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We Energies Foundation
The We Energies Foundation operates as the charitable grantmaking affiliate of WEC Energy Group, the publicly traded Milwaukee-based utility holding company.
We Energies Foundation
The We Energies Foundation operates as the charitable grantmaking affiliate of WEC Energy Group, the publicly traded Milwaukee-based utility holding company. Funded by WEC Energy Group stockholders rather than ratepayers, the foundation directs contributions to eligible nonprofit organizations within the utility's Wisconsin service territory. Its board includes current WEC Energy Group CEO Scott J. Lauber, former CEO and Chairman Gale E. Klappa, and foundation President Beth Straka, who also serves as a senior vice president at the parent corporation. The foundation's grant strategy concentrates on five priority areas: community development, health, arts and culture, education, and the environment. Its community development posture is tightly coupled with regional economic advancement — the foundation is a Platinum-level investor in New North, Inc., the economic development partnership for Northeast Wisconsin. Leadership overlaps further embed the foundation in Milwaukee's civic infrastructure: Klappa co-chairs the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development group, and both Klappa and executive Margaret Kelsey maintain active roles in the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. The foundation also deploys capital through the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, where its leadership holds board seats. The grantmaking scale is not publicly disclosed. The foundation operates with a lean structure, relying on WEC Energy Group executives as directors rather than a standalone professional staff of significant size. It functions alongside a sibling charitable entity, the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation, Inc., which covers the legacy Wisconsin Public Service service area within the broader WEC Energy Group portfolio. The foundation does not maintain separate offices outside of the corporate headquarters in Milwaukee. The foundation's structural identity departs from a conventional endowment model. It is not a permanently capitalized grantmaking foundation but a pass-through vehicle for annual stockholder-funded giving, meaning its grantmaking capacity rises and falls with corporate profitability and board discretion rather than an independent corpus. This architecture ties the foundation's philanthropic tempo directly to the financial health of the parent utility — a distinctly corporate-treasury approach rather than a self-sustaining philanthropic endowment.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Milwaukee
Corporate office
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Principals
M. Beth Straka
President, We Energies Foundation; SVP, WEC Energy Group
Gale E. Klappa
Director, We Energies Foundation; Former CEO/Chairman, WEC Energy Group
Scott J. Lauber
Director, We Energies Foundation; CEO, WEC Energy Group
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How is the We Energies Foundation funded?
The foundation is funded by stockholders of WEC Energy Group, not by the utility's ratepayers. This distinction matters for regulatory perception: the foundation's grants do not flow from customer bills. The board controls annual grantmaking allocation based on corporate earnings and strategic priorities, operating as a pass-through giving vehicle rather than a permanently endowed foundation.
Who makes grantmaking decisions at the foundation?
Grant decisions are overseen by a board that includes WEC Energy Group CEO Scott J. Lauber and former CEO/Chairman Gale E. Klappa. Foundation President M. Beth Straka, who also holds the role of SVP at the parent corporation, leads day-to-day operations. The board's composition signals tight alignment between the utility's executive leadership and the foundation's philanthropic direction.
What is the foundation's relationship to WEC Energy Group?
The foundation is the charitable arm of WEC Energy Group, a publicly traded utility holding company headquartered in Milwaukee. It is not an independent foundation but a controlled affiliate whose board is populated by WEC executives. This corporate-foundation structure means the foundation's grantmaking mirrors the parent company's geographic footprint and civic priorities in Wisconsin.
What geography does the foundation serve?
The foundation's grantmaking is restricted to eligible nonprofits within the We Energies utility service area in Wisconsin. Its civic engagement extends further through economic development partnerships — notably as a Platinum-level investor in New North, Inc. serving Northeast Wisconsin, and through its executives' leadership roles in the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development group.
How does the foundation's giving connect to economic development?
The foundation explicitly links its grantmaking to regional economic development. It is a Platinum-level backer of New North, Inc., and its director Gale Klappa serves as co-chair of Milwaukee 7. These partnerships blur the line between pure philanthropy and corporate civic investment, positioning the foundation as a tool for maintaining WEC Energy Group's regional influence and workforce pipeline.
What is the relationship between the We Energies Foundation and the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation?
Both are charitable affiliates of WEC Energy Group subsidiaries. The Wisconsin Public Service Foundation, Inc. covers the legacy Wisconsin Public Service territory within the broader WEC portfolio, functioning as a parallel giving vehicle. Each foundation serves the historical service area of its respective utility brand under the parent holding company.
What types of organizations does the foundation support through the United Way?
The foundation's leadership holds board seats with the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, indicating it channels some grant capital through that federated giving structure. This United Way relationship suggests support for a broad spectrum of health, education, and financial stability programs vetted through United Way's community needs assessment process, though specific grant recipients are not publicly enumerated.
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