Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc is a public charity based in Watertown, Wisconsin. It serves Dodge and Jefferson Counties, supporting community health through foundation-directed programming and responsive grant cycles. The foundation also reports a 20% interest in Watertown Holding Company, LLC, majority ownership in two senior apartment complexes, and full ownership of GWCHF Holdings LLC, which operates a nonprofit center and holds land for housing redevelopment.
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc at a glance
In short: Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc gave $1.2M across 25 grants in 2025 (avg $48K), mostly in Wisconsin. 21% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,191,708
- -76.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 25
- -19.4% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $47,668
- -70.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $23,400
- Total assets
- $134,324,904
- +2.4% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 21% first-time grantees (5 of 24, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Wisconsin (92% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc
- Contact
Mailing address: 672 Johnson St 300, Watertown, WI 53094-3827
Phone: (920) 390-4000
Website: https://watertownhealthfoundation.com
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Rock River Community Clinic ($326K). Together the top 10 received $950K.
Organizations only. It also paid 2 grants to individuals ($24,000), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
153 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 108 grants of 153 (71%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation serves residents of Dodge and Jefferson Counties in Wisconsin, with priority given to projects affecting communities served by the Dodgeland, Hustisford, Ixonia, Jefferson, an individual recipient, Lake Mills, Waterloo, and Watertown school districts. In 2025, 92% of grant dollars went to recipients in Wisconsin; the filing also reports shares for Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 25 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc open to new grantees?
21%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 24 grantees (21%) were first-time recipients. With only 24 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 4 points. First grants averaged $23K; repeat grants $57K. How we count
Medians: $23K first-time, $31K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.2M (2025) to $5.0M (2024). In 2025 it made 25 grants totaling $1.2M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Rock River Community Clinic Whitewater, WI | Management transition, foundation for growth, grant writing services, board gift 2024 rrcc | $326,321 |
| Glacial Community YMCA Oconomowoc, WI | Collective transition, ymca building community, employer sponsored care, ymca dhs social isolation & loneliness (PG), board gift 2024 wttn ymca | $206,593 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County Waukesha, WI | Compeer financial rural collaboration grant, habitat for humanity; building a better Jefferson county | $125,200 |
| Reading & Math Inc (Wisconsin Reading Corps) Minneapolis, MN | WI Reading Corp (SY21-Ongoing) | $60,000 |
| School District of Jefferson Jefferson, WI | Playworks jefferson ms, asq hub grant, playworks active recess | $51,825 |
| Maranatha Baptist University Inc Watertown, WI | Watertown Employer Sponsored Care | $41,670 |
| Waterloo School District Waterloo, WI | Playworks active recess - middle & elem, youth wellbeing summit 2025 | $38,600 |
| Dodgeland School District Juneau, WI | Asq hub grant, board gift 2024 ed fnd wttn | $35,530 |
| Rainbow Hospice Jefferson, WI | All the lonely people screening, rainbow dhs social isolation and loneliness (PG) | $33,695 |
| Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (Weca) Fitchburg, WI | Raising Wisconsin Policy Agenda, Weca Childcare Consulting | $30,648 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $134,324,904 | $37,133,573 | $31,955,537 | $1,191,708 | 25 | $7,534,343 |
| 2024 | $131,180,063 | $31,092,438 | $30,731,222 | $4,995,109 | 31 | $6,436,099 |
| 2023 | $115,519,180 | $26,319,032 | $26,379,805 | $1,720,055 | 34 | $3,389,729 |
| 2022 | $104,353,166 | $43,510,687 | $26,345,206 | $2,100,558 | 32 | $9,211,140 |
| 2021 | $105,090,216 | $29,282,807 | $23,190,289 | $1,539,939 | 31 | $6,425,943 |
| 2020 | $93,509,651 | $23,880,772 | $20,049,104 | $1,640,811 | 28 | $3,478,818 |
| 2019 | $88,719,395 | $24,145,862 | $24,503,092 | $3,407,845 | 13 | $2,152,386 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation’s mission is to inspire collaboration, mobilize resources, and encourage innovation that measurably contributes to community wellbeing. Its website describes an upstream approach focused on root causes of health challenges, early intervention, prevention, and health promotion.
Its stated priorities include strong families, kindergarten readiness, school success, social-emotional wellbeing, and healthy eating and active living. Its grant guidelines support capacity building, leadership development and technical assistance; programs and services addressing health and social determinants of health; healthy policies and settings; planning and feasibility studies related to strategic priorities; and durable equipment and supplies for targeted results.
Examples of supported organizations illustrate the range of grantees. Rock River Community Clinic describes its mission as improving healthcare coordination, access, and outcomes for low-income residents. Rainbow Hospice Care says it provides comfort, care, and meaning for people who are terminally ill and support for their families and friends. Wisconsin Early Childhood Association describes its mission as advancing support for the early childhood workforce.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 25 grants totaling $1,191,708. Grant amounts ranged from $7,150 to $326,321, with a median of $23,400. The largest awards included $326,321 to Rock River Community Clinic for purposes including management transition, organizational growth, grant-writing services, and a board gift; $206,593 to Glacial Community YMCA for purposes including collective transition, building community, employer-sponsored care, and social-isolation work; and $125,200 to Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County for purposes including a rural collaboration grant and work in Jefferson County.
Other 2025 grants included $60,000 to Reading & Math Inc. for Wisconsin Reading Corps; $51,825 to the School District of Jefferson for purposes including Playworks and an ASQ Hub grant; and $41,670 to Maranatha Baptist University for employer-sponsored care in Watertown. The grant list also includes support for school-district programs, hospice, early childhood work, and youth mental health.
The foundation’s guidelines exclude, among other things, general overhead and indirect expenses, fundraising events, scholarships and direct financial assistance to individuals, religious activities, political lobbying, research, endowments, previously incurred debt, and capital “bricks and mortar” fundraising campaigns. The guidelines note that foundation-directed initiatives may include capital investments when they meet stated strategic-priority and health-enhancement criteria. A grants page describes online proposal submission for a 2018 grant cycle; that cycle is past.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Benjamin Whem(e)ier as President & CEO, Deb Portman as Secretary, Margaret Hanrahan as Chair, and Steven Battenberg as Vice Chair. Directors listed are Elliot Clark, Orlando Dominguez, Michael Grajewski MD, Barb Gudgeon, Karla Mullen, and Randy Phelps.
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc is led by Benjamin Whemeier, President & CEO on the 2025 filing; 5 of 18 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Benjamin Whemeier
President & CEO
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$11K (2025)
Margaret Hanrahan
Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2024
Vice Chair → Chair, 2025
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Carol Quest
Director
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Karla Mullen
Director
Chair → Director, 2022
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Marcy Tessmann
Director
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mike Sullivan MD
Director
Director → Chair, 2022
Chair → Director, 2025
On filings since 2019
4 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Randy Phelps
Director
Treasurer → Director, 2025
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tim Schuler
Director
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Elliot Clark
Director
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mick Selck
Director
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Orlando Dominguez
Director
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Barb Gudgeon
Director
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Michael Grajewski MD
Director
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tina Crave
Chief Transformation Officer
President → Chief Transformation Officer, 2025
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$152K (2019) → $200K (2025)
Nathan Peters
CFO & Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer → CFO & Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$122K (2023) → $142K (2025)
Deb Portman
Secretary
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$51K (2024) → $49K (2025)
Kimberly Melcher
Chief Impact Officer
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$126K (2024) → $121K (2025)
Steven Battenberg
Vice Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2025
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (13)
- Former: Nate Salas (2019–2024) — Director
- Former: William Oswald (2019–2024) — Director
- Former: Charles Eggert (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Megan Hartwick (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Andrea Merfeld (2022–2024) — Secretary
- Former: David Schroeder (2019–2023) — Vice Chair
- Former: Juan Muniz Jr. (2022–2023) — Director
- Former: Kelly Cieslak (2022) — Vice President Strategy & Org Development
- Former: Fred Gremmels DO (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Dale Schmidt - Termed (2020) — Director
- Former: Charles Eggert - Termed (2019) — Director
- Former: Dale Schmidt (2019) — Director
- Former: John David - Termed (2019) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "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 $200K, to Tina Crave (Chief Transformation Officer). 5 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc
How much does Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc give each year?
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc gave $1.2M across 25 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $5.0M across 31 grants.
What is Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc's typical grant size?
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc's median grant in 2025 was $23,400, and its average grant was $47,668, across 25 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc that year got $23K on average.
Where does Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc give grants?
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc gives mostly in Wisconsin: 92% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The next largest state was Minnesota (5%). The most frequent recipient cities were Watertown, WI (5 grants), Jefferson, WI (4 grants), Waukesha, WI (2 grants) and Madison, WI (2 grants).
Does Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 25 grants with a stated purpose on Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support.
Who are Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc's largest 2025 grantees include Rock River Community Clinic ($326,321), Glacial Community YMCA ($206,593) and Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County ($125,200), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. It also paid 2 grants to individuals ($24,000), which are not listed by name. Together they received 55% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc?
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc reported $134.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $37.1M.
What does Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc fund?
The foundation’s mission is to inspire collaboration, mobilize resources, and encourage innovation that measurably contributes to community wellbeing. Its website describes an upstream approach focused on root causes of health challenges, early intervention, prevention, and health promotion. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc?
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check watertownhealthfoundation.com for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc's EIN?
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 39-1030310. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS July 28, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS August 10, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS August 7, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS October 16, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS August 12, 2020)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 13, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
Live grants for the work Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc funds
Health Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/greater-watertown-community-health-foundation-inc-morg_5dbfee7b8d9b4359adf8c908ea562bef
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_391030310_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/greater-watertown-community-health-foundation-inc-morg_5dbfee7b8d9b4359adf8c908ea562bef},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. 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 Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Inc'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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