Madison Community Foundation

Tax-deductible

Madison, WI501(c)(3)Since 1942Foundations & GrantmakersEIN 39-6038248Revenue $55.3M in FY2024

On file with the IRSmadisongives.org111 N Fairchild St Ste 260, 53703-2830 · Madison, WITax-exempt since May 1995Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

Tell your story. Claim this org

Madison Community Foundation stewards local, charitable funds for individuals, nonprofits and business. With its local knowledge and assets, mcf inspires giving, supports meaningful initiatives and connects people for the common good.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
85¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 25 volunteers and 15 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $16.4M a year · 42% of revenue · last 5 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 5 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
85%
of spending
Looks good: 85% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$628K
to officers and key staff · 3% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 64% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 3% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
20 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 19.5 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
5
named funders · $470K
Looks good: 5 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$42.4M
12% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 12% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
14
of 14 voting members
Looks good: 14 of 14 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$55.3M
+175% vs prior year
Spent
$19.0M
To programs
85%
Net assets
$305.2M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$55.3M
FY2024▲ +175%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$43.1M
FY2021$40.2M
FY2022$36.9M
FY2023$20.1M
FY2024$55.3M
Expenses
$19.0M
FY2024▲ +25%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$27.8M
FY2021$33.6M
FY2022$17.9M
FY2023$15.3M
FY2024$19.0M
Net assets
$305.2M
FY2024▲ +19%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$225.7M
FY2021$249.6M
FY2022$237.5M
FY2023$256.2M
FY2024$305.2M

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in May 1995.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

85 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 85% · $16.1M Management & general 10% · $1.8M Fundraising 5% · $1.0M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Something off? Claim to fix it

Who runs it and what they're paid

18 people listed on the 990; $628K paid to officers and key staff.

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 661 $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.

See Madison Community Foundation executive salaries →

On this list? Claim this org

Something off? Claim to fix it

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Stewards charitable funds and awards grants to support local nonprofits, initiatives, and community needs in Dane County, Wisconsin.

Questions for Madison Community Foundation

Tap to ask. Madison Community Foundation sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Madison Community Foundation answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this org? Add your story

1 program · $16.1M · in their 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

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
See all 5 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 →

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$55.3M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$44.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$11.3M
Other incomeLn 4–11$2K
Money outPt IX
$19.0M
Ln 25
Programscol B$16.1M
Managementcol C$1.8M
Fundraisingcol D$1.0M
Owns and owesPt X
$305.2M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$31.0M
Total assetsLn 16$347.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$42.4M
PeoplePt VI, VII
18
listed · VII A
PaidVII A4
Voting boardVI 1a14
IndependentVI 1b14
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$44.0M
Government grantsLn 1e$26K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$29.4M
Investment incomeLn 3$11.3M
Other incomeLn 4–11$2K
Gains on assetsLn 7$7.3M
Total revenueLn 12$55.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$906K
SavingsLn 2$30.1M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$31.0M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$309.6M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$115K
Other assetsLn 15$1.6M
Total assetsLn 16$347.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$42.4M
Net assetsLn 32$305.2M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 515
VolunteersI 625
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$23.9M$31.0M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$266.4M$309.6M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$146K$115K
Total assetsLn 16$294.1M$347.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$37.9M$42.4M
Net assetsLn 32$256.2M$305.2M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$15.3M$15.3M
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$227K$227K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$555K$117K$231K$207K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.3M$265K$523K$470K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$44K$9K$23K$11K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$126K$30K$65K$31K
Payroll taxesLn 10$124K$25K$59K$40K
Legal feesLn 11b$69K$69K
Accounting feesLn 11c$55K$55K
Investment management feesLn 11f$441K$441K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$81K$13K$41K$28K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$57K$57K
Office expensesLn 13$56K$10K$31K$15K
Information technologyLn 14$126K$26K$66K$34K
OccupancyLn 16$143K$30K$75K$38K
TravelLn 17$11K$5K$4K$3K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$133K$27K$41K$64K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$43K$9K$22K$11K
InsuranceLn 23$10K$10K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$134K$16K$88K$29K
All other expensesLn 24e$5K$5K
Total functional expensesLn 25$19.0M$16.1M$1.8M$1.0M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest Viewing $55.3M$19.0M$36.3M$305.2M 990 PDF
FY2023 $20.1M$15.3M$4.8M$256.2M 990 PDF
FY2022 $36.9M$17.9M$19.0M$237.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 $40.2M$33.6M$6.7M$249.6M 990 PDF
FY2020 $43.1M$27.8M$15.3M$225.7M 990 PDF

More to add? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $55,328,598 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $10,599,580$44,028,384
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $8,834,085$11,298,439
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $661,239$1,775
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $20,094,904$55,328,598
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $12,197,083$15,553,217
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,877,147$2,105,777
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,180,498$1,363,287
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $15,254,728$19,022,281
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $4,840,176$36,306,317
Part VI · Governance 14 of 14 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body14
VI-1b Independent voting members14
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $55,328,598 across 9 lines filed
VIII-1d Related organizations$1,268,907
VIII-1e Government grants$26,076
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$42,733,401
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$29,355,946
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$44,028,384
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $545,217 · Excluded from tax $3,444,834$3,990,051
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $7,308,388$7,308,388
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $1,775$1,775
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $545,217 · Excluded from tax $10,754,997$55,328,598
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $19,022,281 across 21 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $15,325,786$15,325,786
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $227,431$227,431
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $116,855 · Management $230,682 · Fundraising $207,375$554,912
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $264,755 · Management $522,644 · Fundraising $469,839$1,257,238
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $9,394 · Management $23,349 · Fundraising $11,037$43,780
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $30,479 · Management $64,622 · Fundraising $30,884$125,985
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $24,612 · Management $59,052 · Fundraising $40,198$123,862
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $68,845$68,845
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $54,943$54,943
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $440,810$440,810
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $13,039 · Management $40,649 · Fundraising $27,794$81,482
IX-12 Advertising and promotionFundraising $56,780$56,780
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $10,167 · Management $30,992 · Fundraising $14,924$56,083
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $26,202 · Management $66,285 · Fundraising $33,773$126,260
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $29,736 · Management $75,235 · Fundraising $38,334$143,305
IX-17 TravelPrograms $4,988 · Management $3,781 · Fundraising $2,553$11,322
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $27,321 · Management $41,469 · Fundraising $63,940$132,730
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $8,890 · Management $22,493 · Fundraising $11,461$42,844
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $9,695$9,695
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $16,491 · Management $87,743 · Fundraising $29,299$133,533
IX-24e All other expensesFundraising $4,655$4,655
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $16,136,146 · Management $1,843,289 · Fundraising $1,042,846$19,022,281
Part X · Balance sheet $347,573,285 assets, 18 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $500,750$906,424
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $23,409,472$30,067,775
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $2,489,114$4,478,891
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $665,013$764,457
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $26,859$23,427
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $146,010$114,566
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $26,022,119$44,685,660
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $240,345,093$264,958,354
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $505,307$1,573,731
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $294,109,737$347,573,285
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $203,364$409,675
X-18 Grants payableStart of year $1,066,650$630,000
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $36,666,345$41,330,136
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $37,936,359$42,369,811
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $255,764,448$302,380,861
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $408,930$2,822,613
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $256,173,378$305,203,474
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $294,109,737$347,573,285
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $305,203,474 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$55,328,598
XI-2 Total expenses$19,022,281
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$36,306,317
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$256,173,378
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$16,395,910
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$3,672,131
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$305,203,474

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

Your org? Add context

Made it to the end? Claim this org

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.