About

Our Vision

All individuals, families and neighborhoods have the resources and opportunities to prosper.

Our Mission

We are dedicated to enhancing the wellbeing of individuals, families, and neighborhoods by investing in nonprofit organizations to address basic needs and help ensure personal safety; increase access to social and economic opportunity; and improve the quality of life in neighborhoods.

Our History

The Joseph and Vera Zilber Charitable Foundation, Inc. (dba Zilber Family Foundation) is a private, independent grantmaking institution founded by the late Joseph J. Zilber in 1961. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Joe Zilber attended Milwaukee public schools and Marquette University, where he met his wife, Vera. They lived and raised their children in Milwaukee, where Joe established Zilber Ltd., a residential and commercial real estate firm.

Today, the Zilber Family Foundation is the majority owner of Zilber Ltd., which continues to invest, build, and manage real estate throughout the country.

Our Impact

We are pleased to share the Foundation's first impact report, The Spirit of Community, which takes a look back on our investment in community in 2020 and the first six months of 2021.

In 2022, the Foundation commissioned a Grantee Perception Report to get feedback from grantee partners on our performance and our relationship with their organizations. The survey is conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), and contains a mix of quantitative and qualitative responses, benchmarked against peer funders who also work with CEP to administer the survey to their grantees. The Zilber Family Foundation’s full report can be found here.