501(c)(3) Private Foundation

Nurturing freedom through community empowerment

We support grassroots projects in Brazil that create paths to dignity, education, and healing for vulnerable communities.

Gunther and Dorothea Schadow Foundation, Inc. · EIN 27-1456525

Our Projects About Us

About the Foundation

We are a private foundation providing financial support to community-driven projects in Brazil, with a focus on education, spiritual care, and child welfare.

Who We Are

We are a 501(c)(3) private non-operating foundation established in May 2010. We believe in the power of small, locally-rooted initiatives to create lasting change. Rather than funding large institutions, we partner directly with community leaders who understand the needs of their people.

Our Approach

We find passionate individuals running grassroots projects and provide the resources they need to grow. Our model is hands-on and relational — we visit projects, build personal connections, and ensure our support reaches those who need it most.

Details

  • Legal name: Gunther and Dorothea Schadow Foundation, Inc.
  • DBA: Liberty to Grow Foundation, Inc.
  • EIN: 27-1456525
  • Status: 501(c)(3) private non-operating foundation
  • Ruling date: May 2010
  • President: Gunther Schadow
  • Address: 408 N 3rd St, Ste 306, Wausau, WI 54403

Governance

  • Gunther Schadow — President
  • Ted Paull — Secretary
  • Vada Perkins — Treasurer

Our Projects

Three initiatives we currently support, each addressing a different dimension of community need in Rio de Janeiro.

Rocinha Community School

Education

Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro — Brazil's largest favela

A community-focused school serving children in Rocinha, one of the most densely populated communities in the Americas. The school provides educational opportunities and a safe environment for children who would otherwise face the risks of growing up in an underserved favela environment, where public services are scarce and the influence of organized crime is pervasive.

Rocinha Community School Rocinha Community School

About Rocinha

Rocinha is home to approximately 150,000 people living on a steep hillside in Rio's South Zone. Community schools have been a vital part of the fabric here since the 1970s, filling gaps where state-provided education falls short. These schools are not just classrooms — they are centers of community resistance, identity, and opportunity.

Instagram: @rocinhacommunityschool →

Instituto Sanativo

Spiritual Care & Healing

Paquetá Island, Rio de Janeiro — and Vale do Paraíba, SP

A non-profit spiritual association dedicated to spiritual care, consciousness expansion, and holistic transformation. The Institute provides a sacred space where people can work through addiction, emotional pain, and existential questions — supported by forest medicines, ancestral spirituality, and integrative practices.

What They Do

  • Entheogenic therapies with ayahuasca, jurema, rapĂ©, and other sacred plant medicines in safe, ritualized settings
  • Holistic modalities: art, music, aromatherapy, family constellation, astrology, and sacred gardening
  • Ancestral Afro-Brazilian and indigenous rituals for cleansing, protection, and spiritual strengthening
  • Charity and care for the vulnerable in surrounding communities

Synergy with Our Work

Chiquinho (José Francisco Chiquinho), a team member at Sanativo with experience as a Conselho Tutelar (Guardianship Council) official, brings crucial child welfare expertise. We are exploring how this experience can help us establish proper oversight for our orphanage project in Santa Cruz — creating a partnership that bridges the farthest west and east ends of Rio de Janeiro.

Visit Sanativo →  ·  Instagram: @institutosanativo

Santa Cruz Children's Home

Child Welfare

Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro — Zona Oeste

An informal orphanage run by a remarkable woman in her 60s, who opened her home to shelter children from the streets of Santa Cruz. What began as an effort to keep her own sons safe from the bad influences of the favela environment evolved into something far larger: she invited other children in and discovered many were semi-abandoned, living on the streets, or coming from dysfunctional homes.

Today, she cares for approximately 50 children on her roster — not all full orphans, but many with parents who are absent, overwhelmed, or simply unable to provide care while working to make ends meet. For some, this home functions as a halfway day-care; for others, it is their only safe haven.

Our Support

  • Monthly food purchases to feed the children
  • Special events: Christmas and Easter parties
  • Home repairs and maintenance
  • Exploring ways to provide more structured oversight in partnership with Sanativo Institute's child welfare expertise

Our History

From a vision of targeted, personal philanthropy to active partnerships on the ground in Brazil.

The Gunther and Dorothea Schadow Foundation was established in 2010 as a private foundation dedicated to charitable giving. In its early years, the foundation operated primarily through grantmaking to organizations across the United States.

Over time, the vision evolved toward a more direct, hands-on approach — finding grassroots leaders and community projects where a relatively small amount of funding could create outsized impact. This led to the founding of the Liberty to Grow Foundation as the operating name, and a geographic focus on Brazil, where the foundation's president had deep personal and professional connections.

The foundation now supports three distinct projects in the Rio de Janeiro area, each representing a different facet of community empowerment: education in Rocinha, spiritual healing on Paquetá Island, and child welfare in Santa Cruz. We are actively developing the Santa Cruz project with a focus on proper governance and child safety protocols.

2010
Foundation established and granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status by the IRS.
2020–2024
Shift toward direct community partnerships in Brazil. Sanativo Institute founded on Paquetá Island. Rocinha and Santa Cruz projects identified and brought under the Liberty to Grow umbrella.
2025
Active support for all three projects. Exploring governance frameworks for the Santa Cruz children's home in partnership with Sanativo's child welfare expertise.

Contact

We'd love to hear from you — whether you're interested in collaborating, have questions about our work, or want to learn more.

Address

408 N 3rd St, Ste 306
Wausau, WI 54403-5455

Legal Information

EIN: 27-1456525
Status: 501(c)(3) private non-operating foundation
Tax-exempt since: May 2010

Project Links

Sanativo Institute: sanativo.org
Rocinha Community School: @rocinhacommunityschool
Sanativo: @institutosanativo

About This Site

This website is a simple, static informational page. We believe in putting resources into the communities we support, not into elaborate web presences. If you need more information or want to reach us directly, please use the channels above.

Interested in Our Work?

If you share our vision and would like to support any of the projects listed here, we welcome inquiries from like-minded individuals and organizations.