Contact: Robin Reid, Communications Director
608-232-1763
Madison Community Foundation’s spring grant awards included support for five capital campaigns in Dane County, including a new library space, expanded domestic health services, a new downtown Madison Opera Center, a splashpark on Madison’s north side, and Humane Society feline housing facility. Spring grant awards totaled $526,600.
“Each of the funded organizations is passionate about improving lives in Dane County, be it through education, parks preservation, the arts, or expanding the opportunities for vulnerable populations,” said Tom Linfield, Madison Community Foundation Vice President, Grantmaking. “The Madison Community Foundation continues to be impressed at the passion and success of area non-profits as they strive to make this an extraordinary community for all. We are proud to be part of these projects.”
Grants awarded include:
Cambridge Community Library- $50,000 towards a capital campaign to construct a 6,800’ sq. library to replace the older, much smaller space. The new library will connect to and share facilities with the existing Amundson Center, and will address the marked increase in demand for library materials and services by the 4,000 plus citizens of the area.
Dane County Humane Society – $25,000 for renovation and expansion of the feline housing facility to maximize utilization of space and improve quality of life while animals are in care. Result will be decreased length of stay before adoption and decreased euthanasia due to untreatable illness.
Domestic Abuse Intervention Services -$100,000 for a capital campaign to build a new and greatly expanded facility for Madison’s only emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence and their families. The new facility will provide significantly increased capacity for shelter, case management services, expand access to age-appropriate programming for children, and increase the number and size of support groups.
Madison Opera – $100,000 to complete the new Madison Opera Center, bringing under one roof all the company’s administrative offices and artistic functions. Rehearsal spaces, costume shop, music library and meeting spaces will be shared with other nonprofit arts groups. The facility includes 88 parking stalls which will provide additional rental income to help stabilize the Opera’s financial future.
City of Madison Parks Department – $50,000 will be used to build Dane County’s fourth free-to-the-public splashpad, this one on the Northeast side of Madison at Reindahl Park. Along with existing soccer fields, playground, shelter house and proposed softball field complex, this splashpad will help revitalize Reindahl Park and make it a destination within the City of Madison.
Dane County Parks – $50,000 for an endowment to support outdoor education, interpretation, and volunteer opportunities. Friends of Dane County Parks Foundation will fundraise to match the grant 3:1 to create a total endowment of $150,000.
Madison Public Library Foundation – $25,000 to reinvent the Wisconsin Book Festival as a signature program for Madison Public Library, incorporating literature, spoken word, art, and performance, with local literary artists mixing with nationally acclaimed authors. The event will help cement the new Central Library as essential civic infrastructure while providing a stable base and staff to grow the popular festival .
Operation Fresh Start – $30,000 for Pathways Premium Program, a peer mentoring program to re-engage high school dropouts in pursuit of their diploma in one of the Operation Fresh Start diploma completion programs. Former OFS students will act as Ambassadors, providing students with intensive encouragement, mentoring, and direction in overcoming obstacles to finishing high school.
River Food Pantry – $15,000 for purchase and installation of a new walk-in cooler to help maximize the volume of produce and other refrigerated items that can be accepted for distribution. Consequently, client families will take home more produce per visit, and more perishable items will be distributed instead of hauled to landfills.
Salvation Army – $17,000 to create a computer lab for Salvation Army Shelter residents. The volunteer-staffed lab will provide shelter residents with opportunities to search for jobs, prepare for job interviews, improve computer literacy, and build other job skills. The computers will also help children in the shelter keep up with homework. In 2012, over 900 adults and over 700 children were served in the shelter.
Wisconsin Wetlands Association – $50,000 for the WI Wetlands Association (WWA) Endowment Fund Campaign toward a $200,000 endowment to be held at MCF. Distributions from the fund will be used to increase the stability of WWA, increase protection, restoration, and management of wetlands throughout Wisconsin, and increase citizen involvement in protection efforts.
The mission of the Madison Community Foundation is to encourage, facilitate, and manage long-term philanthropy.
