By: Liz Hawley, Education and Outreach Coordinator
With the New Year comes the new cycle of Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) grant applications, decisions, and awards—an exciting time of year! The application period for the 2025 CRF grants just recently came to a close, and the grant committee will diligently review all of the applications submitted by local 501(c)3 nonprofits and cooperatives. Before we dive into the 2025 grant cycle, I’d like to share a report on the progress recipient organizations made last year with the funds (totaling $65,00) awarded to them through the Co-op’s grant program.
Grants provide for local endeavors that are innovative, hands-on, and educational, 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, collaboration, and entrepreneurialism.
All organizations that receive awards provide progress reports to the Co-op about their funded projects. Here are the stories we received this past year.
Canopy Center
The Canopy Center offers support, advocacy, and therapy to children and families who have been impacted by trauma and adversity. With the grant funding they received, they were able to purchase snacks, kitchen supplies, and restaurant and grocery gift cards. They were also able to replace their coffee machine and pots and pans for the kitchen used by children and families to create a more welcoming environment during therapy sessions. The therapists at Canopy Center note that access to snacks positively impacts the children’s therapeutic outcomes.
CEOs of Tomorrow, Inc
CEOs of Tomorrow used their grant funds for the These Teens Mean Busine$$ Internship Program. This summer-long, college-level internship program for high school students provided entrepreneurial and professional development through in-class instruction as well as hands-on experience in personal finance, resume writing, and professionalism.
CEOs of Tomorrow plans to build more relationships with local businesses to broaden the scope of internships, especially businesses owned by women and people of color. Interested business owners should contact CEOs of Tomorrow to learn more. They are also looking for professionals to volunteer as guest speakers or mentors for the teens.
East Side Alano Club of Madison
The East Side Alano Club (ESAC) is an organization that maintains a facility on Madison’s northside for 12-step groups and recovery meetings, including Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Drug Addicts Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous. The ESAC facility was built in the 1960s, and the roof needs to be replaced. The ESAC Board of Directors used grant funds to meet with a structural engineer to determine the best path forward for the 60+ year-old building. Following fundraising efforts, they plan to get the roofing project underway in late 2025.
Eastmorland Community Center
The Eastmorland Community Center hosted a Guns-to-Garden Safe Surrender event in 2024. The Guns-to-Gardens movement works to reduce gun violence by reducing the number of guns in homes and communities. Unwanted guns are dismantled and the leftover parts are forged into garden tools. Twelve guns were surrendered at the event, and Jeff Wild, the Guns to Gardens blacksmith, led demonstrations showing how he dismantles the guns and turns the metal parts into garden tools with his forge.

Eyes of Hope, Stoughton
Eyes of Hope, Stoughton used their grant funding to support the Bayview After School Club. They report that through the club programming the kids eagerly participate in exploring nature after initially showing apprehension regarding outdoor activities. The children have also demonstrated increased confidence, especially in social situations. Eyes of Hope, Stoughton staff report, “The program has become a safe space where children feel empowered to try new things, make mistakes, and learn from them—all key aspects of personal development. We measure success based on consistent attendance, happiness and engagement of the children, and creative exploration.”
GSAFE
GSAFE started a new program for trans femme-identified young people in Madison and Milwaukee. The program, called True You, launched in January, and it matches trans femme-identified youth (ages 14-18) with a similarly identified adult in a mentorship relationship. Their work continues to connect organizers in the Madison and Milwaukee trans femme-identified communities.
Community members interested in this program as either a mentor or mentee and are trans femme-identified should contact GSAFE to learn more. For non-trans femme-identied individuals interested in the program, GSAFE encourages donations of basic beauty products, art supplies, or financial support of the program.
Horizon High School
Horizon High School, Wisconsin’s only recovery high school, received a grant to create gardens as part of its summer school program. The students got their hands in the soil, planted seeds, and watched the garden grow throughout the summer. The food the students grew was used in the school’s nutrition program, which provides breakfast and lunch to the students. School staff noted, “It has been valuable for [the students] to recognize the effort that goes into growing plants from seed, to understand the daily dedication to plant care, and feel the sense of satisfaction that comes with eating produce that has been harvested moments before a meal.”
KLJ Movement
KLJ Movement offers a Scholar Dance Program for youth ages 4-18 to learn from formally trained instructors in the styles of ballet, modern, hip hop, African-influenced movement, and performance skills. The program evaluates its success based on physical, mental, and social wellness of the youth. According to surveys of the youth and their families, KLJ Movement is “firmly established as a recognized safe space for Black and Brown individuals within the community.” Youth in the program report feelings of belonging and confidence. The program seeks to positively impact social wellness of the participants. Staff note, “We have an opportunity to model community and proactive social relationships to our scholars.”
KLJ Movement seeks volunteers for their annual production titled “Summer Interlude.” If you’re interested in volunteering, register online at https://kljmovement.org/volunteer-opportunities.

Lakeview Food Pantry
Lakeview Food Pantry has seen a steady increase in demand at their pantry putting a strain on their finances and emphasizing the need for additional freezer space. At the same time, they have had to focus on providing basic food essentials while cutting back on personal care items. With CRF grant funds, they purchased an additional freezer, allowing them to better manage their frozen inventory. They were also able to return to offering households a variety of personal care items like dish soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, and diapers.
Madison Northside Planning Council
FEED Kitchens, a venture of Madison Northside Planning Council, set out to organize Madison’s food cart operators into a cooperative for shared marketing, insurance, and information sharing and networking. In 2024, FEED Kitchens created MadCity Food Carts, a listserv for food cart operators to receive event invitations and for cross communication. Sixty-two of the city’s food cart operators joined the listserv.
FEED Kitchens’ also has the goal to help the food cart operators self-organize and to train them to operate MadCity Food Cart themselves, and hopefully, the winter season, the slow season for food carts, will be beneficial in this organizing effort.
Midwest Mujeres
Midwest Mujeres empowers Latinas and women of color to overcome their fears of public speaking and help them grow professionally. The Be Bold cohort mentored and educated women of color equipping them with professional development and storytelling skills. Their program includes one-on-one coaching and stipends to ensure that financial barriers don’t hold anyone back. They noted, “A combined 62% of our attendees (of 150) were either current entrepreneurs or considering starting their own businesses, highlighting our community’s entrepreneurial spirit and ambition.” Next, Midwest Mujeres plans to grow this into a certificate program intended for women of color over 50.
They are looking for bilingual speakers to help them evaluate their members’ needs. If you’re interested in this work, please reach out to Midwest Mujeres.

REAP Food Group
Looking to revitalize the use of the food truck that was gifted to them from Emmi Roth Cheese Company following the pandemic shutdown, REAP Food Group partnered with chef Yusuf Bin-Rella to use the truck to deliver Afro-Indigenous cuisine sourced from local and Indigenous-owned farms in Wisconsin at meal nights at Troy Gardens. Following these successful events, REAP hired an intern and food truck coordinator for the 2024 season. Throughout the season they attended many events and developed meaningful relationships with local farmers, chefs, and event organizers. REAP noted, “Each food truck event was a unique opportunity to educate the eaters about new cuisine, chefs, and featured farms. We had menu boards featuring the ingredients and farms and used the opportunity to distribute Farm Fresh Atlases.”
REAP reports, “We are always looking for potential volunteers to help with events. We also are contemplating how to best utilize the truck for mission-aligned events going forward. We certainly would love to expand our farm network. We also would love to make the truck more sustainable, and would welcome partnering with anyone who could help us find the best way to reduce fossil fuels on the truck, mostly the propane and appliances that run on propane.”

Roots4Change Cooperative
Roots4Change Cooperative held the first Latin American Maternal and Child Health Conference with more than 200 women in attendance. This conference created a space where people of different nationalities and languages could come together with “the purpose of creating changes in the medical system to improve the treatment and services available to Latino communities in Wisconsin and the United States.” The conference was described as “a transformative gathering that amplified marginalized voices, sparking a movement for Latinas’ liberation and health equity.”
Textile Arts Center of Madison
The Textile Arts Center of Madison (TAC) opened in 2023, and the grant funding they received was used for TAC’s free community programming. The Community Day events included hands-on fiber art activities, the distribution of free craft packs with creation inspiration guides, and secondhand supply sales. TAC also offered hands-on activities at local events and festivals throughout the summer. Additionally, they hosted mending days, maker meetups, and a fiber-focused book and podcast club. These free community programs engaged nearly 1,500 participants, almost doubling TAC’s initial goal.
The Better Path Foundation
The Better Path Foundation operates recovery houses in the Madison area for veterans and justice-involved people who have housing insecurity and are in recovery from Substance Use Disorder. With the CRF grant funding, they installed gardens at two of their properties with the assistance of the residents of the houses. They report, “The production of the plants was excellent, and our garden professional did awesome in leading the men and women in what and how to plant, tending to the garden, and the reward was plentiful. Our guys made salsa with an abundance of tomatoes harvested, along with various peppers, cucumbers, and other vegetables produced.”
If you’re interested in getting involved, The Better Path Foundation would be happy to receive donations of garden tools and equipment. They may also need volunteers to help tend the gardens.

The Madison Skatepark Fund
The Madison Skatepark Fund had a productive fall working on the Elvehjem Park All-Wheel DIY Project. Their all-volunteer group consists of a few folks who work professionally in the skatepark construction industry, and they handle all of the planning and logistics of building the skatepark. Another core group of volunteers shows up for the workdays to lay and finish concrete into ramps. This volunteer base allows them to spend all of the grant funds on construction materials like concrete, rebar, and wood for creating forms for the all-wheel park.

Triangle Community Ministry
Triangle Community Ministry (TCM) launched a series of cooking classes for residents in the neighborhood housing complexes. These classes feature ingredients most often provided by food pantries with recipes that are simple, inexpensive to prepare, and produce several servings. TCM staff said, “Nurse Carri also spends some time highlighting ‘better choices’ when it comes to things like cooking oils, sugar, sodium, etc. and provides a shopping list and recipe for all in attendance. At the end of the presentation, we have a fresh batch of the featured recipe and everyone gets to try it, so it ends with a nice time of social gathering over a plate of food.”
UNIDOS
UNIDOS piloted the ReUNIDOS bilingual and culturally relevant support group for Latine and immigrant men in Dane County. Through this group, participants could explore their emotions, develop self-awareness, cope with stress, and improve their overall well-being. UNIDOS collaborated with Richi Morales, a local Guatemalan painter, on a series of workshops called “How to Express Emotions through Painting.” UNIDOS reports, “We received very positive feedback and plan to dedicate a workshop that mixes painting and literature. The participants and facilitators have expressed interest in writing a book to talk about their stories and experiences participating in support groups and workshops.”

Vera Court Neighborhood Center
The Vera Court Neighborhood Center Community Garden Program addresses food access and food insecurity, provides garden and nutrition education, and decreases food waste through a composting program. Grant funding was used to purchase new and replacement tools for gardeners to use, support the garden water utility, and pay the stipends for the community garden coordinator. One gardener shared, “The garden encourages me to eat parts of the plant that stores usually don’t supply, like the tops of carrots, but which are very nutritious. I also love the fruit trees and other things I can forage for.”

WORT/Back Porch Radio Broadcasting
WORT’s Summer News Collaborative launched in mid-June with the goal of integrating it into the News Department as an annual summer program to train journalists from Madison’s communities of color. WORT staff producer Jade Iseri-Ramos was hired to manage the project and provide individualized training. Topics of the ten-week course included an introduction to local media and broadcasting, reporting and interviewing, audio editing, photojournalism, writing for the ear, ethics and storytelling, and career development and job opportunities. WORT staff report, “One unexpected outcome from the program is the revival of the Hmong Radio program on WORT. It features news and community announcements relevant to the Hmong community broadcast in the Hmoob language. This program has had the same hosts since the late 1980s who retired in 2021. WORT continued to air reruns of the program while searching for a viable way to sustain this key work. In early 2024, as a part of her work as a community connector for the City of Madison, Ze Yang began reviving the show and producing one hour of radio a month about city news and resources in the Hmoob language.”

Thank You 2024 CRF Grant Recipients and Owners
Each year we look forward to reading about the innovative projects our local nonprofits propose, and hearing about the successes when projects come to fruition is even more inspiring! For us, another grant cycle has come to a close, but the work of these nonprofits never ends. Thank you to all these organizations for the impactful work you do for the communities you serve! Thanks, also, to the Owners who have left the Co-op and opted to donate their equity to charitable purposes—this funding is possible because of your generosity—thank you! We’re looking forward to reading the innovative and inspiring grant proposals for 2025!