Gary E Milgard Family Foundation - Cari

Gary E Milgard Family Foundation - Cari

Gary and Carol Milgard established this foundation in 2000, shortly after the sale of Milgard Windows to Masco Corporation. The wealth originates from Milgard Windows, the Tacoma-based manufacturer the couple built into one of the largest vinyl-window producers in the western United States. Cari Milgard, their daughter, now runs the restructured entity alongside her children Kasey and Kirby Milgard and her husband Paul DeGoede. The foundation's capital is deployed across a publicly traded securities portfolio and direct commercial real estate, anchored by the Whisper Foundation headquarters at 1701 Commerce Street in downtown Tacoma. Grantmaking concentrates on healthcare and community welfare in the South Puget Sound region — MultiCare Health System is a primary beneficiary, with the Milgard Pavilion named in recognition of the family's major donor relationship. The foundation no longer operates as a single entity; it reorganized in 2016 into four separate legacy foundations — Ruth Foundation, Skylight Foundation, Whisper Foundation, and Windows of Hope Foundation — each pursuing distinct philanthropic mandates under family governance. Professionals reporting to Cari Milgard include the next generation: Kasey Milgard serves as Vice President and Secretary, Kirby Milgard as Vice President and Treasurer, and Paul DeGoede as a director. Cari Milgard also sits on the board of Mary Bridge Children's Foundation, reinforcing the family's multi-decade commitment to pediatric healthcare in Tacoma. The foundation maintains no additional offices beyond its Tacoma headquarters. The 2016 reorganization into four named foundations is the defining structural feature — rather than consolidating control in a single entity, the family split its philanthropic capital into distinct vehicles, each with its own mandate, while keeping operating control within three generations of direct descendants. This architecture resists the consolidation typical of single-family foundations and suggests a governance priority on granting autonomy to each legacy arm.