARMY
$45,334GENERAL OPERATING
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & HEALTH
$45,334GENERAL OPERATING
SHEBOYGAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY
$45,334GENERAL OPERATING
UW-SHEBOYGAN COUNTY FOUNDATION
$45,334SCHOLARSHIP
ST JAMES UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
$45,334GENERAL OPERATING
AURORA HEALTH FOUNDATION
$45,334GENERAL OPERATING
UNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
$45,334GENERAL OPERATING
ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION
$45,334GENERAL OPERATING