Community Impact Grants

Nurturing Educational Success Through Mentorship

$30,000 over two years to Black Girl Magic Educational Services to develop a mentor program in schools focused on supporting identity development, leadership skills, cultural representation and mental health awareness for Black girls.

Showcasing Black Culture

$100,000 to The Center for Black Excellence and Culture toward the capital campaign for the Center, which will showcase Black art, history and innovation, and provide leadership development for all ages.

Expanding Accessibility in Natural Spaces

$30,000 to the Foundation for Dane County Parks to increase its fundraising capacity, allowing the Foundation to continue to improve accessibility and inclusivity in our parks, and ensure the organization’s long-term infrastructure and success.

Supporting Education for 70th Anniversary Campaign

$37,500 to the Goodman Community Center for its “Goodman Love & Legacy Campaign” to support staff education and skill building around strategic fundraising as the Goodman Center approaches its 70th anniversary.

Creating Organizational Growth

$30,000 to Logan’s Hearts & Smiles to increase staffing and build 200 accessibility projects for families with disabled children over the next five years.

Promoting Art, History & Culture

$40,000 to the Madison Public Market Foundation to support art at the Public Market, particularly works celebrating Madison’s Indigenous, Black, Hmong and Latinx artists and communities.

Removing Barriers to Books

$40,000 to Madison Reading Project for the purchase of a larger, climate-controlled, lift-equipped Big Red Reading Bus, more than doubling its outreach and free book distribution across Dane County.

Building Diversity in the Arts

$35,000 to Madison Youth Choirs for its “Amplifying Every Voice” project to expand participation, remove barriers to entry and increase diversity in the Youth Choirs.

Expanding Capacity of Music Education

$30,000 to Prairie Music & Arts to create an outreach coordinator position to help expand and develop new culturally responsive programming in the school system.

Growing Development Capacity

$75,000 to Rooted WI to increase staffing and strengthen their communications strategy to improve visibility, access, engagement and overall donor retention.

Accelerating Black Entrepreneurs & Business Education

$150,000 to the Urban League of Greater Madison for the Black Business Hub and the Hub Accelerator Program, which will support and accelerate Black entrepreneurship through courses, grants, loans and increased job opportunities in South Madison.

Strengthening Longevity and Program Reach

$100,000 to Urban Triage to build their endowment. This 1:3 challenge grant will build development infrastructure, hire and train new staff and ensure sustainability of the organization’s many community programs.

Elevating Lives in the Bayview Community

$150,000 to the Bayview Foundation toward its capital campaign to replace its 50-year-old townhouses with a mix of apartments and new townhouses, and to build a new Community Center that is double the size of the current building.

Building a Safe, Strong, Sustainable Hub for Latino Families

$100,000 to Centro Hispano to help prepare for a major capital campaign that will increase usable space and expand programming to serve more families.

Providing School-Based Outreach Programs

$30,000 to CEOs of Tomorrow to provide programming directly in high-need schools, creating real-world entrepreneurial and business-management learning opportunities for students.

Building Science Capacity at Clean Wisconsin

$25,000 to Clean Wisconsin to expand its summer science internship program into a year-round fellowship program.

Expanding The Big Share Day of Giving

$75,000 to Community Shares of Wisconsin to continue to expand and support The Big Share online giving day for three more years, leveraging millions in giving for 70 nonprofit agencies.

Developing a Pipeline of Talent With Paid Internships for Youth of Color

$20,000 2:1 matching grant to Dane County Library Services to help fund the Ripple Intern Program to recruit, train and employ youth of color in paid internships with Dane County libraries.

Installing a Renewable Solar Energy System

$35,000 to the Deerfield Community Center to install a solar energy system for its Food Pantry and Senior Center, lowering heating and controlling costs while also increasing safety for senior visitors by providing a covered walkway into the building.

Integrating Climate‐Driven Spatial Analysis Into Strategic Land Protection

$20,000 to the Driftless Area Land Conservancy to develop a geographic information system (GIS)-based tool to incorporate new science and data to gain a better understanding of the region’s conservation needs.

Expanding Learning Centers and Opportunities

$25,000 to First Tee of South Central Wisconsin to expand four Learning Centers allowing First Tee to partner with Madison Metropolitan School District to work with directly with students from 10 schools, helping close the opportunity gap.

Adding a Full‐Time Development Position

$75,000 to the Foundation for Black Women's Wellness to add dedicated fundraising staff, allowing it to build organizational capacity and efficiency, develop and implement a strategic development plan, and increase the number of individual donors providing support.

Supporting a Conceptual Planning Process

$25,000 to the Friends of San Damiano to begin the conceptual planning process – expected to engage at least 5,000 residents from a wide variety of community groups – to develop the San Damiano property on Lake Monona into a sustainable public asset.

Building a Conservation Career Pathway for People of Color

$45,000 to Groundswell Conservancy to build a Conservation Graduate Crew, in collaboration with Operation Fresh Start, to help overcome some of the barriers of entry into the conservation field for people of color.

Creating a New Center for Modern and Contemporary Dance

$30,000 to Kanopy Dance Theatre to help fund the Kanopy Center for Modern and Contemporary Dance, which will incorporate state of the art equipment to support virtual learning, collaboration and performances.

Purchasing Land to Grow Healthy Produce for Food Pantries

$50,000 to the Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens to purchase the 15-acre Pope Farm Homestead, which will double its growing capacity and allow it to provide Dane County food pantries with high-demand, specialty produce.

Increasing Opportunities for Choreographers of Color

$15,000 to Madison Ballet to expand opportunities for choreographers of color throughout the organization, from students, to emerging choreographers, to commissioning more established choreographers to build new works to permanently enter Madison Ballet's repertoire.

Expanding Wonderground

$60,000 to Madison Children’s Museum to expand the Wonderground outdoor playground to include more complex play experiences for older children and additional accessible experiences for visitors with limited mobility.

Building More Accessible and Inclusive Playgrounds

$30,000 to Madison Parks Foundation to add three accessible playgrounds with ramps, wheelchair swings and poured-in-place rubber surfacing at Madison-area parks.

Expanding Access to Black History for a New Day

$150,000 to Nehemiah to expand the program to employees of school districts, police departments and judicial leaders across the county.

Building a New Library to Serve a Growing Community

$40,000 to the Oregon Public Library for building a larger library to better serve the needs of a growing community. The new library will provide critical community meeting space, and expand free community access to information, technology and programming.

Increasing Development Capacity

$50,000 to REAP Food Group to increase its development capacity by training board members to actively participate in donor stewardship and fundraising and hiring a grant writer.

Celebrating 30 Years of Academic Achievement and Youth Leadership

$30,000 to the Simpson Street Free Press, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary by hiring six additional teen editors. These new editors will help expand successful STEAM learning projects, including “Women in Science and Math” and “Science of Wisconsin's Environment.”

Expanding Youth Programming at a New Neighborhood Center

$60,000 to the Vera Court Neighborhood Center to create a new Youth Program Director position to expand current youth programming and run new programs for the Bridge Lake Point Waunona Neighborhood Center in preparation for a major capital campaign.

Building a Youth Music Center

$100,000 to the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra for its capital campaign to construct a new 40,000 square foot youth music center on East Washington Avenue. Half of this grant is for capital costs and half is a 1:2 endowment challenge match.

Helping Parents Manage Virtual School

$50,000 to the Urban League of Greater Madison to expand its Parent Instructional Support Program, which provides help to families trying to navigate virtual schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bridging the WiFi Gap for MMSD Families

$50,000 to Madison Metropolitan School District to help provide WiFi hotspots to families lacking reliable internet access, making virtual learning possible for those students.

Preparing Pantries for Winter

$50,000 to Middleton Outreach Ministry, St. Vincent de Paul, The River Food Pantry, and Badger Prairie Needs Network to help build heated, permanent outdoor structures to continue the safe distribution of much-needed food and other supplies throughout the winter.

Helping One City School Find Room to Grow

$50,000 to One City Schools to secure space for the expanding One City Elementary School, a tuition-free public charter school working to bridge the achievement gap in education, currently serving children in 4K through 2nd grade.

Supporting the Overture Center and its Resident Companies

$100,000 challenge grant to support the Overture Center's10 resident companies during this period where the pandemic has eliminated the ability to have live performances.

Supporting Black Male Mentorship

$25,000 to Omega School to pilot an educational pathway project that supports completion of a GED and matriculation at Madison College.

Helping Nonprofits Tap Into Federal Relief Funds

$50,000 to hire Scholz Nonprofit Law to help area nonprofit organizations navigate the requirements and application process for federal relief funds provide through the CARES Act.

Providing Grantwriting Assistance to Nonprofit Organizations

$25,000 to hire grantwriting consultants to work with nonprofit agencies to help them apply for regional and national pandemic relief grants.

Building a Space to Better Support Black Youth and Families

$25,000 to Urban Triage to help build out a new culturally sound, welcoming and creative space on Madison's South Side.

Making Sure Everyone Counts

$69,000 for Census Outreach to people in vulnerable communities to help ensure that the counts for Dane County are as accurate as possible. Funding went to several community centers during the pre-pandemic push, and to support the outreach efforts of the Latino Workforce Academy, African American Council of Churches, and Freedom Inc.

Arts + Literature Laboratory

$25,000 for a capital campaign to fund Arts + Literature Laboratory’s new space in the Capitol East neighborhood.

Boys & Girls Club of Dane County

$25,000 to build a playground at the new McKenzie Family Club in Sun Prairie to ensure that children get at least the recommended 60 minutes of unstructured physical activity each day.

Clean Lakes Alliance

$10,000 to fund community listening sessions with under-represented groups – especially with communities of color – to better understand how they use or would like to use the area lakes.

Cycropia Aerial Dance

$10,000 to help purchase equipment and expand training opportunities for Dane County aerial artists and students to develop skills and expressive capabilities.

Foundation for Dane County Parks

$45,000 capacity-building grant to help build the foundation’s financial stability by hiring staff and building operational infrastructure.

Girl Scouts of Wisconsin-Badgerland Council

$15,000 to increase access to Girl Scouts among ethnically diverse and low income students by partnering with local youth service organizations to bring scouting directly to girls in need, free of charge.

Habitat for Humanity

$20,000 to expand a successful high school program that provides volunteer opportunities to build affordable housing resulting in dual high school/college credit.

Kanopy Dance Theatre

$15,000 to create a strategic development plan to expand Kanopy’s fundraising, teaching and performance.

Madison Children’s Museum

$45,000 for the MCM Roadshow, to expand outreach and bring educational play into communities across Madison and Dane County.

Madison Public Library Fund

$25,000 for a 2:1 challenge grant to help strengthen the Pinney Library Endowment Fund and increase its long-terms financial stability.

Madison Symphony Orchestra

$30,000 to expand from six to 12 schools the Up Close and Musical Program, an award-winning in-school residency program that brings a string quartet of professional musicians into K-3 classrooms.

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

$30,000 to provide digital access to the museum’s collection of Mexican Modernist art, and to develop programming to celebrate Mexican art and culture and develop meaningful connections with Madison’s Latinx community.

Mann Fund

$15,000 for the Mann Scholars Program to develop a strategic fundraising plan for sustained financial support of the Program to ensure continued ability to provide support to African American high school students in the Madison Metropolitan School District.

City of Middleton

$15,000 seed funding to develop programming for the new downtown plaza to help build community and stem social isolation, including multi-cultural and multi-generational activities and a farmer’s market.

Monroe Street Arts Center

$30,000 toward the Building Madison’s Creative Future capital campaign to double the available space and increase resources to expand programming for both youth and seniors.

Omega School

$50,000 development capacity-building grant to increase fundraising efforts, grow endowment and enhance its ability to serve as a permanent community resource.

Oregon-Brooklyn Optimist Club

$30,000 to help fund a community splash pad for area children and their families.

Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center

$50,000 for the Learn, Grow, Celebrate capital campaign to increase programming for seniors and to include more project learning, performance and work experience opportunities for teens.

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

$25,000 for Next Era Capacity Project, which will use the Academy’s 150th Anniversary as a springboard to expand and diversify the local programs and people it reaches.

Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra

$20,000 for Let the Community Shine, which will celebrate both the WCO’s 60th anniversary and Maestro Andrew Sewell’s 20th season as artistic director by pursuing new artist partnerships and expanding the number of youth participating in WCO programs.

Wisconsin Early Childhood Association

$50,000 for We Care for Dane Kids to create a network of child care programs and support them with the tools and business skills needed to help them reduce expenses and teacher turnover.

YWCA Madison

$25,000 for Amplify Madison, a program developed to support women of color in the nonprofit sector by providing leadership development and opportunities to engage in collective projects to further their work in the community.

100 Black Men of Madison, Inc.

$27,000 to launch “The 100 Scholars Process,” a support network of educators, tutors, corporate, adult and peer mentors, and the dedicated membership of 100 Black Men of Madison, for students who have demonstrated or are capable of high achievement in academic, leadership, and creativity.

Arts + Literature Laboratory

$20,000 for the merger of Arts + Literature Laboratory and Greater Madison Jazz Consortium.

Capital City Theatre

$15,000 to build the capacity of Madison’s first professional regional musical theater company.

CEOs of Tomorrow, Inc.

$21,000 to grow the “These Teens Mean Busines$” internship program through partnerships with local entrepreneurs.

Charles Hamilton Houston Institute

$10,000 to support students of color as they prepare for, apply to, and enroll in a historically black college or university.

Children’s Dyslexia Center

$25,000 to expand its successful tutoring program to Goodman Community Center.

Community GroundWorks

$10,000 to support the merger of Community GroundWorks and Center for Resilient Cities.

Community Shares of Wisconsin

$90,000 (3-year, $30,000 grant) for the Big Share, an online giving day that raises money for Community Shares and its 70 member nonprofits.

The First Tee of South Central Wisconsin

$25,000 to build capacity in three after-school learning centers that help reduce gaps in opportunity and achievement in communities of color.

Free Bikes 4 Kidz Madison

$50,000 to build the capacity to annually collect, refurbish, and donate 2,000 free bikes to children and families.

GiGi’s Playhouse‐Madison

$15,000 for an innovative vocational training program to prepare people with Down syndrome for employment and independence.

Goodman Community Center

$100,000 to Goodman Community Center’s building and expansion project to reduce over-crowding and serve more residents.

Groundswell Conservancy

$19,000 to partner with Community GroundWorks to create land security for Hmong farmers at Westport Community Farm.

Literacy Network

$75,000 (3-year, $25,000) for a partnership with the new Madison College on the south side to increase English language skills for low-income, adult immigrants and connect them to opportunities for high school completion, career advising, and workforce training.

Madison Children’s Museum

$30,000 to improve and enhance the Rooftop Ramble, adding accessibility features for people with disabilities, and create an interactive exhibit on renewable energy.

Madison Circus Space

$50,000 for the new building and performance space to increase capacity for teaching and performing circus arts, as well as fostering arts entrepreneurship.

Madison Public Library Foundation

$25,000 to launch the Readmobile with Dane County Library Service for use in five under-resourced neighborhoods.

Madison Reading Project

$50,000 to purchase The Book Reading Bus to deliver books and educational materials to low-income neighborhoods, community centers, shelters, libraries, and festivals throughout Dane County.

Maydm

$46,000 to expand the STEM Immersion Camp and mentoring program to prepare girls and youth of color for education and careers in computer science and technology.

Parents Advocating Student Success (P.A.S.S.), Inc. for Verona Area Core Knowledge Charter School

$30,000 for a 2:1 matching campaign to grow the endowment fund at Madison Community Foundation.

Sunshine Place

$50,000 will support a campaign to expand its footprint and provide more social services, including increased food pantry and product distribution and improved safety and accessibility for volunteers.

Wisconsin Bike Fed

$30,000 for the JUST Bikes equity initiative that builds bike repair stations in low-income neighborhoods, conducts safety and bike repair classes, and offers bike internship and employment programs.

The Music Makers program creates opportunities for more children to participate in Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to 12 Anniversary Grants awarded through May 2018, MCF awarded 21 Community Impact grants in 2017 that grow and sustain the important work of nonprofits throughout Dane County.

Community Impact grants are made possible by donors who support the Community Impact Fund, MCF's competitive grantmaking program.

Aldo Leopold Nature Center

Aldo Leopold Nature Center is a community treasure and wonderland for children of all ages.

$30,000 to move forward on five initiatives: equitable access for all children, establishing a Nature Preschool and a mobile Nature Cart, integrating climate change education across programming, and ensuring long-term organizational vitality

“The generous support of MCF will engage more children with nature, empowering them with the numerous physical, emotional, cognitive, academic, and transcendental benefits a connection to the natural world provides.” –Michael Strigel, President and Executive Director, Aldo Leopold Nature Center

Belleville Public Library

$30,000 for a new library and community center that will be integral to the quality of life for residents by combining traditional library services and community gathering spaces

Centro Hispano

$20,000 for a 1:1 challenge grant to increase communication and fund development staff, building internal infrastructure to further Centro’s ambitious programming goals

Community Shares of Wisconsin

$30,000 to grow and sustain The Big Share, an online giving day that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for nearly 70 member nonprofits

Children’s Theater of Madison

CTM's Summer Stage program is designed to serve all children in our community, inspiring creativity and confidence.

$30,000 will enable CTM to significantly grow their support base of donors to increase funding for production and education programs, development staff time and capacity, a donor base for an imminent capital campaign

Dane Arts Mural Arts, Inc.

$15,000 to build DAMA’s capacity by funding high-quality, permanent equipment and expand their reach into more rural Dane County communities

E.D. Locke Public Library

1:2 challenge grant of $35,000 to help the Friends of the McFarland Library and the Library Board of Trustees establish an endowment fund and help leverage an additional $70,000 in funding.

Forward Theater Company

Forward Theater's production of "I and You" featured talented young artists Chantae Miller and Alistair Sewell. Photo by Zane Williams.

$30,000 to celebrate Forward Theater’s 10th anniversary season by helping them grow the theater’s mainstage season from three productions to four, and adding leadership capacity and staffing to sustain that growth

Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools

$50,000 to support Madison Public Schools Alumni Network to bring together former and current students, staff, teachers, and families from around the country, building relationships and networks

Henry Vilas Park Zoological Society

$40,000 for a full-time Volunteer Coordinator position and the creation of the Zoo Teen Leadership Development Program with participants from a diverse cross section of our community

Kids Forward

$37,500 to expand the Race to Equity Project’s Community Ambassador program, recruiting and training a new cohort of neighborhood leaders to advocate for and achieve significant disparity reduction within our county

“Grassroots leadership and community engagement are at the heart of the Community Ambassadors project and Madison Community Foundation is proud to support the expansion and sustainability of this important work. Our hope is that the project strengthens our wonderful neighborhoods by narrowing racial disparities and increasing opportunities for all our citizens to thrive.” –Tom Linfield, MCF Vice President of Community Impact

Lodi Area Community Endowment

1:2 challenge of $50,000 for the Lodi Area Community Endowment to increase support of a wide array of Lodi-area nonprofits doing important work

Madison Metropolitan School District - Madison West High School

With Project Solis, West High Green Club and the Madison school district plan to integrate solar energy use into the school’s science curriculum, using computer-based monitoring and student research.

$25,000 for Project Solis, a renewable energy pilot program to install 100 solar panels at West High School, reducing carbon emissions and supporting a youth-led movement for solutions to environmental challenges

"Madison Community Foundation's funding will serve as an important stepping stone in helping our school and district achieve its vision of carbon neutrality. We are even more inspired and committed now to spearheading sustainability initiatives and promoting awareness of pressing environmental challenges facing Madison and our world." –Charles Hua, president, West Green Club

Omega School, Inc.

$15,000 to Omega School for a large survey GED/HSED graduates to evaluate the program’s impact and increase alumni engagement

Overture Center for the Arts

1:1 challenge grant of $35,000 to restore the 90-year-old Grand Barton Organ built in Oshkosh and housed in the Capitol Theater, its original and only home

Simpson Street Free Press

$25,000 to support a key component of SSFP’s 25th year of writing, publishing, and sparking academic success. The Science of Wisconsin’s Environment will be featured in a new youth publication to help other groups adopt Free Press extended-day models.

The Mellowhood Foundation

The Mellowhood Foundation and its founder Coach Assad combine heart, discipline and ingenuity to work with kids and their families in the Meadowood area.

1:1 challenge grant of $25,000 1:1 for the Homework Club and Business Incubator Development Group, bridging the academic year with the Mellowhood summer program for youth in the Meadowridge Neighborhood

United Way of Dane County

$20,000 to measure and improve the social-emotional skills of children and youth as part of a collaborative effort to reduce racial disparities throughout Dane County

“We are thankful to Madison Community Foundation for their partnership and this opportunity to better understand the challenges our students face, so we can empower them with the skills they need to succeed in school, work and life.” –Renee Moe, United Way of Dane County President & CEO

Urban League of Greater Madison

$25,000 to support 50th anniversary 1,500 jobs campaign and other capacity building efforts

Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra

$25,000 for the Music Makers program, which empowers children through music and mentorship, regardless of their ability to pay

YWCA Madison

$25,000 to support the YWCA Madison’s Empowerment Center move to South Park Street, increasing accessibility to clients and families participating in race and gender equity programs, and job training and transportation work