Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin

What Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin does

The Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin (CFSW) is a 501(c)(3) public charity and regional community foundation founded in 1994 and headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin. It operates across nine Southern Wisconsin counties — Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, and Walworth — with additional offices in Monroe and Platteville. The foundation manages more than 900 charitable funds valued at over $90 million on behalf of individual donors, organizations, and informal groups, and in 2024-2025 disbursed $3.64 million across approximately 400 grants and $1.08 million across 400 scholarships.

CFSW's core offerings fall into three programs: (1) donor services and fund administration, including creation of named, donor-advised, and field-of-interest funds, with investments managed by a group of regional financial partners; (2) competitive grantmaking through approximately 35 annual grant programs and Excellence in Education funds held for 16 communities and school districts; and (3) scholarship administration for graduating seniors at 46 local high schools plus non-traditional students. Underlying technology consists of third-party SaaS platforms: GrantInterface (online grant and scholarship applications) and FCSuite (fund management and donor portal), with a stated requirement that all applications be submitted online.

The revenue model is a managed-services construct: CFSW earns administrative and investment-management fees on the $90M+ AUM (quarterly fees by fund type), a 3% processing fee on credit card donations, and investment returns on operating and endowed assets. Donations of any size are accepted, while new funds require minimums ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on fund type. Outreach occurs through a website, Facebook, YouTube, email, professional-advisor relationships, and community events, with three physical offices providing in-person services across the service area.

Name

Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin

Legal name

Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, Inc.

Website

https://cfsw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin is a 501(c)(3) regional community foundation, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Janesville, that manages 900+ charitable funds worth over $90 million, awarding approximately 400 grants and 400 scholarships annually across nine Southern Wisconsin counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation and Philanthropic Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Charitable fund management
• Competitive grantmaking programs
• Scholarship administration
• Donor services

Headquarters

HQ city

Janesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Charitable Fund Management: The Foundation manages over 900 charitable funds worth more than $90 million. Revenue is generated through investment returns on endowed funds and quarterly service fees from fund holders. The Foundation serves as steward of donor funds, managing investments, encouraging additions, overseeing disbursement of grants and scholarships, and managing government paperwork.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin manages more than 900 charitable funds valued at over $90 million on behalf of donors, administers a competitive grantmaking program that awarded $3,638,178 across roughly 400 grants in 2024-2025, and operates a scholarship program that delivered $1,076,913 in awards to students at 46 local high schools. Services span donor fund creation and investment stewardship, grant application administration for nonprofits, and scholarship administration for students across nine Southern Wisconsin counties.

Product overview

The Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin is a regional philanthropy organization serving nine Southern Wisconsin counties (Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, and Walworth). The organization operates primarily as a grantmaking and scholarship institution rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings include: competitive grant programs (approximately 35 programs), a scholarship program (240+ scholarships at 46 high schools), Excellence in Education Funds (16 community funds), and donor services managing over 900 charitable funds worth more than $90 million. The Foundation operates technology platforms including FCSuite for fund management and donations, and GrantInterface for grant applications. Additional programs include specialized funds such as the Women's Fund, SWIFT matching programs, and natural resource conservation funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Competitive Grantmaking Program

Quantifiable outcome

• $3,638,178 in grants and $1,076,913 in scholarships awarded in 2024-2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Community Foundation of the Fox Valley Region: Northeast Wisconsin community foundation also managing charitable funds, scholarships, and competitive grant cycles. Wisconsin-based peer with similar regional, county-by-county operating model.
• Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque: Eastern Iowa / tri-state regional community foundation with comparable donor-advised funds, scholarships, and community grant programs. Comparable scale and mission to CFSW, serving a similar rural Midwestern footprint.
• Oshkosh Area Community Foundation: Wisconsin-based community foundation serving Winnebago County area with charitable funds, scholarships, and grant programs. Comparable in scale and donor-managed fund structure to CFSW.
• La Crosse Community Foundation: Western Wisconsin community foundation with comparable donor services, scholarship administration, and county-level grantmaking. Comparable AUM scale and rural-Wisconsin operating context.
• Waukesha County Community Foundation: Southeast Wisconsin community foundation managing charitable funds, scholarships, and grant programs. Similar mission, structure, and donor-advised fund services as CFSW.
• Green Bay Area Community Foundation: Wisconsin-based community foundation managing endowments, scholarships, and competitive grants across multiple counties. Direct functional peer with overlapping donor and grantee base in Wisconsin.

Direct peers

• Madison Community Foundation: Wisconsin-based community foundation serving the Madison region with comparable donor-advised funds, grantmaking, and scholarship programs. Closest direct peer given shared geography, scale, and operating model.
• Greater Milwaukee Foundation: Wisconsin's largest community foundation, operating across multiple counties with donor-advised funds, competitive grants, and scholarship administration. Direct peer with a larger AUM but identical mission and structure.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Charitable: The largest national donor-advised fund sponsor. Competes with CFSW for the same donor dollars through a fully digital, low-minimum DAF, and is a structural threat to mid-sized community foundations.
• Schwab Charitable: National donor-advised fund provider affiliated with Charles Schwab. Competes with community foundations for high-net-worth donors by offering convenient, low-friction, online-only fund creation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7swsLOUtc2-oKCkk6nR8-Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/CFSWInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-foundation-of-southern-wisconsin

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Southern Wisconsin