Over $215k awarded to 26 organizations and initiatives

Announcing the winter 2024 Funds for Greater Green Bay grant recipients

March 4, 2024 – The Greater Green Bay Community Foundation awarded $215,700 in grants during the Funds for Greater Green Bay winter grant cycle. The awards will support the work of 26 nonprofit programs and initiatives in Brown, Kewaunee, and Oconto counties.

Funds for Greater Green Bay is a collection of funds, held at the Community Foundation, that aims to improve the quality of life in our community by supporting work to meet evolving needs. Grants awarded this cycle include funding for the revitalization of the Oneida language; efforts to reopen and restore Green Lake Park in Oconto County; as well as numerous projects to increase personal and public safety, provide stable housing, and support individual well-being.

“The breadth of these investments reflects our support of organizations and initiatives of all sizes that are making our community more inclusive and resilient,” said Kari Olsen, director of grants and scholarship programming at the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation. “The Community Foundation is committed to identifying and supporting organizations both established and emerging doing a variety of work across the community.”

A record 81 nonprofit organizations applied for funding this cycle, reflecting the high level of need within the community. In addition to the funds distributed by the Community Foundation, Community Foundation fundholders contributed $12,500 of the total amount awarded to increase available grant dollars through co-investment.

The following programs are recipients of a winter 2024 Funds for Greater Green Bay grant:

• Alpha Phi Alpha Delta Chi Lambda Foundation | Youth Mentoring & Literacy Programs: Funds will allow the brothers of Sigma Upsilon Lambda to work with Washington Middle School on a Youth Mentoring Program, “Go to High School Go to College,” as well as the launch of a youth literacy program.
• American Red Cross – Northeast Wisconsin Chapter | Sound the Alarm, Save a Life: Funding will support installation of more than 500 free smoke alarms in homes.
• Bay Area Council on Gender Diversity | General Operating Support: Funding will be used to expand outreach and increase the number of trans adults, youth, families, and allies served. Additionally, funds will support further development and presentations by Trans Artists Collaborative.
• Brain Center of Green Bay | Education and Outreach Programming: Funding will support community education and outreach programming, coaching, and community programs at no charge.
• Casa ALBA Melanie | Amigas Circle- Corazones Jovenes y Alegre: The Corazones Jovenes senior citizens group aims to support women by introducing therapist-led group sessions that will focus on healing through strengthening self-esteem, leadership through communing, and accessing resources and tools for growth.
• Center for Childhood Safety | Child Passenger Safety: Grant dollars will provide hands-on education to agency partners, hospital staff, police officers, firefighters, caregivers, and youth through daily car-seat fitting appointments and clinics.
• Centro de Actividades y Servicios Altruistas | Wraparound Program: Funding will support an after-school program for Latino youth attending Luxemburg-Casco schools, as well as English classes for adults every Sunday.
• City of Green Bay | Green Bay Conservation Corps Rain Garden Installation: Funding will support the installation of rain gardens near the new playground at Baird Park which will reduce the risk of flooding in the park and offer an opportunity for visitors to learn about rare and endangered pollinators.
• Compress and Shock Foundation | National CPR and AED Education Day: This grant will fund cardiopulmonary (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training and the placement of AEDs into communities in need.
• COMSA | General Operating Support: Funds will enhance COMSA’s programs and services, which exist to meet the unique needs of refugee and immigrant communities in Brown County.
• Ecumenical Partnership for Housing | Eviction Prevention Program: This program provides families at risk of eviction with emergency rental assistance, budget counseling, and ongoing case management to develop a plan for long-term stability.
• Exceptional Equestrians | Hippotherapy: Funding supports the growing hippotherapy program for children with disabilities.
• Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin | Sexual Assault Center Victim Support: Funding will support free and confidential crisis intervention, advocacy, support, and counseling services to survivors of sexual assault.
• Golden House | Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention & Response: Funds will create a staff position focused on domestic violence homicide prevention and response across Northeast Wisconsin, as a response to the increased number of fatalities related to domestic abuse.
• Heritage Hill | Historic Interpretation Enhancements: Funding will support Heritage Hill State Historical Park’s historic interpreters who are the primary educational resource available to visitors and guests.
• JOSHUA | Housing Advocacy Initiative: Funds will support training to ensure the voices of those who have experienced and are currently experiencing housing injustices are heard and empowered to advocate on their own behalf at the county and state levels.
• The Lakes Community Health Center | NorthLakes Community Health Worker: Funding will support the Community Health Worker position to serve patients in the Lakewood and Oconto clinics.
• Latino Professionals Association of NEW | Programming: Programming will include member meetings, lunch and learns, culturally responsive professional development, and a public annual event.
• Leadership Oconto County Incorporated | Leadership Oconto County: Leadership Oconto County programming aims to grow the next generation of Oconto County community and business leaders.
• Midsummer’s Music | String Quartet Residency Program: Funding will support the string quartet residency program serving Northeastern Wisconsin, especially those with Alzheimer’s or Dementia, largely at no cost to the audience.
• Mountain Historical Society | Reopen and Restore Green Lake Park: Funds will support efforts to reopen Green Lake Park to provide the public with a beach/picnic area, a boat launch, and a National Registry picnic shelter.
• Options for Independent Living | Adaptive Recreation Program: Grant dollars will support the Adaptive Recreation Program, which aims to empower individuals with disabilities while enhancing accessibility and independence to foster an inclusive community for people of all abilities seeking to engage in recreational activities.
• Skanikulat | Digital Pathways to Language Revitalization: Funding will support the enhancement and expansion of the Oneida language immersion program through the integration of innovative technology.
• Sleep in Heavenly Peace | No Kid Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town: Funding will provide beds to local Brown County children in need.
• Ukwakhwa | Ukwakhwa: Ukwakhwa is committed to learning and implementing Haudenosaunee traditions through research and collaboration, by expanding their classes and events for members of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.
• Unity Hospice | Pet Therapy: Funding will be used to add pet therapy as a complementary addition to patient-centered care. Pet therapy is an ideal option for providing comfort to patients with life-limiting illness wherever the patient calls home.

Community Foundation grants are awarded based on a competitive application process, which includes review by a grants team of community volunteers. The Funds for Greater Green Bay grants program offers two application cycles per year. Applications for the next cycle will open May 1, 2024. Applications are due July 1, 2024.

More information about available grants programs and the grants application process can be found at ggbcf.org/nonprofits.