Congratulations to each of the multi-year grant awardees! We are thrilled to be investing nearly $1 million this year to 12 organizations across NE Wisconsin. Through 2027, our investments in these projects and initiatives will total $2.85 million. Grantees are leading community-driven systems change projects that are addressing the root causes of complex challenges in early care and education (birth to five), housing access, mental health, or substance use.
$300,000 – Achieve Brown County (ABC) aims to improve cradle to career outcomes of Kindergarten Readiness and Early Grade Reading by engaging youth and families beginning at birth and through collective impact work with ABC partners.
Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition
$150,000 – Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition’s initiative leverages the Greater Green Bay Blueprint to Prevent and End Homelessness to address the complex issues of homelessness and housing insecurity by addressing root causes and tackling systemic challenges. This comprehensive approach includes not only providing access to affordable and supportive housing opportunities but also improving access to essential resources and services. By collaborating with many nonprofits and agencies across various sectors, this project aims to advocate for policy changes, educate the community, and create sustainable solutions to homelessness in Brown County.
$225,000 – The City of Waupaca’s project will enhance efforts to develop a local birth to five system of care that better serves families, children, and early care professionals throughout Waupaca County. Change is needed to reduce the financial burden of childcare on parents, provide childhood educators with livable wages, and reverse the negative impacts of the childcare crisis on Waupaca County businesses. To develop a permanent solution to these challenges, the City of Waupaca and its local partners will leverage an award from the Basic Needs Giving Partnership to evaluate creative funding mechanisms that reimagine how communities invest in their children.
Greater Fox Cities Housing Alliance
$75,000 – Greater Fox Cities Housing Alliance’s project aims to increase access to housing in the Fox Valley (Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago counties) by engaging local stakeholders across the housing continuum to establish a shared vision and implement strategies that address our region’s evolving housing needs. Ultimately, the focus will be on expanding a funding pool to support housing development, advocating for policies that inform and garner support, and engaging with residents to empower people impacted.
$300,000 – HeadsUp Fox Cities’ project will enhance housing access for transitional-age youth in Outagamie, Winnebago, and Calumet counties who have had experience with the child welfare/foster care system. In collaboration with people who have lived experience, nonprofit leaders, human services and justice system professionals, and private businesses, they will change systems to increase transitional housing opportunities and shift practices to build strong wrap-around supports. The aim is to challenge past practices, empower action, bring about greater equity, and advance an impactful housing-first approach in our community.
$300,000 – Impact Wisconsin’s recovery initiative centers Recovery Capital Index (RCI) to holistically measure and enhance the overall wellbeing of individuals in recovery, starting with Shawano, Outagamie, Waupaca, and Waushara counties. By utilizing the RCI, the initiative aims to break down stigma and provide actionable insights into clients’ physical, mental, and social health, driving tailored support and effective systems change. This approach ensures comprehensive care that addresses the root causes of addiction, fostering long-term recovery and community resilience.
$225,000 – JOSHUA’s housing initiative will work to address affordable housing by working with local organizations and people with lived experience primarily in Brown, Winnebago, and Outagamie Counties. This project advocates for changes to local policies that will allow for greater access to housing for people who are experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness. They will do this through grassroots organizing, mobilizing community support, and partnering with decision-makers to ensure rental vouchers are included under protected classes within Brown County.
$75,000 – Legal Action of Wisconsin will develop a Community Lawyering Program focusing on housing access throughout the region, with an intentional focus in Outagamie and Winnebago counties. This project will directly engage with people experiencing housing instability to equip a process that amplifies the voice and the power of these communities. Legal advocates will contribute their skills to address the concerns of low-income tenants by helping build their knowledge and enhance their power to drive social change.
Northeast Wisconsin Hmong Professionals
$300,000 – NEW Hmong Professionals’ initiative, Project Ntsuag Siab, aims to transform mental health outcomes for the Hmong community in Northeast Wisconsin (Brown, Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago counties) through culturally informed interventions and systemic changes. Recognizing that existing systems have failed to adequately address the unique needs of the Hmong community over the past 49 years, this project seeks to integrate mental health well-being into everyday practices, activities, and values of Hmong individuals and families. Project Ntsuag Siab will focus on three strategic areas: shifting power dynamics within traditional Hmong culture, equipping our staff and volunteers with the necessary skills to meet the community’s needs, and collaborating with existing resources to enhance cultural understanding among service providers.
$300,000 – People of Progression (P.O.P.) aims to address systemic inequities in housing access for Black and African American individuals and families in the Greater Fox Valley Area (Outagamie and Winnebago counties) through a long-term systems change initiative. The project will establish a Culturally Specific Led Coalition and a Black Community Advisory Team to empower impacted communities, enhance policy advocacy, and improve the Coordinated Entry System for homelessness support. By centering the voices of those affected, P.O.P. seeks to dismantle barriers to housing access and homeownership, promote generational wealth building, and ultimately, foster equity and stability within marginalized populations.
We All Rise: African American Resource Center
$300,000 – We All Rise’s project, The Tipping Point: Centering Culturally Specific Community Change, will improve access to quality, culturally relevant mental health services and safe, affordable housing by addressing the disparities that BIPOC survivors experience. This project will take targeted action to drive systems change in Brown County including: 1) fostering coalitions and networks that bring together groups and individuals with lived experience, 2) changing organizational practices of direct service agencies to align with culturally relevant mental health and housing standards of care, and 3) influencing policy and legislation to improve outcomes specific to mental health and housing for BIPOC survivors.
Wisconsin Early Childhood Association
$300,000 – In concert with the coalition work of Raising Wisconsin, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) seeks to drive long-term systems change for the early care and education (ECE) sector by advocating for a sustained state investment in child care. This effort, in collaboration with the ECE workforce, parents and families, employers, economic development agencies, and community partners in the Basic Needs Giving Partnership region, will amplify a unified and informed voice in support of a sustainable ECE system across Northeast Wisconsin and beyond.