Who Created the Argosy Foundation, and How Does It Support Wisconsin?
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Although the Argosy Foundation works across the U.S. and abroad, its home base is Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a primary place of interest for the funder. Argosy can be a challenging grantmaker to get to know, but it’s worth it for nonprofits in the area. In recent years, the Argosy Foundation had nearly $37 million in total assets and awarded over $12.5 million in annual grants.
Here’s a look at the Argosy Foundation’s grantmaking and how Wisconsin nonprofits can approach this funder.
Background on the Argosy Foundation
In 1997, John Abele created the Argosy Foundation as a private family foundation to channel his philanthropic interests. Before this, he co-founded Boston Scientific, a medical products and equipment manufacturing company dating back to 1979. Today, this foundation is a family-run philanthropy with Abele family members as the president/CEO, chairman and board of trustees. Most foundation staff members are based in Milwaukee, but the foundation also has offices in Birmingham, Alabama and Boulder, Colorado. The bulk of foundation giving is in geographic areas familiar to the trustees.
Diverse topics of interest
The Argosy Foundation does not limit its funding to traditional program areas. Instead, it emphasizes what it calls a "due-diligence approach to making strategic, leveraged investments followed by continuous learning for future partnerships" and considers many different types of causes. The funder looks for projects that add value to a field and feature innovative learning methods, documentation techniques and assessment strategies. Although it may look outside these areas, many grants fall under the headings of education, arts and culture, the environment, health and human services. Beyond grants, the funder also supports groups and projects as a researcher, consultant and convener.
Recent grantees in Wisconsin include Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, Milwaukee Film, 88Nine Radio Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Policy Forum. Many grants range between $15,000 and $100,000, although the funder occasionally makes larger grants.
Networking and collaboration
Alongside this strategic approach, the Argosy Foundation values networking with experts and peers to keep in touch with what’s going on in its fields of interest. The funders' list of affiliations and alliances includes the following: Biodiversity Funders Group, Wisconsin Philanthropy Network, Environmental Grantmakers Association, Funders for Reproductive Equity, PEAK Grantmaking, Wisconsin Policy Forum, Confluence Philanthropy, Alabama Giving and Philanthropy Colorado.
No unsolicited proposals
Even for organizations based in Milwaukee, the Argosy Foundation does not accept unsolicited funding requests. Interested nonprofits can keep up with the funder’s current interests by following its updates page. The best way to reach out to the foundation team with general questions or to make an introduction is by online form through the funder's website.
Learn more about this funder in IP’s complete profile of the Argosy Foundation, which is part of our Wisconsin funding guide.
