By: Community Shares of Wisconsin
Would you like to CHIP?
Willy Street Co-op customers are familiar with this simple question but may not be aware of the big impact of the Community CHIP® program. Each customer who decides to “CHIP” at checkout has a small donation added to their purchase total and that donation goes directly to Community Shares of Wisconsin to support our 80 local member nonprofits.
As the oldest social justice fund in the nation, Community Shares of Wisconsin and our member nonprofits have worked together for more than 55 years to advance social justice and protect the environment in Wisconsin. Our local member nonprofits are working in our community on essential issues like voting rights, affordable housing, civil liberties, sustainability, LGBTQ+ rights, healthy food and farms, criminal justice reform, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“The Co-op’s Owners and customers are a very socially engaged and community-minded group of people, so I know that they want to help support the amazing work of these local nonprofits,” says Anya Firszt, General Manager of Willy Street Co-op.
As struggles are interconnected, so too are the solutions to those struggles. Community Shares of Wisconsin and our member nonprofits envision a future where we all have clean water and air, where all neighbors have access to family-supporting jobs, and where all communities across Wisconsin are safe and thriving.
Community Shares funds nonprofits that acknowledge the systemic impact of racism and other forms of oppression that result in disparities in access to economic and social success. We prioritize acknowledging, identifying, and disrupting policies and practices that perpetuate poverty and inequality because we believe they’re the root causes of injustice and must be addressed for real, lasting change.
Our approach to fundraising and community building focuses on connecting with as many individual donors as possible, and the Community CHIP program is a great example because it allows Community Shares of Wisconsin to democratize philanthropy and help everyone’s contributions add up to make a big difference.
Community CHIP began in 1971 and is the original source of funding for Community Shares of Wisconsin (then known as the Madison Sustaining Fund). The program was nicknamed “The People’s Tax” because it allowed the community to directly support community organizations that were meeting needs not met by existing institutions. Local cooperative businesses collected donations in jars near cash registers and Community Shares distributed those funds to local nonprofits based on the consensus of members.
More than 50 years later, with new challenges to our democracy, the work of Community Shares’ membernonprofits is more urgent than ever. Candace Weber, founding member of Community Shares of Wisconsin, said, “A lot of young people felt very powerless fifty years ago and found that coming together helped us become more powerful. This is still true. If we come together as a group, a community, we can make meaningful change.” Weber added, “I feel most powerful when the money I give goes to organizations whose work I know. I have been, and remain, a firm believer that change happens from the ground up. Local change is going to be substantial and real. My contribution can mean change for my community and my neighbor.”
Willy Street Co-op has participated in the Community CHIP program since 1978 and has been the exclusive home of the Community CHIP program since 2008. Through your donations, the Community CHIP program at Willy Street Co-op has raised over $5 million since 1978, and today the program raises over $325,000 annually from thousands of generous Co-op shoppers like you.
If you would like to donate, just say “yes” when the cashier asks if you want to “CHIP.” You can also “CHIP” when using self-checkout. The Co-op collects your donation and gives 100% of the money to Community Shares of Wisconsin, and we distribute the donation equitably among our member nonprofits and provide training and technical support for those nonprofits.
Your “CHIP” today is an investment in a tomorrow where communities are safe, healthy, and thriving. Community Shares of Wisconsin thanks the Willy Street Co-op for their strong partnership and thanks the thousands of Co-op shoppers who have made change happen one “CHIP” at a time.
For more information about Community Shares of Wisconsin, our member nonprofits, and the Community CHIP program, visit communityshares.com
