by Liz Hawley, Education and Outreach Coordinator
Since its inception in 1992, Willy Street Co-op’s Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) has contributed $477,000 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. Community Reinvestment Funds are allocated annually by the Board of Directors in accordance with our bylaws that stipulate unclaimed or donated equity that has been abandoned be dedicated to educational and charitable purposes. Grants from the Community Reinvestment Fund may be awarded to projects supporting food justice and/or access, creating/developing Co-operative businesses, sustainable agriculture, health and well-being, and/or social change. This fiscal year, the Board allocated $25,000 for this competitive grant fund, and we received 21 total applications requesting $66,796 in funding.
The CRF grant review committee is pleased to share the 10 projects receiving funding this year:
BikEquity: Kittie Knox Mobile Bike Library $1,000
BikEquity is a new nonprofit organization working to increase diversity and inclusion in the cycling community in Madison. They are working to establish their first Mobile Bike Library which provides a creative approach to increasing community access to bicycling and ensuring a positive and supportive introduction to bicycling for kids with limited participation opportunities. The mobile bike library accomplishes this by lending bikes to those who do not own bikes, offering a safe biking environment for everyone, and involving adults who will serve as role models to promote cycling. The bikes in the mobile library will be used for two bike clubs and for organized bike rides. CRF funding will be allocated for custom water bottles, bike maintenance, COVID-19 related safety items, and marketing for the events.
Briarpatch Youth Services, Inc: Madison Summer Team Minority Business Project $2,066
Briarpatch will continue expanding their successful Madison Summer Team program to provide more 14–16 year old youth with first time employment experience. This summer, the program will partner with minority-owned businesses to employ these youth. Briarpatch will provide subsidized employment for these youth for up to ten hours per week for three months, and the minority-owned business will agree to continue their employment for an additional three months. Prior to employment, all students receive pre-employment training, including obtaining appropriate permits and documentation, completing job applications, employment readiness/job expectations training, financial literacy training, and team building and leadership development. CRF funding provides a portion of the youth wages.
Chrysalis: Clubhouse Expansion Project $2,619
Chrysalis is an organization that promotes mental health recovery by supporting work opportunities that encourage hope, healing, and wellness. The newest addition to Chrysalis programming is the Chrysalis Clubhouse, a psychosocial rehabilitation model that uses concepts related to relationships and work to help individuals with mental health diagnosis find purpose and meaning in their lives. Clubhouse communities offer mutual support, build on strengths, form social support, and work towards career development goals using the Clubhouse International Standards. This year, Chrysalis is working towards incorporating a Clubhouse Cafe that will be operated by members and staff, and through program participation, members will gain rehabilitation skills and experience working in food service. CRF funding will provide for a double glass door refrigerator, electric mixer, and a smoothie blender.
Crossroads Community Farm, LLC: Feed 100 Madison Families $5,000
Last year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mellowhood Foundation started an initiative to bring weekly fresh vegetable shares from Crossroads Community Farm to many underserved neighborhoods on Madison’s South Side. This year the program has expanded, more than doubling the number of families participating. This project brings together Crossroads’ skills and ability to grow, wash, pack, and deliver high-quality produce with Mellowhood Foundation’s community connections, logistical support, and ability to deliver directly to households in the neighborhoods they serve, thereby eliminating any transportation barriers families may have. CRF funding will be used for growing and packing the weekly vegetable shares.
Goodman Community Center: Goodman’s Garden Fit Program $3,050
Goodman’s Garden Fit Program is a hands-on, outdoor, farm-based, summer program for fifth graders from Lowell and Emerson Elementary schools in Madison. Students in the program will be actively involved in the entire process of running a three-acre organic farm three days each week, including planting, growing, weeding, mulching, harvesting, washing, and cooking. The youth farmers will grow, harvest, and donate approximately 2,000 pounds of produce to Goodman Community Center’s Fritz Food Pantry; the youth will also take home a portion of the bounty to share with their families. When not working on the farm, the students will lead service projects at Brittingham Park, such as cleaning up trash and removing weeds along the lakefront before paddleboarding and kayaking on the lake. They will also have the opportunity to work with teen leaders on team-building activities at Troy Gardens. CRF funding provides garden supplies, such as gloves and trowels; transportation; boat rental; and an end of summer field trip.
Kidlinks World, Inc: Expanding the Kidlinks Briarpatch Vegetable Garden Project $2,319
The Kidlinks Briarpatch Vegetable Garden Project aims to increase the availability of fresh produce at area food pantries while also providing hands-on training for local youth through Briarpatch Youth Services. Kidlinks World will employ a garden manager and four paid high school Food Justice Interns to grow produce and provide comprehensive food education in the community. The Food Justice Interns are all graduates of Neighborhood Food Solutions’ Program for Entrepreneurial and Agricultural Training. They spent a previous summer learning hands-on organic vegetable production and cooking for nutrition, personal finance, environmental and social impacts in our food system, and racial justice in the food system. The interns will share their knowledge with the youth as they work together in the garden, and all of the produce grown in the half-acre garden will be divided among the youth who worked in the garden, the Food Justice Interns, the River Food Pantry, and Neighborhood Market at the East Madison Community Center. CRF funding is for plants, seeds, scale, organic fertilizer, hand tools, and a tiller.
Mentoring Positives, Inc: Pizza to the People! $2,067
Mentoring Positives provides mentoring, academic support, and entrepreneurship opportunities to underserved youth throughout Dane County, including youth referred through the juvenile justice system. They began their Off the Block social enterprise in 2010 with sales of salsa, and in 2019, they added frozen pizzas to their product catalog that youth in their program make at FEED Kitchens. This year they aim to increase sales of the pizzas, thereby increasing the proportion of self-funded revenue, and expand their customer base by vending at the Eastside Farmers’ Market with the intention of building their capacity to participate in three to four markets each week. Youth in the program gain work experience in a food preparation setting, and by selling their pizzas at the farmers’ market, they will gain sales experience as well. CRF funding is for an inverter generator, two chest freezers, market tent, and the market vendor fee.
Neighborhood House Community Center: Fresh Food Connection $3,000
Madison’s oldest community center, Neighborhood House, serves the Greenbush neighborhood on Madison’s south side near campus. Their food distribution initiatives are a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and through the creation of these programs, they identified an immediate need in the community for consistent access to quality and nutrient-rich foods, not only shelf stable products. Recognizing that the pandemic exacerbated the conditions and systems in which food has been distributed led them to establish the Fresh Food Connection, with the primary goals of doubling the total volume of locally sourced fresh food distributed through their pantry to the community and connecting neighbors to local agricultural food systems. Fresh food distribution is largely a question of storage and distribution capacity, and the Fresh Food Connection program will give Neighborhood House the ability to safely store and distribute these foods through the winter months. Funding from the CRF will be used for fresh locally sourced produce and a chest freezer.
Rape Crisis Center, Inc: RCC GameChangers—2021 Youth Advocacy and Community Impact Project $2,000
Rape Crisis Center (RCC) advocates for those harmed by sexual violence. In addition to 24-hour helpline support, short-term counseling and therapy, and community outreach, RCC also provides education on sexual assault and consent in middle and high schools and provides primary prevention through their youth advisory group called GameChangers (GC). GC is a coalition of 17 high school students working across 13 public high schools throughout Dane County to engage in discussions and research on the contributing causes of sexual violence. The students work with facilitators to develop initiatives to present to policymakers and school administrators with the goal of improving the landscape for victims of sexual violence and fostering the kind of understanding that contributes to preventing sexual abuse from occurring. CRF funding is for GC facilitation, guest speakers, graphic design, and year-end community impact projects.
RISE Wisconsin’s Respite Center: Respite Basic Need Pantry $1,870
The Respite Center provides respite and crisis childcare to families and supports parents who may not have access to the support they need in order to create stability for their families and improve their overall well-being. The Respite Center has provided families with baby wipes, diapers, food, and clothing based on demonstrated need and as they have these items available. As more families have been impacted by the economic stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Respite Center is working to expand their capacity to keep these essential supplies on-hand in their basic need pantry, and they will also develop the structure to support delivery of these items when a need is indicated. With the increase in their service, the Respite Center identified the need for dedicated staff time to support the growth and development of the program and to expand the capacity of the organization as a whole. CRF funding is for staff time, including service delivery (onboarding, program development), collaboration and outreach, and community engagement.
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 Gigi Godwin and Ashwini Rao, Owners At-Large Glen Reichelderfer, George Reistad, and Melissa Wavelet, Cooperative Services Director Kirsten Moore, Education and Outreach Coordinator Liz Hawley, and Owner Resources Coordinator Amanda Ikens.
And of course a special thank you goes out to all of our Owners past and present who make this funding possible.