Each year the Foundation awards grants from the income earned by a pool of named endowment funds that were established without restriction – these include:
- Advantage Bank Officers and Directors Fund
- Mary Frost Ashley Endowment
- Enroth Family Endowment
- Jessie R. Hopf Endowment
- Ralph and Frances A. Jaeschke Fund
- A. Allan and Isabel M. Jankus Fund
- Kenosha News Fund
- Orvis Family Endowment
- Kathleen Steumke Legacy Fund
- Charles Vignieri Fund
Focus of 2018 Grant Making from the Foundation’s Unrestricted funds
For the 2018 grant cycle, we adopted a new focus for grant making from our Unrestricted Funds. While we want to continue supporting projects of not-for-profit organizations that are in line with the Foundation’s mission (to enhance the present and ensure the future of the Kenosha Community), this year, we also strongly encourage not-for-profit organizations with projects that provide services in the areas of substance abuse, mental health or transportation apply for these grants – three priority areas identified in a Community Needs Assessment survey that we conducted in collaboration with the Kenosha County UW-Extension in November 2017.
Additionally, for grants from the Unrestricted Funds, the Kenosha Community Foundation will:
• Give priority to collaborative efforts, with two or more organizations jointly planning and delivering projects that offer creative solutions or ideas.
• Give priority to projects that use Foundation funds to leverage other funding sources.
• Award a maximum of $7,500 per grant request.
Grant applications were due on Thursday, March 8, 2018. Grant awards will be announced and awarded in June 2018. For additional questions, contact email@kenoshafoundation.org, or call 262-654-2412.
2017 Grants from the Foundation’s Unrestricted funds
In 2017, the Foundation awarded the following 14 grants to not-for-profit organizations, totaling $56,000, from our Unrestricted Funds:
• Alano Club of Kenosha – to help replace furnaces that heat the group’s downtown Kenosha facility.
• Birds of a Feather – to support three Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) support groups that support to those impacted by drug abuse in Kenosha County, with a focus on herion, opiod, and prescription drug abuse.
• Congregations United to Serve Humanity (CUSH) – to produce 3 additional meetings during Kenosha Kindness Week that connects with the community and build a deep understanding about current topics.
• ELCA Urban Outreach – to help pay to repair a leaky roof at the Urban Outreach Center.
• Hope Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse – to support repairs at two Hope Council properties in need of electrical, roof, painting, carpeting, and flooring needed.
• Hospice Alliance – to help purchase mobile device car chargers for clinical field staff.
• Kenosha Achievement Center (KAC) – to support the Summer Employment Exploration program that provides students (aged 16-21) with special needs with paid work opportunities.
• Kenosha County and the University of Wisconsin Extension of Kenosha – to support the Wilson School Community Garden that offers educational opportunities on healthy eating and self-sufficiency and math and science concepts.
• Kenosha Creative Space (KCS) – to support costs of the rehabilitation of the blighted 6th Avenue building that will become the permanent home of the KCS.
• Kenosha Literacy Council – to support the Creating Literacy Leaders program that aims to help adults improve their English and computer skills to gain employment, and increase their ability to access community resources.
• Kenosha Symphony Association – to help fund concerts during the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra’s 2017-2018 season.
• Kenosha YMCA – to support an educational assistance program that provides Frank Elementary students help to close achievement gaps focused on math and literacy.
• Sharing Center – to support programs that provide emergency nutritional support to low income residents via food pantry, senior dining and in-school nutrition program.
• St. Matthews Lakefront ElderGarten – to support the lakefront garden for 55+ to benefit the elderly physical, nutritional, and mental health.
• United Way of Kenosha County – to support the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program provides free income tax preparation and counseling services to low income clients.