During Community Foundation Week week, the Kenosha Community Foundation sponsors one or more public events that promote #GiveLocalKenosha – our effort to inform the public on ways to contribute to the civic, social and cultural betterment of Kenosha County and its residents.
2021 – We joined the national network of over 1000 community foundations to mark Community Foundation Week and through our social media platforms (using the hashtags #communityfndweek2021 and #communityfndweek), we reflected on the past as we looked to the future.
We used the week to highlight the establishment of the Robert B. Schneider Memorial Fund to honor Bob Schneider the Foundation’s former Executive Director who passed away in 2020. In recognition of Bob’s service and in appreciation of his interests, the Executive Committee of the Foundation’s Board of Directors established this donor-advised fund from which contributions will go to organizations and programs in support of the arts, culture and the creative economy The fund accepts contributions from the public – visit www.kenoshafoundation.org/donate/ and look for the button with Bob’s smiling face.
2020 – To celebrate the week, the Foundation organized the following:
2019 – We asked the community to share their views on the priorities, opportunities, and challenges in Kenosha and Kenosha County through the #WhatKenoshaNeeds2019 survey – the survey was designed to help the Foundation identify issues and areas where grant funding may be needed are most.
2018 – Sponsored a free double music event at the Kenosha Creative Space that featured two of our musical passions performed by artists with UW-Parkside (UWP) connections:
2017 – We asked the community to share their ideas with us on how to #GiveLocalKenosha by participating in our Community Assessment Survey – find the results at the #GiveLocalKenosha page on our website.
2016 – Sponsorship of Music at the Kenosha Commission on the Arts’s Annual Arts Recognition Awards ceremony at UW-Parkside’s at Bedford Hall – this included a performance of “Idea Rise” – a composition by Wisconsin-native Zachary Green by members of the Kenosha Kenosha Symphony Orchestra. The Kenosha Community Foundation commissioned “Idea Rise” – watch a video of the Kenosha Symphony ensemble’s performance:
2015 – Kenosha Rising – held in collaboration with UW Extension and the Kenosha Commission on the Arts presented findings of a survey of local artists and analyze economic impacts of the arts with the community and engaged participants on next steps cultural planning.
2014 – Kenosha Creative Conversations – held in collaboration with the Kenosha Commission on the Arts, a community-wide discussion of the present and future of the arts and culture in Kenosha held at Kenosha’s Fusion.
2013 – Kenosha Unconference – held in collaboration with the Kenosha Commission on the Arts, arts enthusiasts gathered together and broke into interest groups to do brainstorming held at Gateway Technical College. Unconference outcomes included: the development of plans for the celebration of Kenosha native Orson Welles’s 100th birthday and the creation of the hashtag #KenoshaArts whose use is to promote/encourage area artists.
Each November 12-18, the Kenosha Community Foundation and the 700 plus other community foundations in the United States mark Community Foundation Week.
Established in 1989 by President George H. W. Bush, the focus of Community Foundation Week is to raise awareness of the increasingly important role of public charities and philanthropic institutions in fostering local collaboration and innovation to address civic and economic challenges.