by Liz Hawley, Education & Outreach Coordinator
Since its inception in 1992, Willy Street Co-op’s Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) has contributed more than $555,000 to local nonprofits and cooperatives to support developmental and educational projects for our community. The fund is seeded when Owners who have become inactive and have not claimed their equity after three years either abandon or donate their Owner equity to our Co-op.
Grants from the CRF may be awarded to projects supporting food justice and/or access, creating/developing cooperative businesses, sustainable agriculture, health and well-being, and/or social change. This fiscal year, the Board allocated $55,000 for this competitive grant fund, an increase of $20,000 in available funds over last year, and we received 34 total applications requesting $112,618 in funding. Based on the Co-op’s work on diversity, equity, and inclusion, we opened up the grant parameters to allow funding for organizations’ operational costs.
The CRF grant review committee is pleased to share the 21 projects receiving funding this year:
Bayview Foundation: Teen Cooking Club $1,500
Bayview Foundation has a mission “to support its culturally diverse, low-income residents in realizing their aspirations by providing affordable housing, fostering cultural pride, and building community through the arts, education, and recreation.” The Teen Cooking Club for Bayview residents focuses on recipes and food choices that are made in collaboration with the youth, and many of them choose to feature foods their families have made for generations. Historically, the Teen Cooking Club was limited in the recipes they were able to make because many of the ingredients that are relevant to their cultures are not always widely available or affordable. Funding is allocated to purchase culturally appropriate ingredients.
Free Bikes 4 Kidz: 2023 Bike Giveaway Program $2,000
Each year Free Bikes 4 Kidz gives away approximately 2,000 quality, refurbished bikes and accessories in their pursuit of transportation equity for communities of color and low-income communities in Dane County. They “work to see that every kid gains the health and societal benefits gained from owning a bike.” They also note that many of the bike recipients use their bikes as their only form of transportation, and this low-cost/low-maintenance mode of transportation gets kids to school and allows family members to reach grocery stores, thus increasing food access. Funding will be allocated for bike repair parts.
Friends of Schumacher Farm Park: Growing Our Garden $750
Schumacher Farm Park is a 40-acre homestead that was gifted to the Dane County Parks Commission in 1978 by Marcella Schumacher Pendall. The grounds include a prairie, woodlands, farmstead, orchard, pollinator garden, and heirloom vegetable garden. The vegetable garden features heirloom varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that were commonly found in gardens in the 1920s and ’30s. The produce grown in the gardens is donated to the Waunakee Food Pantry, serving 1,110 households. This summer the Friends of Schumacher Farm Park plan to add three raised garden beds to help with weed control and to make the garden more accessible and easier for volunteers with limited mobility to tend. Additionally, the Friends established partnerships with area schools and community centers to offer hands-on workshops for children and their families to learn about botany, gardening, sustainable agriculture, ecosystems, and more. Funding will be allocated for lumber and tools.
JustDane: Paid Training at Just Bakery $7,200
JustDane (formerly Madison Urban Ministry) is a social justice and social service organization providing services such as prison reentry programs, services for children impacted by parental incarceration, and prison in-reach programs, among many others. In 2013, JustDane started Just Bakery, a free 12-week educational and vocational training program providing training in baking, food sanitation, and restaurant management for individuals with significant barriers to employment such as homelessness, justice involved, or lack of work history skills. Students also earn 12 college credits and gain automatic acceptance into the Madison College Culinary Program. JustDane notes, “Many Just Bakery applicants often lack the resources and finances to participate in an unpaid training program for 12 weeks.” Funding will create paid training opportunities for three students, allowing them to fully commit and get the full value of the training.
Luke’s Closet: Spring Sweatshirts at Shop & Eat $1,500
Luke’s Closet is a volunteer-run organization with a mission to serve and support foster, kinship, and adoptive families in Dane County by providing free, high-quality clothing. They are able to “alleviate the tremendous amount of cost, time, and energy required to find clothes for children when court dates, school, medical, and social services appointments are all demanding a caregiver’s energy.” This spring Luke’s Closet will host a Shop & Eat event where volunteers provide a meal and help families “shop” at Luke’s Closet for clothes. Funding is allocated for the purchase of new sweatshirts to be provided to each child at the event.
Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens: Enhancing Quality and Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables $3,000
Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens has grown and donated more than 2 million pounds of produce to the Dane County emergency food system since its inception in 2000. This year they plan to expand their production and distribution of fresh, culturally relevant produce to an additional three outlets, and they also plan to improve their cold storage to allow for more on-farm pickups. Additionally, they plan to expand the area dedicated to fruit production by 50% with additional strawberry beds and a trellis system for grape vines—the two most requested fruits as indicated in the survey results collected from pantry guests at the outlets they serve. This project also aims to reduce the amount of produce damaged in transit by investing in protective packaging, thus increasing the amount of first-choice produce provided to the food pantry outlets. Funding is allocated for garden supplies, produce packaging materials, fuel for deliveries, and signage.
Madison Children’s Museum: Pay-What-You-Can Cafe-Little John’s Lunchbox $3,500
Madison Children’s Museum (MCM) is embarking on a first-of-its-kind venture in any museum in the United States—a pay-what-you-can cafe model called Little John’s Lunchbox. Launched in July 2022 in partnership with Little John’s Kitchens & Restaurants, the cafe provides nutritious foods made with fresh ingredients available without dictating prices. MCM notes, “It is entirely up to the visitor to pay if they can and if so, to determine the right amount for them. We intentionally give visitors agency to decide to pay a little, a lot, or nothing at all. Our goal is to equalize access to food and improve quality of life for everyone from all walks of life. In doing so, we seek to eliminate assumptions about who may be experiencing food insecurity.” Funding will cover the expense of 1,400 meals.
Madison Public Art Project, Inc: Riding Waves 2023 $2,500
The Madison Public Art Project (MPAP) plans to commission the mural artist known as Audifax to create a mural under the Beltline at the Monona Drive ramp. The intention of the project is to destigmatize mental illness, with the waves serving as a metaphor for our collective mental health and the depiction of water will draw connections to our nearby lakes. MPAP says, “Art provides a way to bring neighbors and communities closer together. We can look to public art as a way to address society’s challenges, and as a way to spark and ignite change toward a more equitable world.” In addition to the mural, Audifax will lead art and mindfulness workshops for at-risk youth at Briarpatch Youth Services. The culmination of these workshops will be the creation of a collaborative piece of art to be installed at the Briarpatch facility. Funding is allocated for a partial contribution to the artistic honoraria for the mural labor fee.
Madison Workers Cooperative: Worker-Owner Peer Network $2,125
Madison Workers Cooperative (MadWorC) is a peer network of worker cooperatives in Madison that supports the development of new worker cooperatives and the continued success of existing worker cooperatives. They are now working to formalize their peer network wherein individual members of worker cooperatives are matched in a mentor/mentee relationship to learn new skills with the outcome of this network being three-fold: it will build stronger and more formal relationships among worker-owners at different cooperatives, worker-owners will gain new skills that allow for job mobility, and cooperative businesses will be strengthened by adding new skills among members. Funding is allocated for staff pay, volunteer stipends (both mentor and mentee), printing, and incentives for participation.
Madison Youth Arts Center: Launching Community Youth Arts Exhibits at MYArts $1,000
Madison Youth Arts Center (MYArts) is a new organization entering its second year operating a youth arts facility for the Madison and greater Dane County communities. Their newest project will bring rotating art exhibits to the gallery wall space in their facility that will celebrate and support youth artists. Funding is for take-home art supplies and youth advisor honoraria.
Mahogany Rooted in Wellness: Mahogany Fitness for All $1,880
Mahogany Rooted in Wellness is a holistic empowerment nonprofit founded in 2021 by four women of color with a mission to help underserved individuals by providing physical, mental, and financial health resources. Their goal is “to create a holistic environment that offers services that are well rounded and meet the needs of individuals and their families to improve the quality of life of those affected by generational inequalities.” Through their Mahogany Fitness for All group exercise program, they aim to engage participants in physical activity and develop healthier habits and routines. Funding is allocated for payment to a group fitness instructor, resistance bands, and gift cards for attendees.
Mentoring Positives: Equipping Muriel’s Place $2,200
Mentoring Positives serves at-risk youth in the Darbo-Worthington Park Neighborhood. Their social enterprise “Off the Block” engages teens in the production and sales of salsas and frozen pizzas, and this year they’re looking to expand into their own commercial kitchen and retail space, called “Muriel’s Place.” The kitchen buildout is complete, and it is nearly fully equipped. The final two necessary pieces of equipment they need to purchase are a Robot Coupe and a microwave oven, which the CRF funding will pay for.
Neighborhood House Community Center: Fresh Food Connection Expansion $4,500
Neighborhood House Community Center is Madison’s oldest community center with a mission to provide high-quality programming and social services that facilitate the growth of a diverse, responsible, and welcoming community. This year they’re looking to expand their Fresh Food Connection to meet the persistent, ever-growing need in the community for consistent access to fresh foods. To do this they’ve partnered with Crossroads Community Farm to provide high-quality fresh produce for more than 200 individuals each week for 20 weeks through the summer. They plan to extend their reach by increasing both the number of people utilizing the in-person pantry and the amount of produce distributed by their delivery program. Funding will go directly toward purchasing locally sourced fresh produce from Crossroads Community Farm.
Oiñ Productions: Summer of Love $3,000
Summer of Love and Community Connections (SoL) offers arts and movement activities for the whole family, and this summer they are planning four workshops in a variety of art forms in parks across Dane County. These free events will include Power Dance, aerial silks, Peruvian percussion, West African drumming, Latin partner dance, street dance, capoeira, Zumba, Kathak dance, painting, and more. SoL intends to build community through the shared experience of dance and increase well-being with the healing power of the arts. Funding will go toward payments to the teaching artists.
PATCH Program: PATCH Youth Advocacy Learning Series Certificate $1,920
The PATCH Youth Advocacy Learning Series is a 7-step curriculum that engages youth in advocacy efforts around a health topic that they are passionate about, and now they are piloting an expansion in conjunction with the Madison Metropolitan School District and UW Health. This new partnership offers an opportunity for more youth to become aware of their community’s adolescent health needs, choose an advocacy issue of interest, and begin to identify the people and actions that can lead to positive change. They note that the teens “will gain knowledge, confidence, and skills to advocate for the health and well-being of themselves and their peers into adulthood, will connect with diverse, passionate adult community partners, and will become part of the solution to their generation’s most pressing problems.” Funding is for stipends for the youth.
Pierre Outreach Services Safe Home: Spaces $1,000
Pierre Outreach Services is in the midst of fundraising for their first safe home for Black girls in Madison. Until they’re able to open their doors, they rent spaces in the community to provide counseling and services that are tailored to young girls and their families' needs. Pierre Outreach Services notes, “The safe house project provides services centered around the social and emotional neglect of a community in dire need of innovative approaches to address family, community, and systemic traumas in Black and underserved communities.” Funding is allocated for space rental.
Rape Crisis Center: Support Groups from LGBTQIA+ Survivors of Sexual Assault $2,750
In 2022, the Rape Crisis Center piloted a support group for LGBTQIA+ survivors of sexual assault, and this year they are working to enhance this support group. They note that “engaging in forms of group healing such as support groups is one of the most effective ways to recover from sexual violence,” but they found there has been a gap in services for LGBTQIA+ survivors seeking access to support groups in Dane County. They are working to meet this need in collaboration with OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center. Funding is allocated for program staff and group facilitators, supplies for participants who engage remotely, and stipends for guest speakers.
Rooted: Rooted in Urban Agriculture $2,500
Rooted’s work aims to make land, fresh food, and educational opportunities available to everyone. This year, in partnership with Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), Rooted will begin a project in which their staff, Farm to School AmeriCorps members, and MMSD students will grow lettuce and herbs for use in the MMSD school lunch program. Rooted staff notes, “While our current programming provides some students with opportunities to eat garden-fresh, peer-grown produce, not all students have access to gardens. This project aims to narrow some of the inequities that arise from unequal access to youth garden education by providing all MDDSD students with peer-grown produce through the school lunch program.” Students will be involved each step of the way, from planting the seeds, to transplanting, tending, and harvesting and all students in the district will have access to the lettuce as part of a school lunch salad. Funding is allocated for staff time, lettuce seeds, and seed-starting equipment and supplies.
Sherman Avenue United Methodist Church: Fresh Food Neighborhood Pantry $3,375
Sherman Avenue United Methodist Church is in an area identified in the City of Madison’s Food Access Improvement Map. The church partnered with Rooted to provide fresh vegetables from Troy Farm to food-insecure families on Madison’s north side in both their food pantry and prepared community meals. In addition, the church offers instructions on how to prepare the food they distribute. Funding is allocated for produce from Troy Farm.
Social Justice Center: Community Resource Hub $6,000
The Social Justice Center is currently home to 14 member organizations that work on a variety of issues, including tenants’ rights, restorative justice, community organizing, and affordable financial services. Their work has become more heavily focused on connecting community members in crisis with vital resources and services, and now they would like to embrace their “role as a neighborhood hub for people in need and provide a much a much-needed missing piece: a go-to place where you can reliably access key resources and essentials while working with advocates who are trained in trauma-informed practices, crisis response, and de-escalation.” Their four objectives for this project include: supporting individuals to realize their self-identified stability goals, building the capacity of their staff to respond to crisis situations, expanding their pantry program, and launching their community support center and resource advocacy program. Funding is for personnel, consultants, space, and supplies/equipment, including a phone charging station.
Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired: Sensory Gardens $800
The Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired plans to transform two garden plots into sensory gardens with touchable and aromatic plants for the entire community to enjoy. They said, “Council clients would connect over the sensory experiences of the garden, reducing social isolation that often accompanies vision loss. The gardens would be tended by people with vision impairment, giving them an outdoor recreational opportunity, with the guidance of master gardeners.” Funding provides for soil and delivery as well as lumber for the raised beds.
Congratulations and Thank You!
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s grants and thank you to all organizations that applied—you’re all doing great work in our communities! Thank you to this year’s CRF review committee; Board Directors Anthony Hernandez, Ashwini Rao, and Carol Weidel, Owners-At-Large Carol Cohen, Kirsten Moore, and Glen Reichelderfer; Customer Experience Manager, Kristina Kuhaupt; Owner Resources Coordinator, Katie O’Connell-Jones; and Education and Outreach Coordinator Liz Hawley.
And of course, a special thank you goes out to all of our Owners past and present who make this funding possible.