Mission/Guidelines

In fiscal year 2009, the Foundation provided a total of $15 million in grants and sponsorships to national programs and to local programs in the company’s hometown of Milwaukee, WI.

We are committed to securing future generations by making a long-term investment in helping kids achieve their full potential through programs that promote literacy, wellness and creativity. We are also dedicated to helping develop our local economy.

Grant Application Program

Northwestern Mutual Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant requests.

At this time, we are only accepting grant applications from nonprofit organizations located in Milwaukee for programs that align with the Securing Future Generations pillar of our giving.

Groups new to the Foundation are asked to submit a written letter of intent (one to two pages) that describes your organization, the funding request, and how the program for which you are seeking support aligns with the Securing Future Generations pillar:

• Insuring academic achievement through literacy
• Insuring healthy habits through prevention
• Insuring inspiration through arts education

Please submit your letter of intent to:

Thomas Rosenthal
c/o Northwestern Mutual Foundation
720 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202

We’ll review your letter of intent and, if the Foundation is interested in learning more about your project, you will receive an application form. Please be patient. We’ll contact you as soon as we have reviewed your materials.

Organizations with an active funding relationship with the Foundation may apply annually for support.

Once an organization submits an application, the review process takes about 90 days.

National Programs

Nearly half of the Foundation's annual budget is distributed to our national program partners. These efforts offer the company the opportunity to invest in key community organizations around the country and support worthwhile volunteer projects and schools that are meaningful to our employees and financial representatives.

Disaster Relief
Each year, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and wildfires destroy the vitality of communities across the country.  In order to support community recovery and rebuilding, the Northwestern Mutual Foundation has provided a grant of $500,000 to the American Red Cross.  These dollars will be deployed to assist at the local level, in the event of a disaster or emergency that affects our financial representatives and customers.  This fund will be replenished annually, for the next five years.  

Matching Gifts
For more than 40 years, Northwestern Mutual’s Matching Gifts Program has supported quality educational institutions, based on gifts made by our financial representatives and employees.  The program matches dollar-for-dollar the contributions made by financial representatives and employees to fund accredited public and private nonprofit schools, elementary, middle and secondary schools, as well as college and universities.  In fiscal year 2009, the program contributed more than $3.2 million to schools across the nation. In the last five years, nearly 2,500 accredited schools have received more than $15 million in matching gifts from the Foundation.

Community Impact Awards
In 2009 Northwestern Mutual introduced a new award which recognizes network and district network offices that engage in group volunteerism.  The first-ever Community Impact Awards were presented to four network offices (one in each region) during the 2009 Regional Meetings.  In recognition of each of the four award-winning offices, the Northwestern Mutual Foundation made a $50,000 contribution to the nonprofit that each supports.

Community Service Awards
Another way that Northwestern Mutual recognizes and supports the volunteer activities of its financial representatives is through the Community Service Awards program. This program, which is open to the 9,000 members of the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, has resulted in more than $3.5 million dollars donated to charities around the country since its inception in 1995.

Each year, the Northwestern Mutual Foundation awards 25 financial representatives whose outstanding dedication to local organizations has significantly bettered their communities. The nonprofits for which they volunteer are awarded a $10,000 grant, with one of the 25 recognized as the Most Exceptional Volunteer and honored with a $25,000 grant to his or her nonprofit partner.

Greater Milwaukee Programs

Northwestern Mutual has a long history of giving back to the community. It is a belief that is embedded in the company’s value system and cultivated by the more than 5,000 employees at our home office in Milwaukee, WI.  For that reason, a portion of our funding is spent in the Milwaukee community, where we can continue to promote the practice of giving back and assist in maintaining a culture that fosters an attitude of doing the right thing.

Securing Future Generations
Northwestern Mutual appreciates the importance of leaving a legacy for future generations. The Foundation partners with best-in-class nonprofit organizations that share our commitment to securing the future for children in Milwaukee via programs that focus on:

• Insuring academic achievement through literacy.
  The Foundation supports programs that develop both traditional literacy and financial literacy skills in children. Research shows that when children’s reading levels improve, they are more likely to succeed in all areas of their academic development. Financial literacy is often not a core component  of many children’s academic curriculum.  However, it’s an essential skill children need to become financially empowered adults. That is why the Foundation teams with local schools and nonprofits that offer first-rate traditional or financial literacy programs.
  
  
• Insuring healthy habits through prevention.
  Instead of focusing on specific diseases, which often represent the symptoms of more significant problems, the Foundation has made a concerted effort to fund programs that address the core causes of many of our most pressing societal health issues. We support effective primary prevention programs that encourage children to make healthy diet choices, stress the importance of an active lifestyle, and emphasize the dangerous ramifications related to smoking and substance abuse.
  
  
• Insuring inspiration through arts education.
  We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to an education that includes the arts and that every child deserves to be inspired. The arts programs that the Foundation funds provide effective and exemplary hands-on opportunities for K-12 students who generally do not receive arts classes and programming in their regular classroom curriculum.

Developing Our Economy
Northwestern Mutual understands and appreciates the value of living and working in a community that is vibrant and enduring. For that reason, the Foundation invests in our local economy via the following areas of focus:

• Strengthening the economic landscape.
  The Foundation teams with best-in-class nonprofits that are improving local neighborhoods, creating and retaining jobs in Milwaukee and providing higher education and job training for the less fortunate.
  
  
• Helping the underserved.
  Together, Northwestern Mutual, its employees, and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation are Milwaukee's number-one annual contributors to the United Way of Greater Milwaukee, providing over $3.6 million dollars in 2009. The Foundation also partners with organizations that address fundamental, basic needs in Milwaukee— food, shelter, medical/dental care—or serve individuals with developmental and physical disabilities.
  
  
• Building community spirit.
  As the number-one annual contributor to Milwaukee’s United Performing Arts Fund (more than $1 million), Northwestern Mutual takes pride in the number of local organizations that continually produce high quality art in the areas of music, theatre and dance. Likewise, the Foundation partners with other local cultural and sports organizations that deliver unique experiences to make Milwaukee not only distinct, but also a destination.

Mutually Beneficial
Through our collaboration program, Mutually Beneficial, the Foundation encourages nonprofits to join together in creating and sustaining a vibrant community. Positive outcomes can best be achieved through shared goals and enduring partnerships.

Days of Sharing
Each fall, the Northwestern Mutual Foundation commits over $125,000 to support organizations that our employees deem valuable and praiseworthy during the “Days of Sharing.”

Mutual Friends
Mutual Friends is the formal volunteer program for the Northwestern Mutual corporate family, bringing together employees, retirees, family and friends to collectively lend a helping hand to various community volunteer projects. More than 30,000 volunteer hours a year are donated through this program, which has a monetary value of more than $500,000.

News from the Foundation

For more in-depth information on our most recent programs, initiatives, and sponsorships take a look at our press releases below:

	Northwestern Mutual Foundation Supports Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts with $100,000 American Red Cross Donation
	Health and Fitness Tops Consumers' List of Worries, According to Northwestern Mutual Charitable Campaign
	Northwestern Mutual Foundation Invests $4.5 Million in Milwaukee Education Initiatives
	Northwestern Mutual Foundation Honors 25 Top Volunteers
	Northwestern Mutual Honored With UPAF Civic Partnership Award
	Northwestern Mutual Pledges Financial Support to Severe Weather Recovery Effort in the Midwest
	Northwestern Mutual Helps Consumers "Let Worries Go" With Choice of Virtual Catapult, Rocket Ship, Submarine or Hot Air Balloon
	Northwestern Mutual Gifts $1.5 Million to Goodwill, YMCA, Second Harvest & Junior Achievement
	Northwestern Mutual's 150th Anniversary Highlighted by $265,000 Donation to Service Organizations Nationwide
	Northwestern Mutual Celebrates 150th Anniversary - Company to Contribute More Than $3 Million to Communities Nationwide in Commemoration of Milestone
	Northwestern Mutual Honors Jim Ericson with $1 Million Gift to United Way