Zilber Family Foundation

What Zilber Family Foundation does

The Zilber Family Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation established in 1961 by Milwaukee real-estate developer Joseph J. Zilber and his wife Vera, dedicated to increasing access to social and economic opportunity for individuals, families, and neighborhoods. The Foundation operates four program pillars — Economic Stability (housing, cash, and capital), Basic Needs (homeless services, mental health, domestic violence), Sector Supports (nonprofit ecosystem strengthening), and Joseph & Vera Zilber Partners (legacy initiatives including the UWM Zilber College of Public Health and Vera Zilber Birth Center at Adventist Health Castle) — across two principal geographies: Milwaukee, Wisconsin (with deep place-based work in Lindsay Heights, Clarke Square, and Layton Boulevard West) and Oahu, Hawaii.

The Foundation's funding base is anchored by its majority ownership of Zilber Ltd., a full-service residential and commercial real estate firm founded by Joseph J. Zilber over 75 years ago, supplemented by endowment investment returns. It does not sell technology products; its only digital assets are a content website, a third-party Grants Portal (Grant Interface), and an interactive StoryMaps tool for visualizing neighborhood housing change. The Foundation uses a trust-based, predominantly invitation-only grantmaking model across three annual cycles (February, June, October), with about 100 nonprofit grantee partners receiving more than $17 million in grants annually and over $55 million distributed since 2020.

Cumulatively, the Foundation has contributed more than $300 million to nonprofits and public institutions in Wisconsin and Hawaii since founding. It employs approximately eight full-time staff led by Executive Director Lianna Bishop (appointed 2025) and is governed by a board that includes four Zilber family members, ensuring family continuity over strategic direction and capital allocation.

Name

Zilber Family Foundation

Legal name

Zilber Family Foundation

Website

https://zilberfamilyfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Zilber Family Foundation is a private Milwaukee-based grantmaking foundation, founded in 1961 and backed by majority ownership of Zilber Ltd., that awards over $17 million annually to approximately 100 nonprofits in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Oahu, Hawaii across economic stability, basic needs, sector support, and legacy program areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation Grantmaking

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Private foundation grantmaking
• Community development grants
• Nonprofit capacity building
• Philanthropic funding programs
• Social impact investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grantmaking: The Zilber Family Foundation is a private grantmaking institution that generates income primarily through its majority ownership of Zilber Ltd., a real estate company, and investment of endowment assets. The Foundation distributes grants to nonprofit organizations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Oahu, Hawaii.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Zilber Family Foundation is a private grantmaking institution that awards over $17 million annually to approximately 100 nonprofit organizations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Oahu, Hawaii across four program pillars: Economic Stability, Basic Needs, Sector Supports, and Joseph & Vera Zilber Partners. Its offerings include general operating, program, capacity-building, and capital grants, plus co-developed initiatives such as The Bridge Project unconditional cash program for mothers and major legacy gifts such as $20 million to the UWM Zilber College of Public Health.

Product overview

The Zilber Family Foundation is a private grantmaking institution that operates as a unified philanthropic platform with multiple interconnected program areas rather than a modular software product. The Foundation's core offering centers on grantmaking across four program pillars: Economic Stability (housing and financial support), Basic Needs (social safety net services), Sector Supports (nonprofit ecosystem strengthening), and Joseph & Vera Zilber Partners (legacy initiatives). Key programs include The Bridge Project (unconditional cash assistance for mothers), support for the UWM Zilber College of Public Health, and an interactive StoryMaps tool for visualizing neighborhood impact. The Foundation provides an online Grants Portal for applicants and grantees, and partners with approximately 100 nonprofit organizations, awarding over $17 million in grants annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Economic Stability Grants Program Grantmaking program creating pathways to safe and stable housing, cash assistance, and capital access for individuals and families in priority communities in Milwaukee and Hawaii. Targets nonprofits working on housing affordability, homeownership pathways, and financial inclusion.
• Basic Needs Grants Program Grantmaking program supporting nonprofit organizations that address immediate human needs such as homelessness, mental health, substance use treatment, and family/domestic violence support to strengthen the social safety net in Milwaukee and Hawaii.
• Sector Supports Grants Program Grantmaking program investing in knowledge, research, data, convening, and organizational and sector strengthening to create a healthy and effective nonprofit ecosystem in Wisconsin and Hawaii.
• Joseph & Vera Zilber Partners Program Legacy grantmaking program supporting Milwaukee-based organizations dedicated to issues of special importance to the founders, including the UWM Zilber College of Public Health, Aurora Zilber Family Hospice, and the Vera Zilber Birth Center.
• The Bridge Project in Milwaukee Milwaukee's first unconditional cash program providing mothers and their babies with regular, unconditional cash assistance to break the cycle of stress and poverty and enhance socioeconomic mobility of families. Launched in partnership with The Monarch Foundation as the first expansion of The Bridge Project beyond New York State.
• Zilber Grants Portal Online grants management portal for invited applicants and nonprofit partners to submit grant applications, manage submissions, and receive grant disbursements from the Zilber Family Foundation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $55 million in grants paid from 2020-2024 to mission-aligned nonprofits
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• The Monarch Foundation / The Bridge ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024Launched Milwaukee's first unconditional cash program in April 2024. The Bridge Project, launched in New York in 2021 by The Monarch Foundation, provides mothers and their babies with regular, unconditional cash assistance. The Zilber Family Foundation brought this program to Milwaukee as the first location beyond New York State. Program provides $1,125 upfront prenatal stipend, $750/month for first 15 months, and $375/month for remaining 21 months.
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Joseph J. Zilber College of Public HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 July 2023The Foundation presented a record-breaking $20 million gift in July 2023 to support faculty excellence and student achievement. This is the largest single gift in UWM history and one of the largest gifts to a school of public health across the country. Previous support includes $10 million gift in 2007 for establishment of the college.
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Graduate College of Public HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2007Joseph J. Zilber announced $10 million donation in September 2007 to support development of UWM Graduate College of Public Health. First students enrolled in September 2009. College received full accreditation in July 2017.
• Adventist Health CastlecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Vera Zilber Birth Center at Adventist Health Castle on Oahu was established through Foundation support. This legacy project provides high-quality care to pregnant individuals and their families in Hawaii.
• Community Development AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Foundation helped develop and endorse Milwaukee's Collective Affordable Housing Plan in 2021 and continues to support CDA to set and implement affordable housing strategies that advance economic stability.
• United WayminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-time workplace giving beneficiary through Zilber Ltd. employee giving campaigns.
• United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-time workplace giving beneficiary through Zilber Ltd. employee giving campaigns.
• Aurora Zilber Family HospicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegacy project initiated by Joseph and Vera Zilber to provide end-of-life palliative care with dignity in Wisconsin.
• Aloha United WayminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReceived $50,000 grant in 2026 to contribute to Community Relief Fund for disaster response and recovery efforts due to flooding events in Hawaii.
• Hawaii Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReceived $50,000 grant in 2026 to contribute to Stronger Hawaii Fund to strengthen statewide emergency response and recovery efforts following flooding in Hawaii.
• Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReceived $60,000 grant in 2026 to support and strengthen the nonprofit sector in Hawaii.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation: Milwaukee-based private family foundation with comparable scale and place-based civic orientation, also operating as a major grantmaking institution in Wisconsin. Directly comparable as a regional family foundation with similar program areas in economic and community vitality.
• Greater Milwaukee Foundation: Wisconsin's largest community foundation, also serving Milwaukee with comparable grantmaking programs including affordable housing (the Foundation has actually given grants to GMF). Direct peer in terms of geography, scale, and program focus on housing and economic stability.
• The Kresge Foundation: Large American private foundation with similar place-based and equity-driven grantmaking programs including affordable housing and community development. Comparable in scale, programmatic structure, and focus on systemic change in American cities.
• Joyce Foundation: Chicago-based private foundation with similar focus on economic vitality, workforce, and quality of life in the Great Lakes region. Comparable as a regional family foundation with place-based grantmaking and major public-policy orientation.
• Hawaii Community Foundation: Hawaii's largest community foundation, also a current grantee partner of Zilber ($50K Stronger Hawaii Fund grant in 2026). Directly comparable as the dominant grantmaking institution in the same Oahu market where Zilber operates.
• McCormick Foundation: Private family foundation with comparable program areas in community development and civic engagement. Similar in being a multigenerational family foundation with broad community-impact grantmaking in a defined region.
• Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation: Minneapolis-based family foundation (Best Buy founder) with similar focus on education, human services, and basic needs in a regional footprint. Comparable scale, family governance, and trust-based grantmaking posture.

Regional players

• Marcus Corporation Foundation: Milwaukee-area corporate foundation associated with The Marcus Corporation, also engaged in place-based giving in southeastern Wisconsin. Comparable as a Wisconsin-based philanthropic entity with corporate roots and community-development focus.

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation: One of the largest US private foundations with major programs in economic opportunity, housing, and public health broadly aligned with Zilber's mission. Useful as a benchmark for scale, programmatic structure, and grantmaking best practices.

Emerging players

• Monarch Foundation (Bridge Project): Founding partner of The Bridge Project unconditional cash program that Zilber brought to Milwaukee. Comparable as an emerging philanthropic entity pioneering cash-assistance models, with shared program DNA through the Bridge Project partnership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments49 records

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Frequently asked questions about Zilber Family Foundation