Francie Luke Silverman Foundation
The Francie Luke Silverman Foundation is a private foundation based in Appleton, Wisconsin. It makes grants to charitable organizations to help cover operating and program expenses, with grant decisions made by an individual co-trustee based on submitted requests.
Francie Luke Silverman Foundation at a glance
In short: Francie Luke Silverman Foundation gave $545K across 73 grants in 2025 (avg $7K), mostly in Wisconsin. 18% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $545,000
- -2.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 73
- -1.4% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $7,466
- -1.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $12,758,128
- +0.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 18% first-time grantees (12 of 65, 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 September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Francie Luke Silverman Foundation
- How to Apply
-
Application forms are available upon request from Fiduciary Partners Trust Company Co. Applications may be submitted at any time during the calendar year. The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Preference is given to organizations providing services in the Great Lake region, focused primarily on Wisconsin.
- Review Cycle
- None; applications may be submitted at any time during the calendar year.
- Deadline
- None; applications may be submitted at any time during the calendar year.
- Contact
Application contact: Fiduciary Partners Trust Company Co
Mailing address: 3913 W Prospect Ave, Appleton, WI 54914
Phone: (920) 380-9960
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Francie Luke Silverman Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was American Red Cross of Wisconsin ($50K). Together the top 10 received $254K.
Organizations only. It also paid 2 grants to individuals ($25,000), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
315 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 312 grants of 315 (99%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s stated preference is for organizations providing services in the Great Lake region, focused primarily on Wisconsin. All of its 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in Wisconsin.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 73 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Francie Luke Silverman Foundation open to new grantees?
18%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 12 of 65 grantees (18%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $3K; repeat grants $9K. How we count
Medians: $3K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 78% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+14%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 93% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. 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 $479K (2022) to $558K (2024). In 2025 it made 73 grants totaling $545K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| American Red Cross of Wisconsin Milwaukee, WI | Disaster Cycle Services in Wisconsin | $50,000 |
| Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens Inc (FBBG) Hales Comers, WI | Children's Plant Science & Environmental Education | $47,000 |
| Girls Rock Camp Madison Madison, WI | Girls Rock Camp Madison Summer Camp | $21,500 |
| Audio & Braille Literacy Enhancement Inc (Able) Milwaukee, WI | General Operating Support | $21,000 |
| Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Inc Milwaukee, WI | Community Partnership Programs & Financial Aid | $19,000 |
| Friends of the Mitchell Gallery of Flight Milwaukee, WI | Wings to Grow Our Future | $18,000 |
| HHM - Historic Haymarket Milwaukee Co Milwaukee Public Museum Milwaukee, WI | Wisconsin Wonders | $17,000 |
| 2 grants to individuals Recipients not named | — | $25,000 |
| Hear Wisconsin Westallis, WI | Empowering Children and Their Families with Hearing Loss | $14,000 |
| Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Inc Milwaukee, WI | Violins of Hope Wisconsin | $13,000 |
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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 | $12,758,128 | $936,580 | $839,131 | $545,000 | 73 | $633,863 | $735,604 | $684,138 |
| 2024 | $12,656,819 | $814,409 | $842,914 | $558,000 | 74 | $643,511 | $619,006 | $664,827 |
| 2023 | $12,683,970 | $632,484 | $787,978 | $525,000 | 66 | $605,444 | $449,950 | $621,122 |
| 2022 | $12,994,042 | $822,987 | $813,487 | $478,750 | 50 | $623,159 | $632,659 | $624,152 |
| 2021 | $12,984,542 | $1,871,768 | $834,174 | $533,500 | 52 | $680,087 | $1,717,681 | $679,041 |
| 2020 | $11,946,948 | $549,625 | $827,179 | $550,000 | 41 | — | $411,035 | $637,359 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Francie Luke Silverman Foundation reported a distributable amount of $684K 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
The filing describes the foundation’s charitable activity as distributing funds for recipient organizations’ operating and/or program expenses. Its 2025 grants included support for disaster services, environmental education, youth arts and music, literacy, hearing-loss services, and cultural programming.
The grantees describe their own work in varied ways. Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra says it nurtures and inspires young people through music; HEAR Wisconsin says it works to reduce communication and language barriers through services, technology, and education; and Black Arts MKE says it seeks to increase the availability and quality of African American arts and culture. Other 2025 recipients included Meta House, which says it works to end the generational cycle of addiction by healing women and strengthening families, and DeKoven Center, which provides facilities and programming for charitable purposes.
Grantmaking
The foundation awarded 73 grants totaling $545,000 in 2025. Grants ranged from $2,000 to $50,000, with a median of $5,000. It awarded 74 grants totaling $558,000 in 2024 and 66 grants totaling $525,000 in 2023.
Among its largest 2025 grants were $50,000 to American Red Cross of Wisconsin for disaster cycle services in Wisconsin; $47,000 to Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens for children’s plant science and environmental education; $21,500 to Girls Rock Camp Madison for its summer camp; and $21,000 to Audio & Braille Literacy Enhancement for general operating support. Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra received two grants: $19,000 for community partnership programs and financial aid, and $13,000 for Violins of Hope Wisconsin. Other grants included $18,000 to Friends of the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, $17,000 to Historic Haymarket Milwaukee Co. Milwaukee Public Museum, and $14,000 to HEAR Wisconsin.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Fiduciary Partners Trust Company and Katherine Fischer as co-trustees.
Francie Luke Silverman Foundation's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; all 2 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Katherine Fischer
Co-Trustee
Co-Trustee → Co Trustee, 2022
Co Trustee → Co-Trustee, 2023
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
$134K (2020) → $138K (2025)
Fiduciary Partners Trust Company
Co-Trustee
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
$34K (2023) → $36K (2025)
Former officers (1)
- Former: Fiduciary Partners Trust (2020–2022) — Co 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 $138K, to Katherine Fischer (Co-Trustee). 2 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Francie Luke Silverman Foundation
How much does Francie Luke Silverman Foundation give each year?
Francie Luke Silverman Foundation gave $545K across 73 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $558K across 74 grants.
What is Francie Luke Silverman Foundation's typical grant size?
Francie Luke Silverman Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $7,466, across 73 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Francie Luke Silverman Foundation that year got $3K on average.
Where does Francie Luke Silverman Foundation give grants?
Francie Luke Silverman 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 (48 grants), West Allis, WI (5 grants), Wauwatosa, WI (3 grants) and Grafton, WI (2 grants).
Does Francie Luke Silverman Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 18% of Francie Luke Silverman Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (13 of 73) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Francie Luke Silverman Foundation's largest grantees?
Francie Luke Silverman Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include American Red Cross of Wisconsin ($50,000), Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens Inc (FBBG) ($47,000) and Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Inc ($32,000 across 2 grants), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 2 grants to individuals ($25,000), which are not listed by name. Together they received 24% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Francie Luke Silverman Foundation?
Francie Luke Silverman Foundation reported $12.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $634K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $684K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does Francie Luke Silverman Foundation fund?
The filing describes the foundation’s charitable activity as distributing funds for recipient organizations’ operating and/or program expenses. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Francie Luke Silverman Foundation?
Application forms are available upon request from Fiduciary Partners Trust Company Co. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Francie Luke Silverman Foundation's EIN?
Francie Luke Silverman Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 32-6303388. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS July 28, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 12, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 5, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS September 5, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS August 14, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 11, 2026)
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Francie Luke Silverman Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/francie-luke-silverman-foundation-morg_11c399c3da304de1a51a7345ca7f1fd8
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_326303388_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Francie Luke Silverman Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/francie-luke-silverman-foundation-morg_11c399c3da304de1a51a7345ca7f1fd8},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Francie Luke Silverman 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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