The Catherine Zdeblick Foundation concentrates its giving on local K–12 education and youth services in the Madison/Middleton area, with a strong preference for strengthening public schools and inclusive extracurricular programs. Grants are focused and local — funding school operational needs, district foundation initiatives, and adaptive youth sports that serve children with disabilities. The foundation favors a small set of repeat grantees and makes a mix of one very large commitment and several smaller recurring awards.
The Catherine Zdeblick Foundation Inc made a $300,000 commitment to One City Schools Foundation Inc in Madison to support school functions, setting the tone for a grantmaking pattern centered on local education and youth services. Across the recent grants on file, the foundation backed public K–12 school support, school district education foundations, inclusive youth sports, and a small number of other education-related organizations in Wisconsin. The largest awards went to school-focused entities, while smaller grants extended to camps, a college, and community groups connected to learning and youth programming. The foundation’s recurring support for Mcpasd Education Foundation and Miracle League of Dane County shows a preference for continuing relationships rather than one-time awards. Grants also reached organizations serving children and students in Madison, Middleton, Stoughton, Platteville, and Decorah. The overall pattern is local, practical, and anchored in school operations, program support, and services for children and youth, including children with disabilities. Its latest 990 year on file is 2025, and the grant record reflects a compact portfolio of mainly Wisconsin recipients.
Public K–12 education is a central theme. The foundation gave $300,000 to One City Schools Foundation Inc in Madison to support school functions, and later awards continued to support education-related work in the same local network. School district foundation support is another clear area: Mcpasd Education Foundation received $37,000 in 2025, $7,000 in 2024, and $2,000 in 2023, all labeled education. Inclusive youth recreation also appears repeatedly through Miracle League of Dane County, which received three separate $10,000 program support grants across 2023, 2024, and 2025. Smaller awards went to youth and educational organizations such as Wisconsin Badger Camp Inc for camp support and Omega School for program support.
Typical grants are modest, with a p25 of $1,000, a median of $2,000, and a p75 of $10,000. The distribution is shaped by one outsized commitment alongside a cluster of smaller awards, including repeated support to a few recipients over multiple years. This looks like a private foundation making direct grants rather than an operating charity, DAF, or entity funding individuals; it does not make program-related investments. The record shows recurring giving to the same organizations, especially in education and youth recreation, with several grants repeated in consecutive years.
$310K
$570K
$76K
$321K
Most grants fall between $1K and $10K, with a median of $2K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$2K
75th Percentile
$10K
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Concentrated, local-focused giving with a few large or multi-hundred-thousand-dollar commitments alongside multiple smaller, repeat grants to the same organizations; emphasis on sustaining core programs rather than broad national grantmaking.
Notable grantees: One City Schools Foundation Inc, MCPASD Education Foundation, Miracle League of Dane County
Grantmaking is highly concentrated in Wisconsin: 92% of grants went to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state, and the top state by grant count is also WI. Madison appears frequently, including One City Schools Foundation Inc, Miracle League of Dane County, Omega School, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Clean Lakes Alliance. Middleton is represented by Mcpasd Education Foundation. Outside Wisconsin, the only named recipient locations in the recent list are Decorah, Iowa; Stoughton, Wisconsin; and Platteville, Wisconsin. All recent grants on file went to U.S. recipients.
Its recent grants emphasize public K–12 schools, school district education foundations, and youth-serving organizations. Examples include support for school functions, education, program support, general operations, and camp support, with a strong local focus in the Madison and Middleton area.
Yes. Mcpasd Education Foundation received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and Miracle League of Dane County received grants in each of those same years. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than isolated one-time gifts.
The grant-size profile is small to moderate overall: p25 is $1,000, median is $2,000, and p75 is $10,000. The portfolio also includes one much larger commitment of $300,000, which stands apart from the rest of the grant record.
Giving is concentrated in Wisconsin. Ninety-two percent of grants went to recipients in WI, and Wisconsin is also the top state by grant count. Madison and Middleton appear most often among recipient cities.
One City Schools Foundation Inc received $300,000 for school functions, while Miracle League of Dane County received three $10,000 program support grants. Those awards, together with Mcpasd Education Foundation’s repeated education grants, show the foundation’s emphasis on school and youth-serving work.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH AND SCHOOL | MADISON, WI | $250,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| WAYFORWARD RESOURCES | MIDDLETON, WI | $10,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DANE COUNTY | MADISON, WI | $10,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| RIVER FOOD PANTRY | MADISON, WI | $10,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION | MIDDLETON, WI | $5,000 | 2026 | EDUCATION |
| THREE GAITS INC | STOUGHTON, WI | $5,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| WISCONSIN BADGER CAMP | PLATTEVILLE, WI | $5,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION | MIDDLETON, WI | $5,000 | 2026 | EDUCATION |
| BAYVIEW FOUNDATION | MADISON, WI | $5,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| CLEAN LAKES ALLIANCE | MADISON, WI | $5,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION | MIDDLETON, WI | $37,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION |
| MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DANE COUNTY | MADISON, WI | $10,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| CLEAN LAKES ALLIANCE | MADISON, WI | $1,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DANE COUNTY | MADISON, WI | $10,000 | 2024 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION | MIDDLETON, WI | $7,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| OMEGA SCHOOL | MADISON, WI | $1,000 | 2024 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| ONE CITY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC | MADISON, WI | $300,000 | 2023 | TO SUPPORT SCHOOL FUNCTIONS |
| MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DANE COUNTY | MADISON, WI | $10,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION | MIDDLETON, WI | $2,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| THREE GAITS INC | STOUGHTON, WI | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| LUTHER COLLEGE | DECORAH, IA | $1,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| WISCONSIN BADGER CAMP INC | PLATTEVILLE, WI | $1,000 | 2023 | TO SUPPORT CAMP |
| UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON | MADISON, WI | $1,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH AND SCHOOL
$250,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
WAYFORWARD RESOURCES
$10,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DANE COUNTY
$10,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$5,000EDUCATION
THREE GAITS INC
$5,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
WISCONSIN BADGER CAMP
$5,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$5,000EDUCATION
CLEAN LAKES ALLIANCE
$5,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$37,000EDUCATION
MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DANE COUNTY
$10,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
CLEAN LAKES ALLIANCE
$1,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DANE COUNTY
$10,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$7,000EDUCATION
OMEGA SCHOOL
$1,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DANE COUNTY
$10,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
MCPASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$2,000EDUCATION
THREE GAITS INC
$1,000GENERAL OPERATIONS
LUTHER COLLEGE
$1,000EDUCATION
WISCONSIN BADGER CAMP INC
$1,000TO SUPPORT CAMP