Maihaugen Foundation Inc.

Maihaugen Foundation is a small, family-run private foundation (the legacy of Merrydelle and Howard May, incorporated in 1996) that favors established, locally rooted 501(c)(3) organizations over new or unproven groups. The internal grantee data shows a strong pattern of repeat funding: of its top 50 recipients, the large majority received grants in 3 of the last several cycles (e.g., First Stage, Milwaukee Public Library Foundation, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Urban Ecology Center, Door County Land Trust each show 3 grant instances), signaling that Maihaugen builds multi-year relationships with a stable core of grantees rather than funding one-off projects. First-time applicants should treat a first grant as the opening of a relationship, not a single transaction — the foundation's own instructions ask for a proposal letter under two pages, an organizational budget/financials, and an IRS determination letter, with no complex portal or multi-stage LOI-to-full-proposal process. There is a single annual review: proposals are due November 15–17, the board meets in late November, and decisions plus distributions land by December 1–15. This means there is effectively one shot per calendar year — missing the window means waiting twelve months. The foundation is explicit that it does not fund schools, and web research confirms it avoids political, religious, and social-justice-oriented organizations despite the broad IRS 501(c)(3) eligibility language — align your framing toward cultural preservation, arts, humane/animal welfare, environmental stewardship, or human-service delivery rather than advocacy. Geographically, it is tightly concentrated: Door County and Southeastern Wisconsin (particularly Milwaukee) account for the bulk of dollars, with a secondary, smaller Colorado (Boulder) cluster reflecting a family connection. Organizations outside these two regions (a Florida grantee shows up as an outlier in the state breakdown) are funded only occasionally. With no program staff and an investment manager (Trust Point Inc.) handling assets, all correspondence should go directly to President Michael R. Burton and Vice President Frances M. Burton via the foundation's La Crosse address or info@maihaugenfoundation.org.

The DB's grantee sample (117 tracked grants totaling $666,310, average $5,695) and web research on the full grant book agree closely: typical awards fall in the $1,000–$10,000 band, with the internal `typical_grant_size` field confirming a $1,000–$10,000 range and outside trackers citing a wider historical span of $450–$45,000 (median around $5,000). The largest tracked grantee relationship in the sample is Ding Darling Wildlife Society ($40,000 across 2 grants), followed by Tricklebee Cafe ($38,000/3 grants) and International Hearing Dog ($30,000/3 grants) — all multi-grant relationships, reinforcing the repeat-funder pattern. By state, the DB sample shows Wisconsin dominant (91 of 117 grants), Colorado significant (24 grants), and Florida marginal (2 grants); external research puts Wisconsin at roughly 81% of dollars, split between Milwaukee (~64%) and Sturgeon Bay/Door County (~12%). Total annual giving has grown steadily from $110,000 in 2011 to $154,362 (2012), $201,173 (2015), $210,341 (2020), $222,321 (2021), $291,889 (2022), $249,908 (2023 — the most recent year in the financial history), and $240,333 in the 2025 cycle per outside reporting — a roughly 2.2x increase over 14 years that tracks asset growth (total assets rose from $2.8M in 2011 to $4.6M currently) rather than any deliberate strategic expansion. Program mix by purpose in the top-50 sample skews toward animal welfare/protection, arts and culture (theater, music, dance — Milwaukee Ballet, Danceworks, First Stage, Milwaukee Youth Symphony), environmental/nature education (Wild Bear Nature Center, Wild Animal Sanctuary, Urban Ecology Center), historic preservation (Old World Wisconsin, Historic Milwaukee), and human services/health (Kathy's House, Door County Memorial Hospital Foundation). Officer compensation is modest and stable (roughly $20,000–$28,600/year across 2011–2023), and net investment income is volatile year to year (from $27,426 in 2011 to $616,695 in 2021), meaning the size of a given year's giving budget can swing based on market performance more than programmatic decisions.

Maihaugen sits among a cluster of small, single-state or regional family/faith-adjacent foundations in the $4.4M–$4.7M asset range that the platform's peer data groups by NTEE 'Religion' code (a filing artifact — Maihaugen itself is a secular cultural/environmental funder, not a religious one).

Maihaugen's assets fall squarely in the middle of this peer band ($4.60M–$4.73M), but it is the only one of the six with a transparent, published open-application process, a stated deadline, and public grantee-level data — the peer set (mostly small religious-media or ministry-linked entities) shows no public grant-seeking infrastructure in available records. For applicants, this makes Maihaugen comparatively accessible: unlike faith-based peers that may fund internally or through direct ministry relationships, Maihaugen actively reviews unsolicited 1–2 page proposals once a year and has a 25+-year track record of funding external secular nonprofits across two states.

The most concrete recent data point is the 2025 grant cycle: the board finalized awards by December 1, 2025, with email notifications going out by December 15, 2025, and total 2025 giving landing at $240,333 across roughly 30 grantees (average award ~$7,400 per outside tracking) — up slightly from $230,955 in 2024. The foundation's most recent Form 990-PF (filed May 12, 2026) reports FY2025 revenue of $402,725 against expenses of $269,439, leaving net assets of $4,543,420, a modest decline from the $4,640,736 asset figure on file, consistent with normal market fluctuation rather than a distress signal. No leadership changes surfaced in web research — Michael R. Burton (President & Treasurer), Frances M. Burton (Vice President), and Carolyn Burton (Secretary) continue to run the all-family board, with Trust Point Inc. as long-standing investment manager. No new program announcements, strategic-plan updates, or major single-grant news items appeared in searches; this remains a low-visibility, low-overhead operating model with no dedicated press presence, staff, or communications function beyond its single-page website. Applicants should not expect the foundation to publicize a 2026 cycle timeline until closer to the historical November deadline window; absent a stated change, the next cycle should be assumed to follow the same November 15–17 submission window, late-November board meeting, and December notification pattern seen in 2025 and prior years.

Submit a tight, factual letter — the foundation explicitly caps proposals at two pages, so lead with the request amount and specific purpose in the first paragraph rather than burying the ask in narrative. Include your organizational budget/financials and a current IRS determination letter with every submission; these are named as required attachments, and their absence is a likely instant disqualifier for an all-volunteer board with no staff to chase down paperwork. Target the November 15–17 deadline precisely — there is only one review cycle per year (late-November board meeting, December 1 decision, December 15 notification), so a late or off-cycle submission means waiting a full additional year with no fallback. Frame your project inside the foundation's demonstrated interests — historic preservation, cultural/arts programming, environmental education or conservation, animal welfare, or direct human/health services — and avoid any framing that reads as political, religious, or social-justice advocacy, which outside trackers consistently flag as being outside what gets funded despite the broad 501(c)(3) eligibility language. Do not apply if you are a school; this is an explicit, stated restriction. Because roughly two-thirds of tracked grants in the sample went to repeat grantees (3 grants each to organizations like First Stage, Milwaukee Public Library Foundation, and Urban Ecology Center), first-time applicants should apply for a modest, clearly-scoped amount in the $1,000–$10,000 range rather than a large ask, treat a first award as relationship-building, and reapply annually if funded — the data suggests sustained, incremental support is the norm rather than one-time large gifts. Geographic fit matters heavily: emphasize Door County/Sturgeon Bay, greater Milwaukee/Southeastern Wisconsin, or Boulder/Colorado ties explicitly in your opening paragraph, since these three areas account for nearly all funding. Since there's no online portal, mail or email your proposal directly and follow up with a confirmation email to info@maihaugenfoundation.org to verify receipt — community reporting notes the foundation does not always auto-confirm.