Joseph And Vera Zilber Family

The Joseph and Vera Zilber Family Foundation is one of Wisconsin's most significant private philanthropies, with $396 million in assets and annual giving exceeding $17 million across roughly 288 grants. But understanding its scale is less important than understanding its culture: this is a deeply relational, invitation-only funder built on trust-based philanthropy, with a narrow and unwavering geographic focus.

The foundation organizes its grantmaking into four pillars: Economic Stability (pathways to housing, cash, and capital), Basic Needs (addressing immediate community needs), Sector Supports (building a healthy nonprofit ecosystem), and Joseph & Vera Zilber Partners (founder legacy priorities including UWM's Zilber College of Public Health and Aurora Zilber Family Hospice). Of these, Economic Stability is the only program area where the foundation signals openness to organizations not already in its network.

For first-time applicants, the entry point is a one-page letter of inquiry sent to info@zilberfamilyfoundation.org. This LOI is not a formal application — it is an introduction. The foundation's staff will determine whether to invite further conversation. Given the invitation-only structure, the realistic pathway for most organizations is: (1) demonstrate local presence in a priority neighborhood, (2) build visibility through peer organizations already in the Zilber network such as Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Walnut Way, or ACTS Housing, and (3) request an introductory meeting before even sending an LOI.

The foundation's top grantees — Walnut Way Conservation ($1.14M across 8 grants), ACTS Housing ($1.1M across 6 grants), and Via CDC ($395K across 4 grants) — illustrate the expected relationship arc: organizations are funded repeatedly over many years, with grants growing in size and expanding in scope from program support to general operations to capital. First-time grant seekers should not expect transformational funding immediately; rather, they should position a first grant of $20,000–$50,000 as the beginning of a long-term partnership. The foundation's six stated values — relational, courageous, equitable, transformational, adaptive, and generous — are not marketing language. They are operational commitments that should be reflected in how you present your organization's own culture.

The Zilber Family Foundation's grantmaking data reveals a dual-track giving structure: a high volume of smaller community grants and a concentrated set of large, multi-year anchor investments.

Grant size profile (from 250+ grants on record): Median grant of $20,000, average of $45,375, with a range from $470 (small community project) to $525,000 (major capital or institutional grant). The foundation's own website cites a typical range of $5,000–$300,000. The gap between median and average signals that a small number of very large grants pull up the mean — most grants are modest.

Annual giving trajectory: Total giving grew from $7.8M (2020, COVID-impacted) to $14.1M (2021), $14.4M (2022), with the foundation now reporting $17M+ annually as of 2025. This represents a roughly 118% increase in five years, tracking with asset growth from $222M (2019) to $396M (2023). The foundation's net investment income consistently exceeds its giving — $26.5M earned in 2022 against $14.4M distributed — suggesting capacity for further expansion.

Geographic allocation: Wisconsin dominates with 291 recorded grants vs. 93 in Hawaii. Within Wisconsin, virtually all grants target the three priority Milwaukee neighborhoods. The 20 Florida grants and 7 California grants in the database likely reflect Joseph & Vera Zilber Partners-style personal or legacy giving rather than the core programmatic focus.

By program area (inferred from grantee purposes): Housing and community development accounts for the largest share — ACTS Housing, Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, Milwaukee Community Land Trust, and Revitalize Milwaukee collectively received over $2M. Economic opportunity (small business, financial literacy, workforce) is the second tier. Public health and basic needs (including Hawaii giving through Ho'Ola Na Pua, Make-A-Wish Hawaii, Project Vision Hawaii) constitute a meaningful secondary track. Sector supports (Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Data You Can Use, Catchafire portal) demonstrate the foundation's investment in nonprofit infrastructure.

Multi-grant relationships are the norm: The top 10 grantees averaged 5.5 grants each, indicating the foundation strongly favors deepening existing relationships over expanding its grantee roster.

The foundation's peer set, based on comparable asset size (~$395–400M), reveals important distinctions in access, focus, and geography:

Among peers of similar asset size, the Zilber Family Foundation is unusual in its geographic hyperlocality — while foundations like Howard Buffett operate globally and Casey serves a multi-state Mid-Atlantic region, Zilber maintains a three-neighborhood Milwaukee footprint plus one island in Hawaii. This makes it exceptionally accessible to qualifying Milwaukee nonprofits but effectively closed to most other applicants. Its trust-based, general-operating-support philosophy also distinguishes it from foundations like Craig H Neilsen, which fund specific research and service areas with more prescriptive requirements. The Zilber foundation's openness to capacity building, capital projects, and direct cash approaches reflects a more contemporary philanthropic model than most peers in its asset tier.

The most significant recent development is the January 2025 appointment of Lianna Bishop as Executive Director, succeeding Gina Stilp. Leadership transitions at foundation like Zilber often bring renewed relationship-building cycles — this is a strategic window for organizations to introduce themselves or re-establish contact.

Also in 2025, the foundation formally relaunched its Legacy Program as Joseph & Vera Zilber Partners, cementing it as one of four core grantmaking pillars. This program supports institutional partnerships tied to the founders' personal values, including the UWM Zilber College of Public Health (which received a $20 million endowment investment in 2023, building on a 2007 $10M gift), Aurora Zilber Family Hospice in Milwaukee, and the Vera Zilber Birth Center at Adventist Health Castle on Oahu.

The foundation's Bridge Project — a guaranteed income initiative providing monthly direct-cash payments to 122 Milwaukee mothers — represents an emerging programmatic approach that reflects national trust-based philanthropy trends. This initiative signals the foundation's willingness to fund unconventional, unrestricted economic mobility models.

Cumulatively, the foundation has paid over $55 million in grants since 2020, against a backdrop of growing assets — from $281M (2020) to $356M (2023) — enabling a sustained increase in annual grantmaking. The foundation's lifetime giving now exceeds $300 million to Wisconsin and Hawaii nonprofits and institutions.

1. Economic Stability is your entry point. Of the four program pillars, only Economic Stability is described as open to organizations not yet in the network. Frame your LOI around safe and stable housing, access to cash/capital, or pathways to economic mobility. Even if your work spans multiple areas, lead with Economic Stability language.

2. Send a one-page LOI to info@zilberfamilyfoundation.org before anything else. The foundation explicitly instructs this as the first step. Keep it under one page. Focus on: (a) your specific neighborhood(s) served within Lindsay Heights, Clarke Square, Layton Boulevard West, or Oahu; (b) your theory of change in 2-3 sentences; (c) the type and scale of funding you're seeking.

3. Align with the foundation's six values verbatim. Use language like 'trust-based relationship,' 'power-aware partnership,' 'mutual accountability,' 'racial and economic equity,' and 'long-term catalytic change.' These terms appear in the foundation's published materials and reflect staff expectations.

4. Request general operating support, not project-specific funding. The most common grant purpose in the database is 'General Operations.' The foundation's trust-based model explicitly funds organizations, not programs. Requesting unrestricted support signals maturity and alignment.

5. Time your LOI for the Economic Stability cycle. The 2026 application deadlines are February 13, June 19, and October 16. LOIs should precede these by 6–8 weeks to allow for staff review and potential invitation. The April and December board consideration cycles are where decisions are made.

6. Do not ask for: individual assistance, endowments, annual fund contributions, fundraising event support, conference/workshop funding, scholarships, or publications. These are explicitly excluded. Requesting any of these signals you have not done basic due diligence.

7. Demonstrate strong reporting infrastructure. Grant disbursements are contingent on staff approval of narrative and financial reports every six months. Highlight your organization's reporting capacity and existing funder relationships with transparent accountability practices.

8. Leverage the peer network. Organizations already in the Zilber portfolio — Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Walnut Way, ACTS Housing, Journey House — can provide warm introductions. Board members and staff attend Milwaukee community events regularly.