We are proud to have partners like the good people working with the U.S. Venture Fund for Basic Needs within the Community Foundation and the J. J. Keller Foundation. They have made it their mission to move the needle on poverty in northeast Wisconsin, and their strongest weapon in this battle against the root causes of poverty has proven to be the golf club.

The U.S. Venture Open raised a record $3.6 million in one day for the Basic Needs Giving Partnership on Aug. 10. A big cheer goes out to U.S. Venture and the many volunteers, sponsors and golfers.

The Basic Needs Giving Partnership includes the U.S. Venture Fund for Basic Needs, the J. J. Keller Foundation, the community foundations in the Fox Valley, Oshkosh and Green Bay, and other partners. The money is invested at the three community foundations to keep growing and funding efforts to get people out of poverty and prevent them from entering into poverty in northeast Wisconsin.

The Schmidt family, owners of U.S. Venture, was with us when the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region was created 30 years ago. After the first U.S. Oil Open, Bill Schmidt, one of the family patriarchs, said raising the money was easy, but giving it away was a lot more difficult. They sought the help of the Community Foundation. Thanks to the endowment their efforts have built, and the J. J. Keller Foundation and others have supported, 70 nonprofit organizations received $1.2 million grants from the Giving Partnership during the past year, and $16.9 million over its history.

U.S. Venture and its partners don’t just have a good short game. They tee up poverty every year and have their eyes on the Fox Valley of the future, each year raising the par.

Read the U.S. Venture Fund for Basic Needs annual report