Sms Foundation INC

EIN 20-1878599 Private foundation / grantmaker Madison, WI

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Size

$1–10M

What they do

A private foundation based in Madison, WI. It reported about $1.1M in revenue for 2025.

Leadership

Sarah E Spencer · President, Director

Money in and out

$1.1M revenue, $562K expenses

Bottom line

—

A private foundation based in Madison, WI. It reported about $1.1M in revenue for 2025. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $1.1M in revenue, $562K in expenses, and $12.8M in net assets.Pt I

Grants paid & assets · FY2025

Total revenue

$1.1M

Pt VIII · Ln 12

Total expenses

$562K

Pt IX · Ln 25

Net assets

$12.8M

Pt X · Ln 32

Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $584K

Total assets

12.8M

deployed as grants and operations

Grants paid

481K

in FY2025

Grants made

61grants

total in period

Payout rate

of assets (5% rule)

Who They Fund

Part XV · grants paid · 61 grants · $481K · 2025–2025

Hodan CenterFY2025$40,000

Madison Community FoundationWI · FY2025$15,000

YWCA Madison INCWI · FY2025$10,000

Wisconsin Humanities CouncilWI · FY2025$10,000

Uw School of Veterinary ScienceFY2025$10,000

Urban League of Greater Madison INCWI · FY2025$10,000

Second Harvest FoodbankFY2025$10,000

Samuel's HouseFY2025$10,000

Red Hook InitiativeNY · FY2025$10,000

Reach DaneFY2025$10,000

Planned Parenthood USAFY2025$10,000

Planned Parenthood of WisconsinFY2025$10,000

Kiva MicroloansFY2025$10,000

Kansas City Art InstituteMO · FY2025$10,000

Gods Love We Deliver INCNY · FY2025$10,000

Foundation for Madison Public SchoolsFY2025$10,000

Florida Keys Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to AnimalsFY2025$10,000

Fine Arts Work Center ProvincetownFY2025$10,000

See all 61 grants →

Grantmaking Profile

Patterns in foundation giving

Distinct granteesPart XV24

Average grantPart XV$8K

Median grantPart XV$5K

Largest grantPart XV$40K

Top cause focusNTEEArts & Culture (10%)

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990-PF

Revenue

$1.1M

FY2025▲ +28%

Expenses

$562K

FY2025▲ +3%

Total assets

$12.8M

FY2025▲ +17%

Total liabilities

FY2025

Total revenue

$1.1M

Pt VIII · Ln 12

Total expenses

$562K

Pt IX · Ln 25

Net assets

$12.8M

Pt X · Ln 32

Total assetsPt II$12.8M

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File

Legal nameHdr · item CSms Foundation INC

EINHdr · item D20-1878599

Principal addressHdr · item CMadison, WI

WebsiteHdr · item Jnone reported

State of legal domicileHdr · item MWI

Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active

NTEE classificationIRS BMFFoundations & Grantmakers (T22)

Ruling yearIRS BMFJan 2005

Governance & Policies

Part VI

Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1apending

Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1bpending

Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12a—

Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13—

Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14—

CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15a—

Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2—

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation

Sarah E Spencer

President, Director

$0Pt VII · Sec A

Matthew D Silverstein

Vice President, Director

$0Pt VII · Sec A

Thomas G Tierney

Treasurer

$0Pt VII · Sec A

Johanna Allex

Secretary

$0Pt VII · Sec A

Mark Spencer

Director

$0Pt VII · Sec A

See Sms Foundation INC executive salaries →

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII

Investment income$896K · 78%

Contributions & grants$250K · 22%

Investment income78%$896K

Contributions & grants22%$250K

Total revenueLn 12$1.1M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising

Allocation · columns B–D

86%

14%

Grants & contributions paid $0.86 Operating & administrative $0.14

Grants & contributions paid86%$481K

Operating & administrative14%$81K

Total functional expensesLn 25$562K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year

CashLn 1$99K

Total assetsLn 16$12.8M

Total liabilitiesLn 26$0

Total net assetsLn 32$12.8M

Months of cash on handcomputed2.1

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it

Liquidity & Payout

Payout rate

Grants paid $0 · Total assets $12.8M

Where the money comes from

Contribution dependence

Contributions & grants — · Total revenue $1.1M

—

Government reliance

not reported

Earned-income share

not reported

Investment reliance

Investment income $0 · Total revenue $1.1M

Program self-sufficiency

not reported

Growth & trend

Revenue growth (YoY)

This year $1.1M · Prior year $893K

+28%

Revenue CAGR

FY2020 $840K · FY2025 $1.1M

+6%

Net-asset trend (YoY)

End of year $12.8M · Beginning of year —

Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change

Balance sheet

Surplus Margin

Revenue $1.1M · Expenses $562K

+51%

Liabilities-to-Assets

Total liabilities — · Total assets $12.8M

—

Net-asset ratio

Net assets $12.8M · Total assets $12.8M

100%

People & payroll

Highest Reported Total Compensation

Individual Sarah E Spencer · Reported title PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $0 · Total expenses $562K

Personnel share

not reported

Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

Metric	This org	Peer median	Percentile
Revenue growth	28%	—	—

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash

FY2025 (Latest)$1.1M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF

FY2024$893K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

FY2023$897K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

FY2022$535K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

FY2021$1.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

FY2020$840K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings

Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS

Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File

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