Rath Foundation Inc.

The Rath Foundation Inc. is a tightly governed, family-administered private foundation based in Janesville, Wisconsin with a singular and consistent philanthropic focus: endowment contributions to higher education institutions. Founded in 1991 and operating with $18.7 million in assets as of 2024, the foundation awards between 7 and 10 grants annually, all flowing to named universities, professional schools, or higher-education advocacy organizations.

Every documented grant in the foundation's available public record carries the purpose code "education endowment" — with no exceptions across a decade of available filings. Grantees include Wisconsin flagship institutions (University of Wisconsin Foundation, Medical College of Wisconsin, four UW System campuses), out-of-state professional schools with likely alumni or leadership ties (University of Chicago-Booth, USC Marshall School of Business, University of Oklahoma), and Wisconsin's independent college advocacy infrastructure (Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities). This pattern indicates a foundation that deepens ties with institutions where its officers have personal or professional relationships, rather than one that responds to open solicitations from unknown organizations.

The IRS-reported application instructions explicitly state "written application to above address; no formal application at this time" — confirming there is no online portal, no RFP cycle, and no published deadline. The documented application address is PO Box 80, Janesville, WI 53547, with James R. Sanger (Vice President and Treasurer) listed as the primary point of contact at 608-754-9090.

First-time applicants face a genuine access barrier: the grantee list has remained essentially unchanged across multiple 990 filing cycles. The presence of Kate M. Fleming as President/Secretary and the Sanger family's dual representation (James R. Sanger as VP/Treasurer, Kara Sanger-Johnson as VP) suggests a family governance model in which institutional relationships are multi-generational. Kara Sanger-Johnson's addition in 2023 may signal succession planning — and a potential future evolution in giving priorities worth monitoring.

The practical path for a new institution is to identify whether any trustee, development officer, or alumni leader has a professional or personal connection to the foundation's leadership before submitting any written inquiry. A warm introduction through an existing grantee — particularly via the University of Wisconsin Foundation or WAIICU — is likely more effective than a cold letter. Realistic timeline from first contact to first grant: 12 to 24 months minimum.

The Rath Foundation's grantmaking is exclusively focused on education endowments, with a decade-long record of concentrated, relationship-driven giving to a stable portfolio of institutions.

Grant sizing: The median grant runs approximately $118,209, with a documented range of $31,494 to $474,198 per individual award. Across the most recent 10-grant cycle with available data, the average per-grant disbursement was $150,005. Historical 990 data cited by Instrumentl shows a broader lifetime range of $20,996 to $790,250, indicating occasional large endowment contributions in earlier years.

Annual giving trends (high variability): - 2024: $1,615,788 (10 grants) - 2023: $821,113 (8 grants) — lowest recent year - 2022: $2,767,641 (10 grants) — sharp spike, likely catch-up endowment funding - 2021: $1,500,048 (10 grants) - 2020: $1,195,073 (7 grants) - 2019: $624,633 (limited giving year) - 2015: $3,823,121 — recent high-water mark - 2012–2014: $3.8M–$4.2M per year

Total giving dropped sharply from the $3.8-4.2M annual range of 2012-2015 to the current $820K-$2.8M range, tracking a reduction in the asset base (from $24.4M in 2013 to $15.96M in 2022) before partial recovery to $18.69M in 2024. Variability is high year-to-year, suggesting deliberate pacing of endowment contributions rather than a fixed annual payout formula.

Geographic breakdown: Wisconsin dominates with approximately 70% of grants (14 of 20 documented awards). Illinois, Oklahoma, and California each account for 10% (2 grants each) — tied to specific named institutions: University of Chicago-Booth (IL), University of Oklahoma (OK), and USC Marshall School of Business (CA).

Program area: 100% higher education endowments. No arts, health services, human services, social services, or community development grants appear in any available filing year. The single non-university grantee (WAIICU) is itself a higher-education advocacy organization supporting independent Wisconsin colleges and universities.

Institutional grantee profile: Research universities, professional schools (business, medicine), and their affiliated foundation entities dominate. The top recipient — University of Wisconsin Foundation — received $1,264,448 across two documented grants, nearly 30% of the tracked grantee dataset total of $4.27M.

The Rath Foundation has no formally listed peer foundations in grant databases. The comparison below draws on publicly available 990 filing data for comparable Wisconsin-based private foundations with education-oriented giving portfolios. Asset and giving figures for peer foundations are approximate, based on most recently available public filings (2022-2024), and are included for contextual benchmarking only.

Rath Foundation occupies a distinctive niche among Wisconsin funders: mid-sized assets, extremely concentrated higher-education-only giving, fully invitation-driven, and focused exclusively on endowment contributions rather than program grants. Unlike Bader Philanthropies — which accepts open letters of inquiry across multiple issue areas — or the Evjue Foundation's community-accessible annual cycle, Rath gives through deeply private institutional relationships with no public solicitation mechanism. Its giving volume is modest relative to the Bradley Foundation's national footprint but meaningful in per-grant terms ($118K median) for the handful of institutions that maintain ongoing relationships. Organizations without existing ties to Rath leadership should not expect the same entry pathway that works with Wisconsin's more accessible foundations.

Web searches and grant database reviews conducted in June 2026 returned no news announcements, leadership changes, or program announcements specific to Rath Foundation Inc. in 2025 or 2026. The foundation operates without a public communications presence: no press releases, no annual report, no social media accounts, and no dedicated website — rath.org resolves to a personal technical blog unrelated to the foundation.

The most recent available financial data (2024 tax year) shows $1,615,788 distributed across 10 grants — a recovery from the 2023 low of $821,113 — with total assets at $18.69 million. Revenue in 2024 was $1.64 million against expenses of $1.97 million, meaning the foundation drew down assets slightly. Revenue composition was 78.9% asset sales ($1.29M), 16.8% dividends ($274,802), and 4.3% interest ($71,067), indicating a portfolio-drawdown funding model with no external contributions received.

Officer compensation rose notably, from $174,000 total (2019-2021) to $274,000 in 2023-2024, with President Kate M. Fleming's compensation reaching $100,000 — up from $58,000 in prior reported years. This intentional compensation growth suggests professionalization of the foundation's administration.

The most significant structural development is Kara Sanger-Johnson's addition as a fourth Vice President in 2023 filings, joining President Kate M. Fleming, VP/Treasurer James R. Sanger, and VP Robert Dodson. The shared Sanger surname between James R. Sanger and Kara Sanger-Johnson suggests family succession planning, a dynamic worth tracking as it may signal future programmatic evolution or geographic expansion of the foundation's higher-education giving.

1. Lead with endowment framing, not program grants. Every documented Rath Foundation grant is classified as an "education endowment." This is not a foundation that funds operating programs, capital campaigns, or annual fund drives. Written inquiries must be framed around endowment creation or contribution to an existing named endowed fund at a recognized higher education institution.

2. Map your institution's connections to foundation leadership before writing. The foundation has funded the same core institutions across multiple grant cycles with no evidence of new grantees entering the portfolio recently. Before submitting anything, research whether your institution's trustees, development officers, faculty, or alumni have professional connections to Kate M. Fleming (President/Secretary), James R. Sanger (VP/Treasurer), Robert Dodson (VP), or Kara Sanger-Johnson (VP). A warm introduction is more valuable than a polished letter.

3. WAIICU membership is a documented alignment signal. The Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities received $589,600 across two documented grant cycles. If your institution is a WAIICU member, cite that relationship explicitly in your inquiry — it demonstrates shared sectoral commitment the foundation has already validated.

4. Align geographically and institutionally. Wisconsin institutions receive 70% of the foundation's grants; Illinois, Oklahoma, and California institutions account for the rest — and all out-of-state grantees are prominent named business or medical schools. If your institution operates outside Wisconsin, ensure you can demonstrate a specific connection to foundation leadership or a peer grantee relationship before investing in an inquiry.

5. Size your ask appropriately. Average grants run $118,000-$213,000. A first-time institution would be well-served positioning an initial endowment contribution request in the $75,000-$150,000 range, consistent with the foundation's smaller repeat grantees (UW-Eau Claire at $84,448 total; UW-Whitewater at $83,984 total across two cycles).

6. Prepare for a multi-year horizon. All top grantees in the dataset received exactly two grants across consecutive periods. A first award is typically a relationship-opener, not a one-time gift. Frame your inquiry as the start of a long-term endowment partnership, not a one-cycle ask.

7. Keep the letter concise and formal. There is no application form. A 2-3 page letter identifying your institution, the proposed endowment purpose and named fund, the requested dollar amount, and your endowment management infrastructure is the appropriate format.