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<\/a><\/p>\nChildren\u2019s Hospital of Wisconsin and Froedtert. File photo by Aalvarez89 \/ (CC BY-SA<\/a>)<\/p>\n In September Children\u2019s Wisconsin held a new fundraising event for its two hospitals. Created to replace Al\u2019s Run and held at State Fair Park, Rally Round Children\u2019s Wisconsin \u201coffers what people loved about the original event \u2014 running, walking and coming together for a great cause \u2014 plus so much more,\u201d the promotion by Children\u2019s promised, \u201cfeaturing entertainment, activation zones and delicious food.\u201d<\/p>\n Some 6,000 people showed up to support Children\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cI have goosebumps,\u201d Christine Baranoucky<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> of Children\u2019s Wisconsin<\/a> Foundation<\/a> told <\/a>CBS 58<\/a>. \u201cI am so inspired by the community\u2019s generosity and engagement with us.\u201d<\/p>\n The event was just one of the many ways Children\u2019s solicits donations from the community. Its federal 990 tax forms show it raised $118 million in contributions and grants in 2024. These donations, Children\u2019s assures<\/a> the community, will \u201cfund critical treatments, health care services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, like most children\u2019s hospitals in America, the Milwaukee organization provides little charitable care and has a tremendous stockpile of investments. A 2011 story<\/a> by Kaiser Health News found that \u201cin 2009, the elite children\u2019s hospitals reported $1.5 billion in profits \u2013 what nonprofits call surpluses,\u201d and \u201chad accumulated $21 billion in stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments as of 2010 \u2013 more than enough to provide an entire year\u2019s worth of medical care for free. They had net assets \u2013 the equivalent of net worth for nonprofits \u2013 of $23 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n Back then Children\u2019s Wisconsin was already on the road to acquiring such wealth. Its 2010 federal tax form showed it had net assets of $1.2 billion and $673 million in publicly traded securities. That was more than enough to pay for a year\u2019s worth of medical care \u2014 its total budget was $623 million that year \u2014 for free.<\/p>\n \t\tGet a daily rundown of the Milwaukee stories\t<\/p>\n But its stockpile of money has grown tremendously since then. It has three different entities \u2014 Children\u2019s Hospital of Wisconsin<\/a>, Children\u2019s Hospital and Health System and Children\u2019s Hospital of Wisconsin Foundation \u2014 which makes it harder to track its financials. Together they show the organization had by 2024 more than tripled its net assets, to $3.8 billion, and more than doubled its stock of publicly traded securities, to $1.74 billion, more than enough to pay for its total budget of $1.27 billion.<\/p>\n Children\u2019s had a net income of $146.8 million, giving the nonprofit an 11.6% profit margin for the year, which would be the envy of many for-profit corporations. And just like the children\u2019s hospitals Kaiser reported on, much of its soaring budget goes for big pay to executives.<\/p>\n The list<\/a> of its executive leadership is a long one with 20 people, led by its CEO Gil Peri<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/b>, who took over in midyear the position that pays nearly $2.7 million in compensation. Below him is one executive paid more than $2 million, two getting more than $1 million, two awarded more than $900,000, five at more than $600,000, three at more than $500,000 and 12 getting more than $400,000.<\/p>\n Children\u2019s did not respond to requests for comment by publication, but its federal tax form says the organization uses an \u201cindependent\u201d compensation consultant and a compensation survey or study to determine salaries. Given the skyrocketing salaries of other children\u2019s hospital executives Kaiser documented, that survey would likely justify generous pay.<\/p>\n None of this is disclosed when Children\u2019s holds fundraisers or seeks donations. The organization does not provide any link to its federally required annual tax form on its website, nor does it disclose any salaries. And its split into three different entities with separate tax forms makes that information even less transparent.<\/p>\n Rather, its sales pitch is always about raising \u201ccritical funds that support the kids and families of Wisconsin.\u201d And it has many community partners who help raise the money. There\u2019s the WKLH Miracle Marathon Benefiting Children\u2019s Wisconsin which raised more than $1 million<\/a> in 2025. And there are two different golf courses who\u2019ve worked with Children\u2019s. The Children\u2019s Wisconsin Open at Buttes des Morts Country Club in Appleton has raised millions. \u201cThe Baths of Blackwolf Run!\u201d golf event<\/a> raises funds for \u201cthe life-saving work at Children\u2019s Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n Since 2019, the Do Good With Food<\/a>\u00a0fundraiser has generated more than $130,000 for Children\u2019s Wisconsin<\/a>. More than 40 restaurants participated<\/a> in 2024, donating a portion of their sales to Children\u2019s. And the \u201cGather for Good\u201d auction with dinner and cocktails in De Pere has raised<\/a> $2.1 million over the last 30 years.<\/p>\n For 45 years Children\u2019s promoted Al\u2019s Run to raise money, but ended that in 2023 because it wasn\u2019t worth the effort for the $120,000 in net revenue, as Urban Milwaukee reported<\/a>. That amounted to a rounding error for an organization pulling in $118 million per year in contributions and grants. Children\u2019s pays three different philanthropic consultants: Schultz & Williams (based in Philadelphia), Bentz Whaley Flessner (Minneapolis) and Community Counseling Service LLC (also in Philadelphia).<\/p>\n With their help Children\u2019s doesn\u2019t seem to miss a trick with its fundraising. It offers a long list<\/a> of possible fundraising events for individuals and businesses, including a bake sale, benefit concert, bike-a-thon, bowling event, car wash, lemonade stand and yard sale. It encourages donations by mail, online, by \u201cStock Transfer\u201d or that you \u201cFundraise on Facebook.\u201d<\/p>\n This is a corporate-like entity with $3.8 billion in net assets asking kids to sell lemonade or do car washes to give it more money. It earned far more in income from its massive stash of investments \u2014 a $117.6 million spin-off in 2024 \u2014 than the $26.4 million it got in donations. In the last two years its net income far exceeded total fundraising, meaning it would have still had a healthy profit without any donations.<\/p>\n As for the idea these donations will be used for charitable care, Children\u2019s gives little free care. The most recent report by the Wisconsin Hospital Association<\/a> showed Children\u2019s Hospital in Milwaukee devoted 0.5% of its revenue to charity care in 2024, 0.3% in 2023, and 0.2% in both 2022 and 2021. In all four years this well below the average for all Wisconsin hospitals, the reports show.<\/p>\n The hospital has in the past defended itself<\/a>, saying children rarely need charity care because \u201cthe vast majority\u201d in the state have some kind of coverage from public or private sources. Yet in 2023 Children\u2019s shut down a pediatric clinic on the city\u2019s North Side, one of the poorest and least healthy neighborhoods in the nation. Children\u2019s insisted it had not made the decision for financial reasons, noting \u201cWell over 50 percent of our patients every year receive some form of Medicaid coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n But as a study<\/a> by KFF found, private insurers pay way more than Medicaid, nearly double the rate for all hospital services. By closing the northside clinic, where 95% of patients are on Medicaid, Children\u2019s could lower the number of those patients it serves.<\/p>\n Hospitals like Children\u2019s are classed as tax-exempt charitable organizations, meaning they pay no federal, state and local taxes. But a Kaiser study<\/a> found that hospitals nationally provided $16 billion in charity care in 2020, which was far less than the estimated $28 billion value of their tax exemptions. The difference would be even bigger for Children\u2019s, given how little charity care it provides.<\/p>\n \u201cAs nonprofits, children\u2019s hospitals enjoy an array of tax breaks covering real estate, earnings and investment gains,\u201d Kaiser reported, which \u201chelps them boost their reserves and grow the business.\u201d Children\u2019s Wisconsin has a $34.9 million investment in the Central American and Caribbean countries of Antigua<\/a>, Barbuda, Aruba and the Bahamas, its tax form shows.<\/p>\n Children\u2019s Wisconsin has a 27-member board of directors,<\/a> led by co-chairman Patrick Hammes<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>, managing principal with Hammes Partners<\/a>, a company that invests in health care real estate. Fourteen of the board members are current or retired executives with corporations and four are executives at Children\u2019s. No working nurse or doctor serves on the board.<\/p>\n Correction<\/strong>: The original version of this story reported that Children\u2019s devoted 0.0% of its gross patient revenue to charity care in 2023; the correct figure was 0.3%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Get a daily rundown of the top stories on Urban Milwaukee Children\u2019s Hospital of Wisconsin and Froedtert. 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