Loren & Helen Walker Foundation
The Loren & Helen Walker Foundation is a private foundation based in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. It makes grants to charitable organizations and other recipients; its 2025 filing lists grants to organizations in Wisconsin and Illinois, including schools, food and support organizations, and an animal shelter.
Loren & Helen Walker Foundation at a glance
In short: Loren & Helen Walker Foundation gave $94K across 14 grants in 2025 (avg $7K), mostly in Wisconsin. 36% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $94,143
- -5.4% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 14
- +180.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $6,725
- -66.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,212
- Total assets
- $1,073,993
- +2.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 36% first-time grantees (5 of 14, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Wisconsin (89% 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 Loren & Helen Walker Foundation
- How to Apply
-
The 2024 filing instructs applicants to submit a written request by mail to Helen Walker, Trustee. It lists no restrictions on awards.
- Review Cycle
- None listed.
- Deadline
- None listed.
- Contact
Application contact: Helen Walker Trustee
Mailing address: PO Box 155, New Lisbon, WI 53950
Phone: (608) 352-3224
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Loren & Helen Walker Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Hearts for Hope Foundation ($14K). Together the top 10 received $83K.
Grant Size Distribution
60 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 59 grants of 60 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 89% of grant dollars went to recipients in Wisconsin and 11% to recipients in Illinois.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 14 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Loren & Helen Walker Foundation open to new grantees?
36%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 14 grantees (36%) were first-time recipients. With only 14 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. First grants averaged $5K; repeat grants $7K. How we count
Medians: $3K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 21% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving fell 20% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 132% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF 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 $76K (2023) to $119K (2021). In 2025 it made 14 grants totaling $94K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Hearts for Hope Foundation Elroy, WI | Charitable Use | $14,000 |
| Mauston School District Mauston, WI | Scholarshipscharitable Use | $10,500 |
| Juneau County Nutrition Elroy, WI | Charitable Use | $10,000 |
| Hope House Baraboo, WI | Charitable Use | $10,000 |
| Ronald McDonald House Chicago, IL | Charitable Use | $10,000 |
| New Lisbon Food Pantry New Lisbon, WI | Charitable Use | $10,000 |
| New Lisbon Schools New Lisbon, WI | Scholarshipslunch Debtcharitable Use | $5,424 |
| WI Public Radio Madison, WI | Charitable Use | $5,000 |
| Make a Wish Wisconsin Middleton, WI | Charitable Use | $5,000 |
| Royall School District Elroy, WI | Charitable Use | $3,500 |
Ready to take the next step with Loren & Helen Walker 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 | $1,073,993 | $126,844 | $96,148 | $94,143 | 14 | $94,505 | $125,201 | $71,560 |
| 2024 | $1,043,297 | $89,966 | $101,043 | $99,564 | 5 | $99,909 | $88,832 | $67,157 |
| 2023 | $1,054,374 | $54,991 | $77,083 | $75,768 | 14 | $76,106 | $54,014 | $63,420 |
| 2022 | $1,076,466 | $6,876 | $120,530 | $118,000 | 13 | $118,325 | $44,094 | $70,002 |
| 2021 | $1,190,120 | $130,912 | $120,535 | $119,036 | 14 | $119,361 | $129,787 | $76,743 |
| 2020 | $1,179,743 | $57,701 | $99,695 | $98,000 | 17 | — | $56,549 | $73,879 |
| 2019 | $1,221,737 | $83,273 | $96,073 | $94,000 | 17 | — | $81,500 | $70,008 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Loren & Helen Walker Foundation reported a distributable amount of $72K 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 mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included charitable-use grants and awards identified for scholarships, as well as support for schools, food pantries, and other organizations. The Carl Nelson Animal Shelter describes its own mission as “preventing of cruelty & the adoption of animals”; it received $3,000 from the foundation in 2025.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 14 grants totaling $94,143. Grant amounts ranged from $2,000 to $14,000, with a median of $5,212. Notable recipients included Hearts for Hope Foundation ($14,000), Mauston School District ($10,500), Juneau County Nutrition ($10,000), Hope House ($10,000), Ronald McDonald House ($10,000), and New Lisbon Food Pantry ($10,000).
The foundation’s 2024 filing states that it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It calls for a written request by mail, lists no restrictions on awards, and gives no deadline.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Helen Walker, Dann Walker, Dawn Nicksic, and Lori Walker as trustees.
Loren & Helen Walker Foundation's 2025 filing lists 4 officers; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Dann Walker
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dawn Nicksic
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Helen Walker
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lori Walker
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
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.
Frequently asked questions about Loren & Helen Walker Foundation
How much does Loren & Helen Walker Foundation give each year?
Loren & Helen Walker Foundation gave $94K across 14 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $100K across 5 grants.
What is Loren & Helen Walker Foundation's typical grant size?
Loren & Helen Walker Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,212, and its average grant was $6,725, across 14 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Loren & Helen Walker Foundation that year got $5K on average.
Where does Loren & Helen Walker Foundation give grants?
Loren & Helen Walker Foundation gives mostly in Wisconsin: 89% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Illinois (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Elroy, WI (3 grants), New Lisbon, WI (3 grants) and Mauston, WI (3 grants).
Does Loren & Helen Walker Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 14 grants with a stated purpose on Loren & Helen Walker Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable Use" (12 grants).
Who are Loren & Helen Walker Foundation's largest grantees?
Loren & Helen Walker Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Hearts for Hope Foundation ($14,000), Mauston School District ($10,500) and Juneau County Nutrition ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 37% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Loren & Helen Walker Foundation?
Loren & Helen Walker Foundation reported $1.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $95K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $72K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Loren & Helen Walker Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included charitable-use grants and awards identified for scholarships, as well as support for schools, food pantries, and other organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Loren & Helen Walker Foundation?
The 2024 filing instructs applicants to submit a written request by mail to Helen Walker, Trustee. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Loren & Helen Walker Foundation's EIN?
Loren & Helen Walker Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 47-0870989. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS March 30, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS April 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS April 8, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS March 31, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 1, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 4, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 19, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Live grants for the work Loren & Helen Walker Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Browse active grant opportunities in Loren & Helen Walker Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Loren & Helen Walker Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/loren-and-helen-walker-foundation-morg_211a582240a4453596505bb647dc4fb8
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_470870989_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Loren \& Helen Walker Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/loren-and-helen-walker-foundation-morg_211a582240a4453596505bb647dc4fb8},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17. 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 Loren & Helen Walker 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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