Our Waupaca Area Community Foundation partner awarded grants totaling $102,300 to 17 area nonprofit organizations from its Waupaca Area Community Foundation Fund to help enhance the quality of life in the greater Waupaca area. 

“After 21 years of giving back to the community, the generosity of our donors never ceases to amaze me. These grants will make a big difference to nonprofits working to make life better for Waupaca area residents,” said Dave Poeschl, chair of the Waupaca Area Community Foundation Advisory Board. 

Annual grants up to $7,500 each are given to support a wide range of projects and programs benefiting people of the greater Waupaca area. Grant dollars are generated from fundraising activities – including an annual gala – donors’ charitable funds, and the endowed Waupaca Area Community Foundation Fund. Donations to the fund are welcome and can be made online here.    

“We received a record number of grant applications this year, so we know community needs are great. We encourage everyone who cares about Waupaca to consider ways they can donate or volunteer,” said Mary Zimmermann, Waupaca Area Community Foundation board member and chair of the grants committee. 

This year’s grant recipients work to make a difference in the areas of basic needs, education, mental health, arts and more.  

2024 Grant Recipients

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Central Wisconsin: $7,500 to bring the High School Bigs program to Weyauwega-Fremont High School, matching 10 elementary school mentees with 10 high school mentors.  
• CAP Services: $5,000 to improve the mental health of Waupaca County residents by providing mental health education and support. 
• Center for Suicide Awareness: $7,500 to provide Master Resilience Training (MRT), an evidence-based training developed by the U.S. Army, to first responders in Waupaca County to support their mental well-being. 
• Chain Exploration Center: $5,000 to promote positive mental health through implementation of Sources of Strength, an evidence-based peer-to-peer suicide prevention program.  
  

  Waupaca Community Clothes Closet

• Community Clothes Closet: $5,000 to bring free clothing to Waupaca families who need help making ends meet through bi-monthly distribution events held at the Waupaca campus of Fox Valley Technical College. 
• Fox Valley Memory Project: $7,500 to increase participation in Memory Link, Mindworks, and support group programs for individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia and their caregivers in Waupaca County. 
• Fox Valley Technical College Foundation: $7,500 to increase access to English Language Learning services for Waupaca-area residents by providing in-person English instruction at the Fox Valley Technical College Waupaca campus.  
• Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes: $5,000 to make the Girl Scout Leadership Experience accessible, equitable, and affordable for girls in Waupaca.  
• Gold Cross Ambulance Service: $5,000 to place AEDs in key locations in the Waupaca area, in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Waupaca, the Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce and the UW-Oshkosh School of Nursing. 
• Home and Away Ministries (Ruby’s Pantry): $7,500 to purchase a used forklift for the Waupaca warehouse so the organization can continue to distribute more food to families in need. 
• Manawa Rural Ambulance Service: $7,500 for the purchase of a Stryker powerloading system for the main ambulance to provide more stability and security for patients while reducing injury for EMTs. 
• School District of Waupaca: $5,000 to host an author visit and programming on Jewish history and the Holocaust, to coincide with the Americans and the Holocaust exhibit held at the Waupaca Library. 
• Victory Church: $7,500 to provide Spanish-speaking individuals with necessary training to become early childhood educators, and to develop a bilingual resource center, which will increase accessibility to childcare options, inclusion of Spanish-speaking families, and increase the childcare workforce. 
• Waupaca Community Arts Board: $5,000 to support the Waupaca Bach Festival, bringing engaging classical music events to Waupaca October 6-13, 2024.  
• Waupaca County Suicide Prevention Coalition: $3,800 to support Waupaca County farmers, who work in a high-stress profession, with suicide rates in agriculture higher than any other occupation. 
• Waupaca Farmers Market: $7,500 to support the nutrition incentive program at the Waupaca Farmers Market, which contributes to food equity and ensures access to healthy and locally grown food products to all families in the Waupaca area. 
• Wautoma High School: $3,500 to sponsor students from Waupaca high school to participate in a unique outreach and performance opportunity with SIX APPEAL on November 15, 2024.  

The Waupaca Area Community Foundation was established in 2003 by and for the people of the area to improve the quality of life in Waupaca area communities. It is an affiliate of the Appleton-based Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region. To learn more, go to cffoxvalley.org/waupaca.  Donations to the Waupaca Area Community Foundation Fund are welcome and can be made online here.