Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin

What Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin does

Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin (CFONCW) is a 501(c)(3) public charity incorporated on January 22, 1987, in Wausau, Wisconsin, and headquartered at 200 Washington Street Suite 120. Originally founded as the Wausau Area Community Foundation and renamed in 2002 to reflect an expanded Northwoods geographic focus, the foundation operates a portfolio of charitable giving vehicles including donor-advised funds, endowed funds, field-of-interest funds, scholarship funds, and a permanently endowed community fund (the Wausau Marathon County Fund). Its core constituents are individual and family donors, local nonprofits across Marathon, Lincoln, Langlade, and Taylor Counties, students from preschool to post-graduate level, professional advisors, and businesses seeking structured philanthropy vehicles.

The foundation's service portfolio is delivered through a multi-channel operating model: relationship-based philanthropy, quarterly grant cycles reviewed by a Distributions Committee and Board of Directors, specialized grant programs (Community Arts Grants, Beyond Pencils and Crayons, Win Brockmeyer Memorial Scholarship, Women's Fund, and emergency-response vehicles such as the COVID-19 Community Response Fund and the 2025 Formula and Food Insecurities Fund), and a Northwoods Affiliate Network comprising the Boulder Junction, Merrill, and Phelps area community foundations. Underlying technology is limited to third-party SaaS platforms — primarily the fcsuite.com donor and fund management portal and the GrantInterface scholarship and grant application system — with no proprietary technology, APIs, or AI capabilities.

As a nonprofit, CFONCW does not operate a traditional revenue model; it sustains operations through donor contributions to endowed and pass-through funds, supplemented by investment returns on a permanent endowment base. Since 1998 the foundation has awarded over $115 million in cumulative grants and scholarships, with the Wausau Marathon County Fund alone distributing approximately $400,000 annually and total scholarship awards exceeding $3.5 million since inception. Compliance with the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations is confirmed, and operations are supported by 1–10 staff led by President/CEO Tim Parker, who succeeded Jean Tehan in October 2020.

Name

Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin

Legal name

Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin

Website

https://cfoncw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Community philanthropy
• Charitable fund management
• Grant administration
• Scholarship programs
• Endowment management

Headquarters

HQ city

Wausau

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Fund Management: Manages charitable funds including donor-advised funds, endowed funds, field-of-interest funds, and scholarship funds. Revenue is generated through fund management fees and donor contributions. The foundation deploys gifts to support community grants and scholarships rather than retaining profits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CFONCW is a community foundation that manages charitable funds (donor-advised, endowed, field-of-interest, scholarship, and memorial funds) on behalf of individual donors, families, and businesses. It distributes grants to local nonprofits across Marathon County and the north central Wisconsin region, and administers scholarship programs for students from preschool through post-graduate levels.

Product overview

Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin is a philanthropic organization offering a portfolio of charitable giving programs rather than a technology product. Its core offerings include: Community Grants and Community Enhancement Grants supporting local nonprofits in health, education, arts, and resource preservation; Scholarships and financial assistance for students; the Wausau Marathon County Fund as its primary permanently endowed fund; Women's Fund; Planned Giving and Legacy Society for estate planning; Northwoods Affiliate Network for regional partnerships; and specialized grant programs including Beyond Pencils and Crayons (education), Community Arts Grants, and emergency response funds. The organization does not offer technology products, APIs, or AI-powered services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $115M in grants and scholarships awarded since 1998
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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 and minor.

• Boulder Junction Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 December 2022First member of the Northwoods Affiliate Network. Partnership accelerates regional impact by freeing local resources to focus on community relationships while administration and investment managed centrally. Creates larger investment pool while enabling local solutions. Formalized December 30, 2022.
• United Way of Marathon CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2020Partnership established in March 2020 to create the COVID-19 Community Response Fund. Combined efforts raised and distributed over $632,000 to 57 local nonprofits. Fund focused on food needs, childcare, rental assistance, education, medical care, small business, and safety.
• Merrill Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliate foundation within the Northwoods Affiliate Network, providing local community foundation services with centralized administration.
• Phelps Area Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliate foundation within the Northwoods Affiliate Network, providing local community foundation services with centralized administration.
• Ruder Ware Law FirmminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsor of the 2023 George L. Ruder Forum featuring Michael J. Fox.
• CoVantage Credit UnionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor for the George L. Ruder Forum speaker series.
• HOM FurnitureminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor for the George L. Ruder Forum speaker series.
• Miron ConstructionminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContractor for renovation of new headquarters office space in November 2023.
• J&J ArchitectureminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDesign partner for headquarters renovation project.
• Samuel's GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFurnishing partner for new headquarters office space.
• Greater Wausau Chamber of CommerceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer location provider; ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by Chamber for new CFONCW office space.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Greater Milwaukee Foundation: Wisconsin's largest community foundation, serving the greater Milwaukee area with donor-advised funds, scholarship programs, and competitive grant cycles. Directly comparable as a Wisconsin community foundation with similar fund types, grantmaking focus, and donor services.
• Madison Community Foundation: Community foundation serving the Madison, Wisconsin region, offering donor-advised funds, scholarships, and competitive grants to local nonprofits. Closely comparable in mission, structure, and geographic focus within Wisconsin.
• Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region: Community foundation serving the Fox Valley region of Wisconsin, with comparable donor-advised fund offerings, scholarship programs, and competitive community grant cycles. Similar size, structure, and donor/student/nonprofit stakeholder mix.
• Oshkosh Area Community Foundation: Wisconsin-based community foundation providing donor-advised funds, scholarships, and community grants in the Oshkosh area. Closely comparable in size, regional scope, and program portfolio to CFONCW.
• Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation: Community foundation serving the Twin Ports region of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. Comparable mission and program structure with a similar mix of community grants, scholarships, and donor services in a comparable-size Midwestern community.
• Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque: Community foundation serving northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin with donor-advised funds, competitive grants, and scholarships. Similar scale, regional scope, and nonprofit/educational focus as CFONCW.

Broad incumbents

• Cleveland Foundation: One of the oldest and largest U.S. community foundations, serving the greater Cleveland region with a much larger endowment and broader programming. Relevant as an incumbent in the community foundation space with comparable products (DAFs, scholarships, competitive grants) at greater scale.
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Very large community foundation managing billions in assets, with an extensive donor-advised fund program. Comparable in core community foundation products but operates at a fundamentally larger scale and with a more tech-oriented donor base.

Emerging players

• Fidelity Charitable: The largest commercial donor-advised fund sponsor in the U.S. While not a community foundation, it directly competes for individual and family donor dollars through low-friction, tech-forward DAF offerings—an increasingly important alternative to community foundation DAFs like those at CFONCW.

Others

• Council on Foundations: National membership organization for U.S. foundations and corporate giving programs. Relevant as the standards-setter (National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations) under which CFONCW is certified, and as an ecosystem / peer-network participant in the community foundation space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEngVkx3OX-z_xH4iCxOZHg?view_as=subscriber
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Community-Foundation-of-North-Central-Wisconsin/411517308312
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3138631?trk=tyah
• Instagraminstagram.com/cfoncw

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin