by: Community Shares of Wisconsin
“Would you like to CHIP?” For decades, Willy Street Co-op customers have been asked this simple question.
Each customer who decides to “CHIP” has a small donation added to their purchase total and that donation goes directly to Community Shares of Wisconsin to support local nonprofits.
In September 2025, the Community CHIP® program at Willy Street Co-op reached a total of $5 million raised for the member nonprofits of Community Shares of Wisconsin since 1978. “While this is an amazing milestone, it doesn’t surprise me at all,” says Anya Firszt, General Manager of Willy Street Co-op. “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.”
The member nonprofits of Community Shares of Wisconsin are working on essential issues like civil liberties, sustainability, LGBTQ+ rights, voting rights, healthy food and farms, criminal justice reform, affordable housing, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Like no other time in recent history, our basic rights and freedoms are under attack. Donations through the Community CHIP program are an investment in nonprofits that are challenging systems and holding decision-makers accountable,” says Cheri Dubiel, Community Shares of Wisconsin’s Executive Director.
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 emerging, the work of Community Shares’ member nonprofits 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 adds “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. Today, the program raises over $325,000 annually from thousands of generous Co-op shoppers.
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, which distributes the donation equitably among our member nonprofits and provides training and technical support for those nonprofits.
Community Shares of Wisconsin knows charitable giving isn’t just for the wealthy. The Community CHIP program democratizes philanthropy by connecting with thousands of individual donors whose contributions add up to make a big difference in our community. 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 their voice heard one “CHIP” at a time.
For more information about Community Shares of Wisconsin, our member nonprofits, and the Community CHIP program, visit communityshares.com.
