From cultural events and a watershed clean-up to helping nonprofits build capacity to tackling systemic issues like the housing shortage, the Community Vision Fund within the Community Foundation awarded 71 grants totaling $840,800 during 2024.  

About the Fund  

The Community Vision Fund seeks to fulfill community needs and advance well-being for people living in the counties of Calumet, Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca, and the Neenah-Menasha area of Winnebago. It combines dollars from donors who created endowment funds or made individual donations to improve the quality of life of the Fox Valley region.   

Through an application and review process, grants are distributed to Fox Valley area nonprofit organizations within five focus areas: arts and culture, community and neighborhood development, environment, financial stability and wellbeing, and nonprofit effectiveness.    

See a full list of grant recipient partners. 

2024 Community Vision Fund – Focus Area Highlights  

Arts and Culture – 25 grants totaling $131,700

Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass

Grant Example: Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass: Revitalizing Glass Studio Programs through Essential Kiln Upgrades – A $13,700 grant helped purchase a new glass kiln and essential tools critical to advancing the organization’s mission and sustaining its glass studio programs. Read more here.  

Community and Neighborhood Development – 13 grants totaling $207,500
Grant Example: United Way Fox Cities: Greater Fox Cities Housing Alliance Planning Grant – A $30,000 grant supported research on the structure and feasibility of a Housing Alliance to address housing issues in the Greater Fox Cities. Read more here.   

Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance

Environment – 6 grants totaling $88,500
Grant Example: Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance: Capacity Building & 2024 Fox-Wolf Watershed Cleanup – Two grants were provided to Fox Wolf Watershed: $25,000 to build their capacity through the work of a Development Director, and $1,000 to support their 2024 Fox-Wolf Watershed Cleanup, which removed garbage and debris from public lands located near or adjacent to our water resources. Read more here.  

Community Living Room

Financial Stability and Wellbeing – 14 grants totaling $218,500
Grant Example: Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative: Community Living Room
A $20,000 grant is helping to address social isolation through increased access to social connection, providing a space where support is accessible to all. Read more here.  

Nonprofit Effectiveness – 14 grants totaling $194,600
Grant Example: Waupaca Area Recovery Coalition: Non-Profit Development – A $2,500 grant supported development efforts including: organizing educational events, developing a professional website, and establishing a social media presence to enhance community engagement to better aid individuals in their addiction recovery journey.  

Read and listen to learn more about addiction recovery resources in Waupaca and our surrounding region here.  

High Need  

With the Community Vision Fund and across many Community Foundation grant programs, we are experiencing record-breaking numbers of grant requests. The reasons for this surge are complex and multi-faceted but some of the contributing factors include:   

• An uncertain political landscape: over 1/3 of nonprofit funding comes from government grants, and many nonprofits have had funding sources abruptly end. 
• End of COVID-era funding: The sunsetting of state and federal funds that were supporting local nonprofits has created a funding gap.  
• Changes in Government support to individuals: More individuals are turning to community resources for essential help.  
• Rising costs: Inflation and increasing expenses are straining both individuals and organizations.  
• Declining contributions: Nationally, we are seeing a drop in individual giving and volunteerism, making it harder for nonprofits to meet the growing demand.  

In this challenging climate, we strongly encourage you to continue giving to your favorite nonprofits directly, and if you can, consider increasing your gift.   

We also encourage you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Community Vision Fund. Your generosity can help amplify our grantmaking efforts and support the nonprofits working tirelessly to enhance the quality of life in the Fox Valley region and respond to emerging needs. Reasons to consider giving to this fund: 

• Your contribution when combined with the collective generosity of others can make a bigger impact together than it could on its own 
• Our staff keeps a close eye on emerging needs of the community – if you’re not in a position to be able to keep up with community needs, you can trust that our staff is actively engaged in that work on a daily basis.  

Donations can be made with cash equivalents, securities, IRA assets, real estate, or other assets.