The Mel & Ruth Wolzinger Foundation is overwhelmingly focused on supporting education in Southern Nevada, with a particular emphasis on early childhood infrastructure through a transformational investment in UNLV’s Lynn Bennett Early Childhood Education Center. Aside from that flagship, the foundation makes modest, local grants to organizations serving children, families and basic health needs in the Las Vegas area. Its giving signals a preference for high-impact institutional projects alongside smaller community-focused gifts.
The Mel & Ruth Wolzinger Foundation’s defining recent grant is a $10,000,000 commitment to the UNLV Foundation for the Little Rebel Expansion Fund, tied to expanding the Lynn Bennett Early Childhood Education Center. That single award places early childhood infrastructure at the center of the foundation’s identity. Around that project, the foundation continues to make smaller local gifts across Las Vegas-area nonprofits serving children, families, education, and basic needs. Recent support includes general support for Safe Nest and Spread the Word, both at $25,000 in 2023, showing that the funder pairs a major capital-style investment with community grants at much smaller dollar levels. The grant list also includes organizations connected to youth development, family services, health, housing, and education, such as Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, The Shade Tree, and Ronald McDonald House. That mix points to a foundation that favors restricted or project-specific funding when the opportunity is institutionally significant, while still maintaining a steady pattern of local operating support for mission-aligned nonprofits in Southern Nevada.
Early childhood education is the clearest throughline. The foundation gave $10,000,000 to the UNLV Foundation for the Little Rebel Expansion Fund to expand the Lynn Bennett Early Childhood Education Center, pairing philanthropy with facility growth. In youth development, it supported Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada with $5,000 in 2023 and another $3,000 in 2025 for general support. For literacy and community education, Spread the Word received $25,000 in 2023 and $1,000 in 2025, both for general support. Family and crisis services also appear in the record: Safe Nest received $25,000 for general support, and The Shade Tree received $3,000 for programs only. The grant list shows a local pattern of backing organizations that serve children, parents, and households with immediate needs.
Typical grants are small: the 25th percentile and median are both $1,000, and the 75th percentile is $3,000. One award stands far above the rest, but most grants cluster at modest levels. The recent record shows repeat recipients across years, including UNLV Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, Cleveland Clinic, Adams Place, Ronald McDonald House, and Spread the Word. That suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-off gifts. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. The grant list also shows both general support and restricted language such as programs only and project-specific support.
$2.5M
$12.2M
$1.3M
$2.7M
Most grants fall between $1K and $3K, with a median of $1K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$1K
75th Percentile
$3K
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Highly concentrated: one very large, multi-million dollar transformational grant to a single institution (UNLV) that accounts for nearly all giving, plus a handful of much smaller, local community grants. The foundation repeats support to UNLV and otherwise makes sporadic, modest gifts to regional nonprofits.
Notable grantees: UNLV Foundation, Safe Nest, Spread the Word, Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, Cleveland Clinic
Giving is strongly concentrated in Nevada: 89% of grants go to recipients in the headquarters state, and Nevada is also the top state by grant count. Most named recipients are in Las Vegas, including UNLV Foundation, Safe Nest, Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, Cleveland Clinic, and UMC Foundation. Henderson appears as another Nevada recipient city through Spread the Word. Outside Nevada, the foundation has only a small number of grants, including Childrens Heart Foundation in Northbrook, Illinois, Sleep in Heavenly Peace in Kimberly, Idaho, and Ronald McDonald House in Oak Brook, Illinois. All recorded grants in the data go to U.S. recipients.
Typical grants are modest: the 25th percentile is $1,000, the median is $1,000, and the 75th percentile is $3,000. The recent record also includes one $10,000,000 award, but most gifts sit at the low end of that distribution.
The clearest focus is early childhood education infrastructure, anchored by a $10,000,000 grant to expand the Lynn Bennett Early Childhood Education Center. The recent list also includes youth development, literacy, family and crisis services, and local health-related support.
Yes. Nevada is the top state by grant count, and 89% of grants go to recipients in the headquarters state. The named Nevada recipients in the recent list are largely in Las Vegas, with one in Henderson and one in North Las Vegas.
Yes. The recent grants show repeat gifts to several organizations across 2023 and 2025, including UNLV Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, Cleveland Clinic, Adams Place, Ronald McDonald House, and Spread the Word.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNLV - Little Rebel Expansion | Las Vegas, NV | $2,500,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| Three Square | Las Vegas, NV | $15,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| UNLV Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | $5,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| UNLV Scholarships | Las Vegas, NV | $5,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Cleveland Clinic | Las Vegas, NV | $3,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada | Las Vegas, NV | $3,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Childrens Heart Foundation | Northbrook, IL | $3,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Three Square | Las Vegas, NV | $2,500 | 2025 | General Support |
| Adams Place | Las Vegas, NV | $1,500 | 2025 | General Support |
| St Jude Ranch for Children | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Cure 4 Kids | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Nevada Child Seekers | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| UMC Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Kid's Foundation Sunrise Hospital | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| LEAN | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Paralized Veterans of America | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Safe Nest | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Spread the Word | Henderson, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Ronald McDonald House | Oak Brook, IL | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Public Education Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| City Mission of Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NV | $500 | 2025 | General Support |
| Shade Tree | North Las Vegas, NV | $500 | 2025 | General Support |
| UNLV Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | $10,000,000 | 2023 | $10,000,000 Little Rebel Expansion Fund to expand the Lynn Bennett Early Childhood Education Center. |
| Safe Nest | Las Vegas, NV | $25,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Spread the Word | Henderson, NV | $25,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Adams Place | Las Vegas, NV | $5,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada | Las Vegas, NV | $5,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Cleveland Clinic | Las Vegas, NV | $5,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| The Shade Tree | North Las Vegas, NV | $3,000 | 2023 | Programs Only |
| Sleep in Heavenly Peace | Kimberly, ID | $2,500 | 2023 | General Support |
| Temple Beth Sholom | Las Vegas, NV | $2,500 | 2023 | General Support |
| FEAT of Southern Nevada | Las Vegas, NV | $2,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| The Animal Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | $1,500 | 2023 | General Support |
| Salvation Army | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2023 | Programs Only |
| SHARE Village | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Noah's Animal House | North Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Ronald McDonald House | Oak Brook, IL | $1,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Las Vegas Rescue Mission | Las Vegas, NV | $1,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Teach For America | Las Vegas, NV | $500 | 2023 | General Support |
UNLV - Little Rebel Expansion
$2,500,000General Support
UNLV Foundation
$5,000General Support
UNLV Scholarships
$5,000General Support
Cleveland Clinic
$3,000General Support
General Support
Adams Place
$1,500General Support
St Jude Ranch for Children
$1,000General Support
Cure 4 Kids
$1,000General Support
UMC Foundation
$1,000General Support
Kid's Foundation Sunrise Hospital
$1,000General Support
LEAN
$1,000General Support
Paralized Veterans of America
$1,000General Support
Safe Nest
$1,000General Support
Spread the Word
$1,000General Support
Ronald McDonald House
$1,000General Support
City Mission of Las Vegas
$500General Support
Shade Tree
$500General Support
$10,000,000 Little Rebel Expansion Fund to expand the Lynn Bennett Early Childhood Education Center.
Safe Nest
$25,000General Support
Spread the Word
$25,000General Support
Adams Place
$5,000General Support
Cleveland Clinic
$5,000General Support
Temple Beth Sholom
$2,500General Support
FEAT of Southern Nevada
$2,000General Support
Salvation Army
$1,000Programs Only
SHARE Village
$1,000General Support
Noah's Animal House
$1,000General Support
Ronald McDonald House
$1,000General Support