Marvin and Debra Cherney Family
Kewaunee, WI · EIN 87-4127024. Reported 61 grants totalling $1,079,631 to 34 recipients across tax years 2022-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Marvin and Debra Cherney Family did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $3,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,500 and $12,000; the smallest was $200 and the largest $300,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Francis Seminary | St Francis, WI | $305,550 | 3 | 2 | 2023 |
| St Francis De Sales Seminary | St Francis, WI | $185,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| East Shore Industries Inc | Algoma, WI | $111,749 | 5 | 4 | 2025 |
| Favor International | Valrico, FL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Green Bay Area Catholic Education Inc | Green Bay, WI | $99,463 | 5 | 2 | 2023 |
| Cerebral Palsy Inc | Green Bay, WI | $54,145 | 5 | 4 | 2025 |
| Unstoppable Foundation | Culver City, CA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| St Ignatius Catholic School | Kaukauna, WI | $44,718 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Unstopable Foundation | Culver City, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Green Bay Inc | Green Bay, WI | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Catholic Foundation of Green Bay - Roncalli Catholic Schools | Green Bay, WI | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Spine Project Inc | Green Bay, WI | $8,850 | 4 | 3 | 2024 |
| Green Bay Area Catholic Education Inc (grace) | Green Bay, WI | $8,155 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Center for Childhood Safety | Green Bay, WI | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Esto Vir Inc | Green Bay, WI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Catholic Order of Foresters | Denmark, WI | $4,260 | 3 | 2 | 2023 |
| Catholic Order of Foresters - Denmark | Denmark, WI | $3,077 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Northeast Wi Technical College Educational Foundation | Green Bay, WI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Nttc Education Foundation | Green Bay, WI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Nwtc Education Foundation | Green Bay, WI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Nwtc Educational Foundation | Green Bay, WI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Knights of Columbus #4735 | Denmark, WI | $2,900 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Catholic Order of Foresters Court #1190 - Stangelville | Denmark, WI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Knights of Columbus #4735 Denmark Council | Denmark, WI | $2,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Holy Family Parish | Whitefish Bay, WI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay Inc | Green Bay, WI | $1,454 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Down Syndrome Association of Wisconsin Inc | West Allis, WI | $1,010 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Aspiro | Green Bay, WI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Catholic Order of Foresters Welfare and Relief Fund | Naperville, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cystic Fibrosis Foundation | Bethesda, MD | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Greater Green Bay Community Foundation | Green Bay, WI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Moonriders Inc | Kewaunee, WI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Kewaunee Sports Booster Club | Kewaunee, WI | $800 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ribbon of Hope Foundation | De Pere, WI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
14 of 34 (41%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 47%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- St Francis De Sales Seminary
$90,000 FOR THE SALESIANUM TRUST, $22,000 FOR CHAPEL RENOVATION, AND $750 TO SPONSOR THE SEMINARY DINNER - East Shore Industries Inc
$95,000 FOR THE TRANSPORTATION GARAGE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN, $4,000 TO SPONSOR EVENT, AND $699 FOR A TABLE SAW - St Ignatius Catholic School
LABORATORY RENOVATION PROJECT - Cerebral Palsy Inc
$24,500 TO SPONSOR ANNUAL CP TELETHON AND $500 IN EDUCATIONAL TOYS - Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Green Bay Inc
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FOR RONCALLI CATHOLIC SCHOOLS - Green Bay Area Catholic Education Inc (grace)
$4,110 TO SPONSOR EVENT AND $565 TO SPONSOR BOOKS FOR CLASSICAL EDUCATION
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 27 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16 | $440,910 | $2,225 |
| 2023 | 14 | $69,013 | $2,850 |
| 2024 | 17 | $253,279 | $3,000 |
| 2025 | 14 | $316,429 | $3,876 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Marvin and Debra Cherney Family has 2 of them, worth $788,000. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| St Francis De Sales Seminary | St Francis, WI | $450,000 |
| St Francis De Sales Seminary | St Francis, WI | $338,000 |
Where its money goes
84% of its giving went to organizations in Wisconsin. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $3,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Wisconsin.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Marvin and Debra Cherney Family's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: E2669 County Road J, Kewaunee, WI, 54216. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 87-4127024 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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