For many, the Kohler name is synonymous with high‑end bathroom fixtures. Others might think of nationally‑ranked golf courses. But ask Kohler Foundation Executive Director Angela Ramey, and she would say it’s all about the arts.
“Arts and education have been an incredibly important part of the Kohler family for the last 150 years,” she says. “Since the beginning of time, the arts have brought us together. It is what makes us human.”
The private family foundation, which operates completely separately from Kohler Company, was started nearly 90 years ago as a way to increase local access to arts and education through five main focus areas: art preservation, grants, scholarships, a performing arts series and management of the Waelderhaus, an Austrian house museum in Kohler.
Stewardship of the foundation recently passed to Herbert V. Kohler Jr.’s children — David, Laura and Rachel — after the passing of their father in 2022 and his wife Natalie Black Kohler two years later. She says the leadership transition has created a meaningful inflection point for the organization.
“[The next generation] is trying to be fluid and responsive to the changing world around us — honoring that legacy of what the foundation is but exploring new strategies and being responsive to the needs of our community,” Ramey says.
The reality is that needs are increasing, but funding is not, Ramey says. Wisconsin has historically ranked near the bottom for per capita arts funding and currently sits at No. 48 in the nation. That, combined with cuts to federal agencies that provide arts funding, creates an uncertain environment for many nonprofits that the foundation supports.
“Arts programming is and has been in trouble. State, local and national funding is being slashed,” Ramey says. “There are now parameters being put on those national funds that are making it difficult for some of these long‑standing organizations to fulfill their missions.”
As public dollars shrink and family budgets tighten, private philanthropy like the Kohler Foundation becomes a critical backstop.
“We can’t necessarily close all the gaps, but we know that these nonprofits and these programmatic organizations are what make our community phenomenal,” Ramey says. “The arts are a huge part of the economic development of our state. I think that’s a story that needs to be told more, because if you’re not aware of that, it’s the easiest thing to cut.”
In 2025, the Kohler Foundation granted $400,000 to organizations in Sheboygan County and rural Wisconsin.
“We are able to fully or partially fund an [annual] average of 75 unique nonprofits in our area,” Ramey says.
Grants have supported the Stephanie Weill Center for the Performing Arts’ school shows program, Bookworm Gardens’ literary‑themed installations, Family Resource Center’s literacy resources for non‑English speakers and American Players Theatre’s educational outreach efforts.
This year’s grant portal will be open July 15 to September 15 at kohlerfoundation.org.
In addition to grants, Kohler Foundation’s scholarship program includes dozens of annual awards. One of its most significant scholarships is the Herbert V. Kohler Scholarship for outstanding leadership. It is awarded to graduating high school seniors in Sheboygan County.
“It’s really rooted in what the Kohler Foundation has been built on — innovation, boldness and leadership,” Ramey says.
Last year’s $150,000 HVK Scholarship was awarded to Evelyn Ramos‑Garcia of Cedar Grove‑Belgium High School, a first‑generation college student pursuing biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin‑Madison.
“Watching her get that award and watching what felt like generations of work, generations of sacrifice … and knowing that she’s going to take this and go and change the world — it gives me goosebumps,” Ramey says.
Ramey works with schools and has observed how the student debt crisis is dampening ambition.
“We’re seeing a real drop in the dreamers; of going to Harvard and Yale and these big dreams. It’s because [students] are growing up in a culture where they see the stress of student loans, see their parents still paying them off,” she says. “People are being really responsible and more realistic about it, and I get that, but we want to support those dreamers too.”
