Oscar Rennebohm Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- If your work falls within education, health care, research or human services and serves Madison or Dane County, the foundation's stated focus fits, but you must be a 501(c)(3) public charity under section 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2).
- Most of its grants are modest: about 8 in 10 of its 100 grants to organisations fall between $10,000 and $195,000, the median is $75,000, and half are $75,000 or less, though its largest grant was $300,000, so a request in the typical range is realistic.
- Before submitting a brief Letter of Inquiry through the online GOapply portal, email or phone its president, as the foundation strongly recommends, to check your request meets its requirements; applications are accepted on a rolling basis, so there is no deadline to wait for.
- Do not apply for operating expenses, endowments, event sponsorships or ticket purchases, sports or extracurricular programmes, grants to individuals, lobbying or political action committees, or recurring community drives.
- Repeat grantees received 40% of the grant dollars it gave to organisations in its latest filing, so an existing relationship carries weight, though that figure is a share of dollars, not of grants.
Overview
Oscar Rennebohm Foundation is a US private foundation based in Madison, WI.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2025, TY2024, TY2023) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The foundation provides grants for education, health care, research and human services, improving quality of life in the Madison area. It welcomes applications from nonprofit organisations in Madison or Dane County whose projects address those areas; eligible applicants are public charitable organisations recognised under section 501(c)(3) and sections 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2). It seeks projects with an immediate positive impact on local residents’ quality of life, as well as those that enrich and improve lives into the future. Its grantmaking is responsive to the Madison community’s emerging needs.
Themes
- Education
- Health care
- Research
- Human services
Geographic Focus
Madison, Wisconsin; Dane County.
What They Don't Fund
- Organizations not granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
- Grants to individuals
- Event sponsorships or ticket purchases
- Youth/adult sports programs, school teams and extracurricular activities
- Endowments
- Political action committees or lobbying efforts
- Recurring community drives such as The Salvation Army
- Operating expenses for nonprofit organizations
How to apply
Submit a brief Letter of Inquiry through the online GOapply portal.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2025 filing, 40% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2023 or TY2024 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2023, TY2024 and TY2025 filings, half of its 100 grants to organisations were $75,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- The foundation strongly recommends contacting President Jenni Jeffress by email or phone before submitting a Letter of Inquiry, to verify that the request meets its requirements.
- The foundation seeks projects with an immediate positive impact on local residents’ quality of life and that enrich and improve lives into the future.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2023–2025.
Grant dollars by state
- The largest single recipient received 8% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2025, 40% of grant dollars went to organisations Oscar Rennebohm Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 37 grants in tax year 2025 by size
Median $75,000 (tax year 2025)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Center for Black Excellence and Culture · Community$300,0002025 tax year
- Madison Public Library · Education$300,0002025 tax year
- University of Wisconsin WREN SOMPH · Education$200,0002025 tax year
- Uw Madison School Of Education · Health$191,7902025 tax year
- Combat Blindness · Health$150,0002025 tax year
- Centro Hispano of Dane County · Community$135,0002025 tax year
- MTZ Charitable Organization · Community$125,1002025 tax year
- University of Wisconsin School of Nursing · Education$125,0002025 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Jennifer L Jeffress — President
- Noble L Wray — Chair
- Margaret Prestigiacomo — Director
- Mary W Gulbrandsen — Director
- Gary J Wolter — Treasurer
- Curtis F Hastings — Secretary
- Gary L Schaefer — Director
- Steven F Skolaski — Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 tax year | $3,201,128 | $2,536,443 | $65,799,242 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $3,826,699 | $3,151,426 | $71,183,069 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
| 2025 tax year | $3,911,120 | $3,153,223 | $77,410,820 | Filing for 2025 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to Oscar Rennebohm Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (608) 492-4282
- jenni.jeffress@rennebohm.org
- Madison, WI
- rennebohmfoundation.org
Applying to Oscar Rennebohm Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (608) 492-4282
- jenni.jeffress@rennebohm.org
- Madison, WI
- rennebohmfoundation.org