CRF Grant Application Overview | 2026 CRF Grant Application Guidelines | 2026 CRF Grant Application
Since 1992, Willy Street Co-op grant programs have been making a difference in the quality of life for our community.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to read this application carefully and in its entirety.
Willy Street Co-op’s grant programs fund innovative, educational, and/or entrepreneurial endeavors that impact a large group of people, reach out to underserved populations, create jobs or develop skills, foster social engagement, and offer opportunities for diversifying partnerships and collaboration.
What The Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) Supports
This fund supports developmental and educational projects that promote food justice and/or access; create or develop cooperative businesses, sustainable agriculture, health and well-being; and advocate for social change up to $7,000 per grant awarded with the average award being $3,250. This tends to fund project costs rather than operating costs.
Rooted in Our Community (RIOC)
Up to $20,000 of the total $85,000 CRF grant funds available are dedicated to specifically help fund larger capital purchases/investments to support our local, sustainable food system. A maximum of $10,000 per grant request will be awarded in the special Rooted in Our Community category.
Please know that if you apply for a RIOC grant, your application will only be considered in this category; it will not be considered for one of the more general CRF grants.
Who Willy Street Co-op Awards Grants To
Grants are awarded to nonprofits and cooperative organizations benefiting Dane County with priority given to organizations run, operated by, and/or benefitting marginalized groups and organizations with limited access to funding. Preference may be given to projects benefiting the Madison/Middleton metropolitan areas and organizations that have not been funded in previous years by any Willy Street Co-op grant program.
See here for projects that were funded in last year’s grant cycle.
About Willy Street Co-op Grant Programs
The Co-op Board of Directors has allocated up to $85,000 in total funding for 2026. $65,000 for CRF and $20,000 for RIOC. Grants are competitive! Not all groups receive funding: in 2025, the committee received 39 CRF applications totaling $212,769 in requests and awarded a total of $65,000 to 17 organizations. The average award was $3,250. Organizations may receive a partial award of the total they have requested.
