Roots And Wings Foundation Inc.

Roots & Wings Foundation is a family foundation established in late 2019 by Judy Faulkner — founder and CEO of Epic Systems — and her husband Gordon Faulkner, following their signing of the Giving Pledge. Incorporated in Washington state with operations centered in Wisconsin, the foundation's philosophy centers on trust-based philanthropy, encapsulated in its "wings not strings" model: multi-year, unrestricted grants with minimal administrative requirements. This is a deliberate, values-driven stance against the grant-seeking burden that consumes nonprofit capacity.

The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, letters of inquiry, or cold applications. Its five-step process (Discover → Learn → Prepare → Connect → Partner) is entirely foundation-initiated. Staff conduct proactive research using community contacts, media, and mutual partner referrals to identify aligned organizations. The only door open to nonprofits is the "introduce yourself" portal at rootswings.org/grantmaking/ — a brief form where organizations submit basic information about their mission, work, and geographic focus.

First-time applicants should know that the invitation timeline is unpredictable — there are no published application cycles or deadlines. The foundation issues seasonal newsletters (Spring, Summer, Fall) suggesting internal review cadences aligned with those seasons, but timelines are not confirmed publicly. If alignment exists after introduction, the foundation will initiate contact — not the other way around.

Once invited, the process is deliberately streamlined. The foundation pre-populates the grant application before sending it to the prospective grantee, who reviews, adjusts specific figures, and signs. This design reflects genuine respect for nonprofit staff time and expertise.

The typical grantee is a Wisconsin-based organization — 63% of documented grants by count flow to WI — serving low-income children and families, particularly in the prenatal-through-age-3 window. However, the portfolio includes national institutions (Doctors Without Borders, Reach Out and Read, Brady Center) and safety-net health systems in New York, Colorado, Texas, Oregon, New Jersey, and Washington, suggesting Faulkner family priorities and personal networks shape grant selection alongside geographic targeting.

The endowment is growing rapidly — from $96M in FY2020 to $611.8M in FY2024 — fueled by ongoing family contributions. With Forbes confirming a $7.7B lifetime giving commitment and a trajectory toward $100M in annual grantmaking, the most important time for aligned organizations to become visible to foundation staff is now.

Roots & Wings has scaled its grantmaking at a pace unusual even among rapidly growing family foundations. Grants paid grew from $15.3M (FY2020) → $27.6M (FY2021) → $20.8M (FY2022, a year with negative total revenue due to investment losses) → $45M (FY2023) → $66.6M (FY2024). Total assets grew from $96.2M to $611.8M over the same period, driven by large annual Faulkner family contributions: $236.1M in FY2021, $201.7M in FY2023, and $103.6M in FY2024.

Grant size spans an extraordinary range. Foundation data shows a median grant of $40,000, an average of $131,756, and a range from $750 (site-visit honoraria and small acknowledgment payments) to $4,000,000 (MetroHealth Foundation's transformation campaign). The full 1,622-grant database totals $202.9M with an average of $125,074 per grant. The wide gap between the median ($40K) and the mean ($131K) signals a portfolio with many mid-sized operating grants anchored by a small number of large strategic commitments.

The largest grants cluster in health transformation and prenatal initiatives: MetroHealth Foundation ($7M combined across two grants), Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin ($2.75M), Rise Wisconsin ($2.1M), NYC Health + Hospitals ($2M), Wisconsin Early Childhood Association ($2M), Dane County Parent Council ($1.8M), and Doctors Without Borders ($1.75M). Grants in the $1M–$2M range almost always represent multi-year relationships accumulated across 3–16 separate transactions, not single disbursements.

Geographically, Wisconsin dominates: 1,015 of 1,622 documented grants (63%) went to Wisconsin organizations, followed by Washington (125), Oregon (73), New York (66), California (57), DC (39), Illinois (24), Texas (21), and Indiana (17).

Program area distribution — not officially broken out by the foundation — reflects heavy investment in health (community health centers, prenatal care, mental health) and early childhood (home visiting, early learning, pediatric critical care), with growing commitments to safety & justice (gun violence prevention, criminal legal reform, fines and fees) and basic needs. Multi-year relationships are the norm: top grantees appear across 5–26 separate grant transactions, confirming that Roots & Wings builds sustained partnerships rather than making one-time awards.

Among asset-size peers grouped in the Philanthropy & Grantmaking NTEE category, Roots & Wings is distinctive for its rapid giving growth rate and highly concentrated child-and-family mission:

Roots & Wings is the only foundation among these five with publicly documented annual giving at $66.6M, reflecting the Faulkner family's aggressive giving schedule and the explicit Giving Pledge commitment to disburse $7.7B. The Wyncote Foundation offers the most accessible alternative for organizations seeking open-cycle applications, though its focus on media and arts diverges from children and health. The Grantham Foundation's environmental mission makes it complementary rather than competitive for children-and-families organizations. Among all five peers, Roots & Wings operates the most trust-based, donor-controlled model — which means organizational visibility in Wisconsin and Washington communities is the primary lever aligned applicants can pull to enter the pipeline.

The most consequential development in the foundation's recent history is the October 2024 Forbes profile confirming that Judy Faulkner intends to give away $7.7 billion — virtually all of her estimated wealth — through Roots & Wings, with annual grantmaking projected at approximately $100 million. This positions the foundation as one of the most significant new philanthropic actors in the children-and-families space nationally.

In February 2025, the Cooper Foundation (supporting Cooper University Health Care in Camden, NJ) received a $555,000 grant for prenatal care and early childhood healthcare programs serving low-income families from birth through age three. This is one of the first publicly documented 2025 awards and signals that the prenatal-through-age-3 initiative is expanding further into new geographies.

The Spring 2025 newsletter focused on two emerging emphases: firearm suicide reduction in rural Oregon (Alliance for a Safe Oregon) and nonprofit peer learning through the Wisconsin Impact Network — suggesting Safety & Justice is gaining resources alongside the established Health and Early Learning pillars.

Summer 2024 brought two new staff members, modestly expanding a small team to support growing grantmaking volume. In Fall 2023, the foundation celebrated 23 new partner organizations joining in that cycle — a significant cohort expansion.

No leadership changes have been announced. Shana Dall'Osto continues as Executive Director at $180,000 annual compensation (FY2024), up from $114,000 in FY2020, reflecting both organizational growth and tenure. Judy and Gordon Faulkner serve as uncompensated President and Secretary respectively.

Because Roots & Wings is invitation-only, the strategy for alignment is about visibility and positioning — not submitting a polished proposal.

Submit through the 'introduce yourself' portal at rootswings.org/grantmaking/ as your only formal avenue. Keep it concise: organization name, mission, program area alignment with the four pillars (basic needs, early learning, health, safety & justice), geographic location, annual budget, and one paragraph explaining genuine mission fit. Do not email staff directly or call the listed Wisconsin phone number — neither will advance your case.

Geographic specificity matters enormously. With 63% of documented grants going to Wisconsin organizations — particularly Dane County (Madison) — and significant funding flowing to Washington state (125 grants), local credibility in Madison or Seattle dramatically increases the probability of staff discovery. Organizations outside these markets should emphasize strong outcomes data and any existing relationships with current Roots & Wings grantees who could provide a warm introduction.

Frame around the prenatal-through-age-3 window if your work touches it. Named grant programs — "Prenatal Through Age Three," "Strong Kids, Communities, and Minds," "Strong Start for Kids, Strong Communities, Strong Minds" — represent the single highest-dollar program category in the portfolio. Organizations with explicit PN-3 programming have the strongest alignment argument.

Use the foundation's vocabulary. Language like "social drivers of health," "adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)," "prevention and early intervention," and "unrestricted support" maps directly to published priorities. Demonstrate that your organization frames its work through these same lenses.

Demonstrate lived experience and community accountability. The foundation explicitly names these criteria: organizations that involve community members in decision-making and employ staff with lived experience of the issues they address are prioritized over more institutionalized service models.

Accept the process. Do not follow up after submitting an introduction. If invited, expect a pre-populated application — review it carefully for accuracy, adjust figures as needed, and return promptly. The post-grant relationship matters most: top grantees average 5–16 transactions, confirming that multi-year renewal is the norm for aligned partners who stay engaged.