Schaefer Family Charitable Trust
The Schaefer Family Charitable Trust is a private foundation based in Madison, Wisconsin. Its 2025 filing reports $58,000 in grants to 10 organizations, primarily in Wisconsin.
Schaefer Family Charitable Trust at a glance
In short: Schaefer Family Charitable Trust gave $58K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), mostly in Wisconsin. 0% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $58,000
- +9.4% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $5,800
- +9.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $1,453,929
- +46.3% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 0% first-time grantees (0 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Wisconsin (88% 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 Schaefer Family Charitable Trust
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: C/O First Business 401 Charmany Dr, Madison, WI 53719
Phone: (608) 516-6633
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Schaefer Family Charitable Trust funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Ronald McDonald House of Charities ($12K). Together the top 10 received $58K.
Grant Size Distribution
52 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 52 grants of 52 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 88% of grant dollars went to Wisconsin recipients, 9% to Tennessee recipients, and 3% to Oklahoma recipients.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Schaefer Family Charitable Trust open to new grantees?
0%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 0 of 10 grantees (0%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. How we count
- 100% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−1%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 69% 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 $15K (2020) to $59K (2022). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $58K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Ronald McDonald House of Charities Madison, WI | Program Support | $12,000 |
| American Red Cross SW WI Madison, WI | Support Badger CHPT and | $12,000 |
| Our Saviors Lutheran Church Sun Prairie, WI | Program Support | $10,000 |
| Sun Prairie Food Pantry Sun Prairie, WI | Program Support | $6,000 |
| Shelter from the Storm Ministries Sun Prairie, WI | Program Support | $5,000 |
| Tunnels 2 Towers Fdn Cookeville, TN | Program Support | $5,000 |
| Agrace Foundation Madison, WI | Program Support | $3,000 |
| Fisher House of Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI | Program Support | $2,000 |
| Folds of Honor Foundation Owasso, OK | Program Support | $2,000 |
| Hope to Others Sun Prairie, WI | Program Support | $1,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Schaefer Family Charitable Trust?
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 | $1,453,929 | $538,294 | $77,475 | $58,000 | 10 | $58,500 | $29,247 | $85,057 |
| 2024 | $993,506 | $100,667 | $66,490 | $53,000 | 10 | $53,375 | $37,821 | $58,635 |
| 2023 | $959,331 | $-7,987 | $67,665 | $56,363 | 11 | $56,738 | $17,581 | $52,969 |
| 2022 | $1,035,131 | $54,027 | $71,574 | $58,530 | 10 | $59,162 | $42,515 | $56,995 |
| 2021 | $1,052,676 | $170,450 | $70,938 | $56,500 | 11 | — | $43,100 | $59,540 |
| 2020 | $953,167 | $3,365 | $25,044 | $15,000 | 6 | — | $12,475 | $48,561 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Schaefer Family Charitable Trust reported a distributable amount of $85K 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 support for organizations addressing homelessness, education, food assistance, emergency services, and other community needs. For example, Shelter from the Storm Ministries describes its mission as helping homeless children by empowering their mothers toward self-sufficiency through a safe, Christ-centered transitional home and an accountability-driven program. Folds of Honor Foundation describes its mission as providing educational scholarships to qualifying spouses or dependent children of military service members and first responders killed or disabled while serving.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the trust gave $58,000 through 10 grants. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $12,000, with a median grant of $5,000.
The largest reported grants were $12,000 each to Ronald McDonald House of Charities in Madison for program support and American Red Cross SW WI in Madison to support Badger Chapter; $10,000 to Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Sun Prairie for program support; $6,000 to Sun Prairie Food Pantry for program support; and $5,000 each to Shelter from the Storm Ministries in Sun Prairie and Tunnels 2 Towers Foundation in Cookeville, Tennessee, for program support.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
John Schaefer is listed as a trustee on the 2025 filing.
Schaefer Family Charitable Trust is led by John Schaefer, Trustee on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
John Schaefer
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
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.
Frequently asked questions about Schaefer Family Charitable Trust
How much does Schaefer Family Charitable Trust give each year?
Schaefer Family Charitable Trust gave $58K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $53K across 10 grants.
What is Schaefer Family Charitable Trust's typical grant size?
Schaefer Family Charitable Trust's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $5,800, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Schaefer Family Charitable Trust give grants?
Schaefer Family Charitable Trust gives mostly in Wisconsin: 88% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Tennessee (9%). The most frequent recipient cities were Sun Prairie, WI (4 grants) and Madison, WI (3 grants).
Does Schaefer Family Charitable Trust give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 10 grants with a stated purpose on Schaefer Family Charitable Trust's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Program Support" (9 grants).
Who are Schaefer Family Charitable Trust's largest grantees?
Schaefer Family Charitable Trust's largest 2025 grantees include Ronald McDonald House of Charities ($12,000), American Red Cross SW WI ($12,000) and Our Saviors Lutheran Church ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 59% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Schaefer Family Charitable Trust?
Schaefer Family Charitable Trust reported $1.5M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $59K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $85K (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 Schaefer Family Charitable Trust fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations addressing homelessness, education, food assistance, emergency services, and other community needs. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Schaefer Family Charitable Trust?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Schaefer Family Charitable Trust's EIN?
Schaefer Family Charitable Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 82-4339510. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Schaefer Family Charitable Trust accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
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 March 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 11, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS January 23, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS January 3, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 13, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 5, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Live grants for the work Schaefer Family Charitable Trust funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
- Nixa Affiliate Grantmaking Program Up to US $10,000 · Due October 19, 2026
- Community and School Grants $28,000 total pool; 10-15 grants expected · Due October 19, 2026
- Mary Pinola/Crescenta Valley Chamber Education Fund $500 - $5,000 for ongoing programs; up to $15,000 for Strategic Initiative Grants · Due October 19, 2026
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Schaefer Family Charitable Trust's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Schaefer Family Charitable Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/schaefer-family-charitable-trust-morg_c95c8759708f418ea00f46f5a2a0d76f
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_824339510_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Schaefer Family Charitable Trust funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/schaefer-family-charitable-trust-morg_c95c8759708f418ea00f46f5a2a0d76f},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-18. 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 Schaefer Family Charitable Trust'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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