The Dec. 10, 1980 edition of the Johnson Controls newsletter Briefing reported that the Johnson Controls Foundation had made a grant of $500,000, the largest grant in its history up to that point, to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The grant was to be made over a period of five years to the Symphony's capital fund.

The Foundation was formed on September 22, 1952, when the Johnson Service Company (Johnson Controls' former name) and the First Wisconsin Trust Company entered into an "Agreement and Declaration of Trust" to create the Johnson Service Company Foundation. Organized for charitable purposes, which included distribution and application of financial support to philanthropic organizations or causes, the Johnson Controls Foundation today supports a broad range of organizations in the United States that are in keeping with the company's overall philanthropic strategy of creating safe, smart and sustainable communities.