Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation
The Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation is a private foundation based in Elm Grove, Wisconsin. Its 2025 filing reports grants to organizations in Wisconsin, including educational institutions, a hospital foundation, a museum, a nature center, and human-service organizations.
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation at a glance
In short: Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation gave $1.0M across 94 grants in 2025 (avg $11K), mostly in Wisconsin. 20% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,019,050
- -40.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 94
- -9.6% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $10,841
- -34.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,500
- Total assets
- $16,253,799
- +9.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 20% first-time grantees (19 of 94, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Wisconsin (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Its filing lists a written form, Stephanie Lockwood as the contact, and awards restricted to organizations within Wisconsin. The filing lists no deadlines.
- Contact
Application contact: Stephanie Lockwood
Mailing address: PO Box 147, Elm Grove, WI 53122
Phone: (262) 784-9778
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Marquette University ($400K). Together the top 10 received $886K.
Grant Size Distribution
574 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 561 grants of 574 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s filing states that awards are restricted to Wisconsin. All grant dollars reported for 2025 went to recipients in Wisconsin.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 94 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation open to new grantees?
20%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 19 of 94 grantees (20%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $46K; repeat grants $2K. How we count
Medians: $3K first-time, $2K repeat.
- 54% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−18%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 103% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $895K (2023) to $1.7M (2024). In 2025 it made 94 grants totaling $1.0M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Marquette University Milwaukee, WI | Program Support | $400,000 |
| Froedtert Hospital Foundation Milwaukee, WI | Program Support | $240,000 |
| Medical College of Wisconsin Kern Learning Program Milwaukee, WI | Program Support | $200,000 |
| Milwaukee Public Museum Milwaukee, WI | Program Support | $10,000 |
| United Performing Arts Foundation (Upaf) Milwaukee, WI | Program Support | $8,500 |
| Riveredge Nature Center Newburg, WI | Program Support | $7,000 |
| The Women's Center of Waukesha Waukesha, WI | Program Support | $5,000 |
| Hunger Task Force West Milwaukee, WI | Program Support | $5,000 |
| Milwaukee Rescue Mission Milwaukee, WI | Program Support | $5,000 |
| Hope House of Milwaukee Inc Milwaukee, WI | Program Support | $5,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $16,253,799 | $2,729,204 | $1,353,022 | $1,019,050 | 94 | $1,209,738 | $2,606,941 | $1,179,447 |
| 2024 | $14,879,708 | $2,072,936 | $2,131,232 | $1,723,000 | 104 | $1,934,525 | $1,915,812 | $1,138,889 |
| 2023 | $14,941,960 | $1,298,458 | $1,268,345 | $895,005 | 132 | $1,104,355 | $1,144,620 | $1,072,695 |
| 2022 | $14,923,116 | $1,007,226 | $1,677,124 | $1,249,905 | 111 | $1,491,446 | $832,660 | $1,246,895 |
| 2021 | $15,570,136 | $1,406,136 | $1,291,835 | $897,005 | 133 | — | $1,241,699 | $1,214,216 |
| 2020 | $15,453,742 | $1,053,876 | $1,283,341 | $897,455 | 141 | — | $890,540 | $1,102,414 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation reported a distributable amount of $1.2M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, Marquette University describes its mission as a Catholic, Jesuit university focused on truth, learning, faith, leadership, and service. Froedtert Hospital Foundation describes its mission as advancing community health through excellence and discovery. Other recipients describe work in areas including natural and cultural heritage, conservation education, homelessness, food access, and animal welfare.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation awarded 94 grants totaling $1,019,050. Grant amounts ranged from $350 to $400,000, with a median of $1,500. The largest grants were $400,000 to Marquette University, $240,000 to Froedtert Hospital Foundation, and $200,000 to Medical College of Wisconsin; each was designated for program support. Other listed grants included $10,000 to Milwaukee Public Museum, $7,000 to Riveredge Nature Center, and $5,000 each to The Women’s Center of Waukesha, Hunger Task Force, Milwaukee Rescue Mission, and Hope House of Milwaukee.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Stephanie Lockwood and Sharon Smallwood as trustees.
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; all 2 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Sharon Smallwood
Trustee
On filings since 2020
30 hrs/week
$12K (2020) → $12K (2025)
Stephanie Lockwood
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
$12K (2020) → $75K (2025)
Former officers (1)
- Former: Thomas Smallwood (2020–2023) — Trustee
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $75K, to Stephanie Lockwood (Trustee). 2 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation
How much does Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation give each year?
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation gave $1.0M across 94 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.7M across 104 grants.
What is Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation's typical grant size?
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,500, and its average grant was $10,841, across 94 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation that year got $46K on average.
Where does Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation give grants?
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation gives mostly in Wisconsin: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Milwaukee, WI (73 grants), Waukesha, WI (4 grants), West Allis, WI (4 grants) and Madison, WI (2 grants).
Does Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 94 grants with a stated purpose on Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Program Support" (94 grants).
Who are Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation's largest grantees?
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Marquette University ($400,000), Froedtert Hospital Foundation ($240,000) and Medical College of Wisconsin Kern Learning Program ($200,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 82% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation?
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation reported $16.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.2M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.2M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation fund?
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, Marquette University describes its mission as a Catholic, Jesuit university focused on truth, learning, faith, leadership, and service. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation?
The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation's EIN?
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 39-6238856. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS June 15, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS December 23, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS December 9, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS October 6, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS October 10, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS November 5, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/evan-and-marion-helfaer-foundation-morg_f08dccddb55f47f89457d5772db5a299
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_396238856_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Evan \& Marion Helfaer Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/evan-and-marion-helfaer-foundation-morg_f08dccddb55f47f89457d5772db5a299},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-21. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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