Rdk Foundation

The RDK Foundation — operating publicly as the Ruth Foundation for the Arts (Ruth Arts) — is one of the most distinctive major arts funders in the United States. Incorporated in 1984 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the foundation distributed modest annual grants of $600,000–$1.4 million until a transformative event in 2022: the death of Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, who directed the John Michael Kohler Arts Center for over 40 years and left a $440 million bequest to the foundation. Executive director Karen Patterson, formerly chief curator at the Kohler Arts Center, was appointed to lead the organization's dramatic expansion.

The foundation's central philosophy is trust-based, artist-driven grantmaking. Rather than program officers deciding which organizations merit funding, the Artist Choice program delegates selection authority entirely to practicing artists across disciplines and career stages. Organizations are nominated by working artists, not vetted by foundation staff. This structural commitment to artist autonomy distinguishes Ruth Arts from virtually every comparable funder at this asset level ($399 million as of FY2023).

Organizations favored by the foundation share several characteristics: deep, authentic relationships with practicing artists; demonstrated commitment to artist compensation and equity; a posture of experimentation and structural change rather than maintaining the status quo; and the capacity to use unrestricted multi-year funding productively. The foundation is particularly attuned to organizations that center underrepresented voices and challenge traditional arts hierarchies.

The relationship progression differs sharply by program track. For the national track, the pathway is: (1) earn the trust of working artists who nominate organizations for Artist Choice awards; (2) receive an Artist Choice award, which makes the organization eligible for Core Grants; (3) apply for Core Grants once eligible, now structured as $150,000 over three years (2025–2028 cycle). For Wisconsin-based organizations with budgets under $2 million, the Wisconsin Special Project Grants program offers a direct application path for $100,000–$200,000 over two years, though applications are periodically closed.

First-time applicants should understand that cold outreach to foundation staff is unlikely to yield results. The foundation's model is deliberately artist-mediated. Build genuine programmatic and community relationships, signal your values alignment through public-facing work, and engage with the arts ecosystem in which Artist Choice nominators operate.

The RDK Foundation's financial trajectory reveals a funder in the midst of a historic expansion. Assets grew from $13.6 million in 2012 to $25.4 million in 2020 through steady annual contributions of $1.5 million from the Kohler estate — then exploded to $420 million in FY2021 following a $398.6 million contribution reflecting Ruth Kohler's bequest. By FY2023, total assets stand at approximately $399 million after market fluctuations.

Grantmaking followed a parallel trajectory. Annual giving grew steadily: $624,000 (2012), $808,000 (2014), $925,000 (2015), $1.24 million (2019), $1.46 million (2020), $2.0 million (2021), $12.1 million (2022), and $16.8 million (2023). The foundation's IRS 990 data through 2023 records 46 grants with a median of $10,000, average of $31,678, minimum of $1,000, and maximum of $600,000 — figures that are heavily skewed by the pre-2022 era of smaller giving.

Current grantmaking operates across distinct tiers. Artist Choice awards are made annually to approximately 31 organizations, typically in the $25,000–$75,000 range. Core Grants in the 2025–2028 cycle award $150,000 over three years ($50,000/year) to 169 organizations — a total commitment of $25.35 million from this program alone, nearly doubling the prior cycle. Ruth Awards grant $100,000 each to five individual artists annually, totaling $500,000 per year. Wisconsin Special Project Grants award $100,000 or $200,000 over two years to Wisconsin nonprofits with budgets under $2 million; since the program launched in 2024, it has committed $3.5 million.

Geographically, the foundation's Wisconsin roots remain visible through its state-specific programs, but the Core Grants and Ruth Awards operate nationally with a clear preference for organizations and artists based in underserved markets. The foundation reports Wisconsin as its primary geographic focus in IRS filings, though actual national grantmaking reflects a broader mandate.

Net investment income of $4.8 million (FY2023) on $399 million in assets suggests a conservative investment posture; the foundation is drawing down principal to fund its expanded grantmaking. Total revenue was negative in FY2023 (-$4.1 million), indicating the foundation is spending more than it earns — a common pattern for newly scaled endowments.

The RDK Foundation sits within a cohort of mid-sized private foundations with assets in the $360–400 million range, categorized under NTEE code T20 (Private Grantmaking Foundations). Unlike most peers in this asset tier, Ruth Arts has an unusually narrow programmatic focus — exclusively arts and culture — and a highly unconventional artist-driven grantmaking model.

Ruth Arts distinguishes itself from all peers in this cohort through two structural features: the scale of its recent endowment growth (from under $25M to $399M in two years) and its fully artist-mediated selection process. While all five foundations in this asset range operate primarily by invitation, Ruth Arts is the only one that delegates final selection authority to artists rather than staff or trustees. The Erb Family Foundation offers the closest comparison in terms of arts funding alongside environmental priorities, but Erb's grantmaking is Michigan-concentrated and staff-driven. For arts-focused organizations, Ruth Arts' $16.8 million in annual giving makes it substantially more active in actual grantmaking than most peers at comparable asset levels.

The January 9, 2026 announcement of 2025–2028 Core Grant recipients represents the most significant recent action: 169 organizations across the United States will share $25.35 million in unrestricted three-year funding. This is a nearly 100% increase from the prior Core Grant cycle in annual dollars distributed, and reflects the foundation's stated intention to deepen long-term relationships with vetted grantees rather than expand the number of first-time recipients.

On December 19, 2025, the foundation announced the five recipients of the 2026 Ruth Awards: Yuji Agematsu, Ranu Mukherjee, Will Rawls, Ellen Sebastian Chang, and Anna Martine Whitehead — each receiving $100,000 unrestricted. This marks the third annual Ruth Award cycle, confirming the program as a permanent cornerstone of the foundation's individual artist support.

In programming, Ruth Arts is presenting 'Original Order Order Original: The Art and Archives of Bettina,' an exhibition of work by artist Bettina Grossman (1927–2021), running through April 3, 2026 at the foundation's Milwaukee space in collaboration with the Rivers Institute for Contemporary Art & Thought.

The Wisconsin Special Project Grants program, launched in 2024, has committed $3.5 million to Wisconsin arts and culture organizations since its inception. Applications are currently closed; no announcement has been made regarding the next open cycle as of March 2026.

Leadership has remained stable since Karen Patterson's appointment as executive director in 2022. Co-trustees are U.S. Bank NA (compensated $1.73 million in FY2023 for trust administration services), Paul J. Tilleman, and Susan L. Flader (both serving without compensation).

Understand the access model before anything else. The majority of Ruth Foundation funding — Artist Choice, Core Grants, and Ruth Awards — is not accessible through a traditional application process. Artist Choice is 100% artist-nominated, meaning your eligibility depends entirely on whether practicing artists know and trust your organization. Core Grants are closed to organizations that have not already received an Artist Choice award. Ruth Awards go to individual artists nominated through an undisclosed process. Do not invest time in crafting proposals for programs you cannot yet access.

For Wisconsin-based organizations (budget under $2M): monitor for the Special Project Grants cycle. This is the only open-application program. Applications are currently closed, but the foundation launched the program in 2024 and ran at least one cycle. Watch rutharts.org and sign up for their newsletter for cycle announcements. Grant amounts are $100,000 or $200,000 over two years — unusually generous for small-budget organizations.

Frame around structural and long-term impact, not one-time projects. The Wisconsin Special Project guidelines explicitly favor initiatives with 'long-term cultural and structural impact' — archival projects, public commissions, organizational capacity, cultural revitalization. Proposals framed as one-off events or short-term programs will not compete.

Demonstrate artist compensation equity. Ruth DeYoung Kohler's legacy centered on paying artists fairly and treating them as professional collaborators, not volunteers. In any proposal or organizational summary, document how your organization compensates artists. Specific dollar figures and compensation policies are more persuasive than general statements.

Language alignment matters. The foundation uses phrases like 'trust-based,' 'unrestricted support,' 'structural change,' 'nonhierarchical,' and 'artist-centered.' Reflect this vocabulary authentically — not as buzzwords but as evidence that your organizational values genuinely align.

For Artist Choice eligibility: invest in ecosystem visibility. Attend Ruth Arts public programming in Milwaukee. Make your organization's work visible to practicing artists nationally, not just locally. The foundation's 2025 Artist Choice cycle supported 31 organizations — demonstrating that artists nominated a geographically and programmatically diverse pool.

Contact the foundation at info@rutharts.org for questions about program timing. Phone: (414) 905-7628. The foundation is based at 234 W. Florida, Milwaukee, WI 53204.