Our Mission

The Oscar Rennebohm Foundation provides grants to enhance education, health care, research and human services, improving the quality of life in the Madison area.

Focus Areas

Since 1949, $96 Million Invested in the Madison Community

Boy smiling with dental hygienist holding dental instrument with gloved hands
Access Community Health Center's Beyond Smiles dental program

Health Care

Black man in prison participating in Beyond Bars program
Odyssey Project Beyond Bars higher education in prison program

Education

Preschool age Latina girl holding bag of carrots with two boys in background
Nutritious food from Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin

Human Services

Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on the UW–Madison campus

Research

What We Do

Established by business leader and former Governor Oscar Rennebohm as a way to thank the community that made his success possible, the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation has issued hundreds of grants for projects that are visible in landmarks throughout the Madison landscape and across Dane County: the UW-Madison, Edgewood College and Madison College campuses; health care facilities; and neighborhood and community centers, among many others.

Foundation Timeline

May 25, 1889
Oscar's Birth
Oscar Rennebohm head shot from about 1950
May 25, 1889

Oscar Rennebohm is born in the town of Leeds, Columbia County, Wisconsin

1911
Oscar's Education
1911

Oscar completes the University of Wisconsin two-year pharmacy course

1912
Rennebohm Drug Stores
Painting of Badger Pharmacy near the UW-Madison campus
1912

Oscar buys his first drugstore and establishes Rennebohm Drug Stores under the Rexall franchise

1914–18
Military Service
Oscar Rennebohm image from his time in the Navy during World War I
1914–18

During World War I, Oscar attends officer candidate school and is commissioned an Ensign by the Navy

1920
Oscar and Mary's Marriage
Mary Rennebohm head shot
1920

Oscar marries Mary Fowler

1932
Carol Ann Adopted
Mary and Carol Ann Rennebohm standing on staircase in their home, 1947
1932

Oscar and Mary adopt Carol Ann

1936
Rennebohm Drug Stores Growth
Store at State and Fairchild
1936

Oscar’s drugstore chain grows to 13 locations

1944
Oscar's Political Career
Gov. Walter Goodland and Lt. Governor Oscar Rennebohm
1944

Oscar wins Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin race

1947
Oscar Appointed Governor
Governor Oscar Rennebohm, seated as his desk and signing a bill
1947

Oscar becomes Governor of Wisconsin following Gov. Walter Samuel Goodland’s death

1948
Oscar Elected Governor
Mary and Oscar Rennebohm at the Governor's Ball in the late 1940s
1948

Oscar elected Governor of Wisconsin

1949
Foundation Established
Former Governor and Mrs. Mary Rennebohm pose with Rennebohm scholars and committee members
December 2, 1949

Articles of Incorporation filed for the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation

1950–60
Early Foundation Grants
Our Lady Queen of Peace Church dedication – Madison, WI in 1955
1950–60

Foundation awards small grants to churches, hospitals and other nonprofit organizations, such as American Red Cross

1952
Board of Regents
1952

Oscar named to University of Wisconsin Board of Regents 

1957
Foundation's First Major Grant
Wisconsin General Hospital on the UW-Madison campus in the 1950s
1957

Foundation awards its first major grant of $40,000 to the UW Medical School and Hospital for pulmonary function research

1960
Geographic Area Narrows
Aerial view of Madison, Wisconsin in early 1950s – image from Wisconsin Historical Society
1960

Foundation narrows grant recipient geographic area to Dane County

1962
UW Land Development
Oscar Rennebohm at Hilldale Shopping Center grant opening
1962

Oscar aids UW in developing the area later known as Hilldale Shopping Center

1968
Oscar's Death
Oscar Rennebohm in front of flag
1968

Oscar Rennebohm dies at age 79

1969
UW Pharmacy Auditorium
Mary Rennebohm speaking from behind podium in Oscar Rennebohm Auditorium inside the UW School of Pharmacy in 1978
1969

Foundation grants $200,000 to UW School of Pharmacy for new auditorium

1973
State Administration Research Grant
Wisconsin state flag
1973

A grant created a chair in Political Science with emphasis on research in problems of state administration

1980
Rennebohm Drug Stores Sold
Rennebohm Drug Store soda fountain and interior, 1940s
1980

Rennebohm Drug Stores Inc. sells its nearly 30 stores to Walgreens

1981
Carol's Death
1981

Oscar and Mary’s daughter, Carol, dies, leaving a $5 million bequest to the foundation

1982
$1.3 Million Cardiology Grant
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health logo
1982

Foundation gives its largest-ever $1.3 million grant to UW Department of Medicine to improve and expand research, service and teaching in cardiology

1987
Skolaski Becomes President
1987

Steven Skolaski, who worked his way from dishwasher to CFO of Rennebohm Drug Stores, becomes the foundation's first President

1987
Diabetes Research
1987

Foundation commits $1 million to UW Department of Medicine to create the Center for Diabetes Research and Treatment 

1995
Mary's Death
1995

Mary Rennebohm dies

1997–2000
UW School of Pharmacy
1997–2000

Foundation commits $5 million to the new UW Pharmacy building, Rennebohm Hall, also housing the partially foundation-funded $550,000 Sonderegger Research Center

1998
Sonderegger Science Center
Edgewood Sonderegger Science Center
1998

Foundation grants $2 million to Edgewood’s Sonderegger Science Center for integration of science education from kindergarten through college

2005
UW Research
UW-Madison Logo
2005

Foundation commits $15 million to help build UW–Madison's planned Interdisciplinary Research Complex (IRC) 

2016–21
Northside Early Childhood Zone
Bead counter with child visible in background
2016–21

The foundation funds the groundbreaking Northside Early Childhood Zone project to help ages birth to 4 get the best possible start in life 

2021
Grant for Nurses
Graduate of UW School of Nursing who was also a Rennebohm Scholar
2021

Foundation funds a major gift that becomes the Rennebohm Initiative for Nurse Workforce Diversity and Health Equity

2022
Leadership Change
Erlanger playground dedication with representatives from Erlanger and Oscar Rennebohm Foundation former President Steve Skolaski and new President Jenni Jeffress
2022

Longtime foundation President/CEO Steven Skolaski retires, replaced by Jennifer Jeffress