The Jensen Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Madison, WI EIN: 26-1629635

The Jensen Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Madison, Wisconsin. Its 2025 grants supported organizations and activities including a university, a zoo, a homeless shelter, cancer research, music and poetry, veterans, a church, lake conservation, public school programs, food and housing security, and other charitable efforts.

Key facts about The Jensen Family Foundation

In short: The Jensen Family Foundation gave $5K across 12 grants in 2025 (avg $393.083), mostly in Wisconsin. 33% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
26-1629635
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$4,717
Grants made (2025)
12
Average grant
$393
Median grant
$200
New grantees (estimate)
33% first-time grantees (4 of 12, 2025; small sample)
Total assets
$104,035
Primary geography
Wisconsin (53% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to apply
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$104K

+1.6% YoY

Annual Giving

$5K

-48.1% YoY

Grant Count

12

-62.5% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$393.083

+38.4% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Jensen Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $8K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Is The Jensen Family Foundation open to new grantees?

33%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 4 of 12 grantees (33%) were first-time recipients. With only 12 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $213; repeat grants $483. How we count

Medians: $250 first-time, $125 repeat.

  • 67% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving fell 60% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 60% 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.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

No foundation mission statement is provided. Among its 2025 grantees, WayForward Resources Inc. describes its mission as bringing the community together to create food and housing security through action and advocacy.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation made 12 grants totaling $4,717. Grants ranged from $15 to $2,202, with a median grant of $200. Notable grants included $2,202 to the University of Wisconsin in Madison for university funding; $750 to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden for city zoo funding; $500 to Loaves & Fishes for homeless shelter funding; and $250 each to the American Cancer Society for cancer research, the Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering to support music and poetry, and Wounded Warrior to support veterans returning from tours. WayForward Resources Inc. received $100 for food security, housing, and stability.

How to Apply

The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, the share of grant dollars by recipient state was Wisconsin 53%, Ohio 24%, California 11%, Arizona 5%, and Florida 5%.

Grant Distribution by State

18states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.

Cities

CincinnatiMadisonSacramentoSt. LouisBristolMiddletonSan FranciscoBaton RougeItascaNorwoodBooneCaryChicagoChino ValleyCovingtonFitchburgFranklinGlenviewJacksonvilleLemoyne

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$5K$10K$15K$20K18 grants2020 18 grants2021 16 grants2022 23 grants2023 32 grants2024 12 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $5K (2025) to $17K (2021). In 2025 it made 12 grants totaling $5K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

University of Wisconsin: $2KUniversity of Wisconsin$2KCincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden: $750Cincinnati Zoo and BotanicalGarden$750Loaves & Fishes: $500Loaves & Fishes$500American Cancer Society: $250American Cancer Society$250Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering: $250Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering$250Wounded Warrior: $250Wounded Warrior$250St Bernard: $150St Bernard$150Clean Lake Alliance: $100Clean Lake Alliance$100Mount Horeb Music Boosters: $100Mount Horeb Music Boosters$100Wayforward Resources: $100Wayforward Resources$100

The largest 2025 recipient was University of Wisconsin ($2K). Together the top 10 received $5K.

Grant Size Distribution

101 grants across all recorded years

101<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 101 grants of 101 (100%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
University of Wisconsin Madison, WIFunding for University$2,202
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Cincinnati, OHFunding for City Zoo$750
Loaves & Fishes Sacramento, CAFunding for Homeless Shelter$500
American Cancer Society Cincinnati, OHCancer Research$250
Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering Phoenix, AZSupport Music and Poetry$250
Wounded Warrior Jacksonville, FLSupport Veterans Returning from Tours$250
St Bernard Cincinnati, OHFunding for Catholic Church$150
Clean Lake Alliance Madison, WITo support the effort to maintain the lakes in the region$100
Mount Horeb Music Boosters Mt Horeb, WIPublic School$100
Wayforward Resources Middleton, WIFunding for Food Security, Housing and Stability$100

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grant sum Grant count
2025 $104,035 $7,542 $5,909 $4,717 12
2024 $102,397 $8,440 $12,680 $9,090 32
2023 $106,664 $5,079 $17,695 $13,525 23
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$10K$20K$30K2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$104,035$102,397$106,664
Revenue$7,542$8,440$5,079
Expenses$5,909$12,680$17,695
Qualifying Distributions$4,817$9,190$13,625
Net Investment Income$7,367$8,243$5,030
Distributable Amount$8,091$7,883$7,697

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 15, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 3, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS July 27, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 11, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 5, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 12, 2026)

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Mary R. Jensen as president/director; J. Michael Jensen as secretary/treasurer/director; and Kathryn K. Jensen, Cassandra L. Jensen, J. Patrick Jensen, and Susan M. Jensen as directors.

The Jensen Family Foundation is led by Mary R. Jensen, President & Director on every filing since 2020; none of the 5 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Mary R. Jensen

    President & Director

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Cassandra L. Jensen

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    0.1 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • J. Patrick Jensen

    Secretary, Treasurer, Director & Director

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Kathryn K. Jensen

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    0.1 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Susan M. Jensen

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    0.1 hrs/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.

Contact

Mailing address: 5706 Lake Mendota Drive, Madison, WI 53705-1060
Phone: (513) 821-1436

Frequently asked questions about The Jensen Family Foundation

How much does The Jensen Family Foundation give each year?

The Jensen Family Foundation gave $5K across 12 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $9K across 32 grants.

What is The Jensen Family Foundation's typical grant size?

The Jensen Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $200, and its average grant was $393, across 12 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Jensen Family Foundation that year got $213 on average.

Where does The Jensen Family Foundation give grants?

The Jensen Family Foundation gives mostly in Wisconsin: 53% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Ohio (24%) and California (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Cincinnati, OH (3 grants) and Madison, WI (2 grants).

Does The Jensen Family Foundation give general operating support?

Occasionally: 8% of The Jensen Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (1 of 12) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are The Jensen Family Foundation's largest grantees?

The Jensen Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include University of Wisconsin ($2,202), Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden ($750) and Loaves & Fishes ($500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 73% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is The Jensen Family Foundation?

The Jensen Family Foundation reported $104K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $5K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $8K (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 The Jensen Family Foundation fund?

No foundation mission statement is provided. Among its 2025 grantees, WayForward Resources Inc. describes its mission as bringing the community together to create food and housing security through action and advocacy. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The Jensen Family Foundation?

The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is The Jensen Family Foundation's EIN?

The Jensen Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-1629635. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does The Jensen Family Foundation 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.

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