Madison Community Foundation EIN 39-6038248

Madison Community Foundation

EIN  39-6038248 Public foundation / grantmaker Madison, WI Founded 1942
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 7/9/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Stewards charitable funds and awards grants to support local nonprofits, initiatives, and community needs in Dane County, Wisconsin.
Leadership
Robert Sorge · President & CEO · $284K
Money in and out
$55.3M revenue, $19.0M expenses
Bottom line
85% program efficiency

Stewards charitable funds and awards grants to support local nonprofits, initiatives, and community needs in Dane County, Wisconsin. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $55.3M in revenue, $19.0M in expenses, and $305.2M in net assets.Pt I

Grants paid & assets · FY2024
Total revenue
$55.3M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$19.0M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$305.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $36.3M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.05
Program efficiency
85%
of spending reaches programs▲ +2% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+66%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +172% vs prior filing year
Revenue trend
+6%
avg. annual growth over 5 years

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$55.3M
FY2024▲ +175%
Expenses
$19.0M
FY2024▲ +25%
Total assets
$347.6M
FY2024▲ +18%
Total liabilities
$42.4M
FY2024▲ +12%
Total revenue
$55.3M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$19.0M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$305.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$36.3M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$347.6M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B85%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 314
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 414
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $16.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Creation of permanent charitable funds, administation and investment of those funds, and grants to charitable organizations, primarily in the area of dane county, wisconsin. Grants are made both through a competitive proposal process and in response to recommendations from donor fundholders.

$16.1Mprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CMadison Community Foundation
EINHdr · item D39-6038248
Principal addressHdr · item CMadison, WI
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.madisongives.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1942
State of legal domicileHdr · item MWI
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFFoundations & Grantmakers (T310)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMay 1995

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a14
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b14
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & CEO
$283,650Pt VII · Sec A
VP Donor Engagement
$141,971Pt VII · Sec A
VP Finance & Operations
$132,756Pt VII · Sec A
Services, Custodian
$69,665Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member (start 02/2024)
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Robert Sorge’s $284K as President & CEO is at the 64th percentile of top reported officer pay among 658 $10–100M philanthropy & grantmaking nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Robert Sorge$283,650$234,284$223,882$201,189$197,656
David Koehler$141,971$137,866$132,196$131,047$121,849
Tom Linfield$139,008$133,995$131,584$124,915
Carmen Jeschke$132,756$136,944$125,114$115,594$105,772
Principal Custody Solutions$69,665$64,171$61,137
Wells Fargo Institutional Trust$61,251$52,920

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$44.0M · 80%
Investment income$11.3M · 20%
Contributions & grants80%$44.0M
Investment income20%$11.3M
Other revenue$2K
— government grantsLn 1e$26K
Total revenueLn 12$55.3M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.05
Program services85%$16.1M
Management & general10%$1.8M
Fundraising5%$1.0M
Total functional expensesLn 25$19.0M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$31.0M
Total assetsLn 16$347.6M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$42.4M
Total net assetsLn 32$305.2M
Months of cash on handcomputed19.5

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $340.6M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $19.0M · Less non-cash grants $29.4M · Cash operating expenses/yr $-10.3M
Highly liquid reserves (cash & marketable securities on Pt X) ÷ monthly operating expenses (Pt IX total, less non-cash grants & depreciation when reported).
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $16.1M · Total expenses $19.0M
85%
Management & General
Management & general $1.8M · Total expenses $19.0M
10%
Fundraising
Fundraising $1.0M · Total expenses $19.0M
5%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $904K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $27.7M
$0.03 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $44.0M · Total revenue $55.3M
80%
Government reliance
Government grants $26K · Total revenue $55.3M
0%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $55.3M
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $11.3M · Total revenue $55.3M
+20%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $19.0M
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $55.3M · Prior year $20.1M
+175%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $43.1M · FY2024 $55.3M
+6%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $305.2M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $55.3M · Expenses $19.0M
+66%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $347.6M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $305.2M · Total assets $347.6M
88%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $44.7M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $265.0M · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $347.6M
89%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Robert Sorge · Reported title PRESIDENT & CEO · Highest reported compensation $284K · Total expenses $19.0M
1%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.1M · Total expenses $19.0M
11%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 85%
Overhead ratio 10%
Fundraising cost ratio 2%
Revenue growth 175%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%

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.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
See all 4 funders →
Grants paid · 2,847 grants · $91.2M · 2020–2024
Worldserve InternationalPA · FY2024$1,000,000
Sokaogon Chippewa CommunityFY2024$500,000
Sokaogon Chippewa CommunityFY2024$354,200
Unitemized GrantFY2024$227,431
Madison Symphony Orchestra INCWI · FY2024$211,373
Wisconsin Youth Company INCWI · FY2024$180,000
Madison Opera INCWI · FY2024$154,434
Madison CollegeFY2024$150,000
Sokaogon Chippewa CommunityFY2024$127,000
See all 2,847 grants →

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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
FY2024 (Latest)$55.3M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$20.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$36.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$40.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$43.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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