Herzfeld Foundation: Arts Awareness Grant

Herzfeld Foundation: Arts Awareness Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Richard & Ethel Herzfeld Foundation Inc.
Amount: Up to US $100,000
Last Updated: January 28, 2026

Summary

The Herzfeld Foundation's Arts Awareness Grant aims to enhance awareness of visual and performing arts in metro Milwaukee. Grants, up to $100,000, support strategies that expand or innovate coverage of the arts through various media. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) organizations focused on sustaining journalistic endeavors that address challenges faced by artists. The foundation prioritizes collaborative efforts and innovative reporting, continuing Richard and Ethel Herzfeld's legacy of enriching the cultural landscape of the greater Milwaukee area.

Overview

History It was the wish of Richard and Ethel Herzfeld that, upon their deaths, their assets would be added to their Foundation dedicated to Wisconsin but with emphasis on the greater Milwaukee area. Since Ethel's death in 1997, the Foundation translated that wish into an investment of many millions of dollars in the community with more to come in the future. Richard and Ethel lived in Milwaukee and on Pine Lake for most of their lives. Richard’s father was the founder of a company that bought and managed the Boston Store from 1906 to 1948. There, after serving in World War I and graduating from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Richard worked his way up from stock boy in 1920 to president in 1940. Boston Store was sold to Federated Department Stores, Inc. in 1948. Ethel Ann Davis Herzfeld was born in Chicago and attended Milwaukee-Downer College. She received her B.A. degree from Wellesley College in 1920. Her mother, Emma J. Davis, resided on Marietta Avenue in Milwaukee. Richard and Ethel were active in the Milwaukee community and contributed significant time and resources to enriching cultural life in the city. Sparked by a spirit of innovation and recognizing the need to adapt to an ever-changing world, both took a lively interest in all aspects of the greater Milwaukee area and ways to enhance the quality of life of its institutions and citizens. What We Support Arts & CultureEducationCivic Improvement (On a limited basis and by invitation only) Arts Awareness Grant Grants are intended to promote awareness of the visual and performing arts in metro Milwaukee – including the value of such arts, the challenges facing artists and arts organizations, and potential solutions to those challenges – through newspaper, news website, radio, or television reporting. They will be awarded to organizations that propose strategies to expand their existing coverage of the arts or initiate new or different forms of coverage. Such coverage can be achieved through reviews or previews of performing or visual arts offerings; journalistic reporting on issues facing artists and the arts communities in metro Milwaukee; or ideally both. Funding Maximum grant is $100,000. One- and two-year grant proposals will be considered.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The Herzfeld Foundation awards grants to non-profit organizations that are tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.Grant recipients must have 501c(3) nonprofit status or must have a fiscal agent that has such status. Media organizations that gather and disseminate news to the general population are eligible for grants to enhance journalistic coverage of the arts in metro Milwaukee.Funding is restricted to Wisconsin-based organizations with an emphasis on those that benefit the people of the Greater Milwaukee area.

Ineligibility

This program does not fund capital campaigns, general operations, fundraising/gala events, or scholarship programs.