MADISON, Wis., September 14, 2021 – Many Dane County nonprofit organizations that faced financial strain in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic just received some welcome assistance from the County. Today, Madison Community Foundation (MCF) and Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced Dane County COVID Relief Grant recipients.
Grants ranging from $2,500 to $50,000 were awarded to 183 organizations working in the county. The grants help offset the losses and/or increased expenses these organizations experienced because of the pandemic. The program was funded by the County with an allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act.
“Many Dane County nonprofits were part of the frontline response to the pandemic and served our community in unprecedented ways,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. “We are excited to get this funding out the door and into our community. These grants will help local nonprofits recover from the impacts of the pandemic and reinvest in their work. Congratulations to the recipients, and many thanks to Madison Community Foundation for partnering with us on this effort.”
“We saw such a range of organizations apply for grants through this program,” said Tom Linfield, Vice President of Community Impact at MCF. “From providing support to children and youth to working in the arts, offering health and human services or fulfilling basic needs, providing sports and recreation to protecting the environment, these organizations are working to provide opportunities and support for the people of Dane County.”
The economic toll on the nonprofits that applied for grants varied greatly: two-thirds of the groups saw their budgets shrink in 2020, and 34% were forced to furlough staff at some point during the year. Nearly half of the organizations ended 2020 with deficits ranging up to $2.3 million. And while many of Dane County’s nonprofit organizations were able to receive funding last year through the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), nearly a third of today’s grant recipients did not.
“Many nonprofits were ineligible to receive Paycheck Protection Program resources because they did not have relationships with financial institutions,” said Bob Sorge, President and CEO of MCF. “By prioritizing those organizations with the American Rescue Plan resources, we were able to bridge an important gap and support a wide range of programs and nonprofits.”
Because these grants were intended to help offset the pandemic’s economic impact on the county’s nonprofits, the review process focused heavily on budgets, revenues and expenses between 2019 and 2020. Organizations provided information about additional costs incurred in dealing with the pandemic, including safety equipment, technology for virtual programming, and home office costs. Reviewers also considered deficits, furloughed staff, emergency loans and federal funding in making award decisions.
Preference was also given to those organizations that had not yet received federal funding.
The complete list of grant recipients can be found on the next page.
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About Madison Community Foundation: Madison Community Foundation’s mission is to enhance the common good through philanthropy. Established as a community trust in 1942, Madison Community Foundation, together with donors, has distributed more than
$250 million to strengthen causes and communities in Dane County and around the world. Learn more at madisongives.org.
Dane County COVID Relief Grant Recipients
100 Black Men of Madison
100state
A Pay It Forward Foundation
Access Community Health Centers
AgeBetter SAIL-Sharing Active Independent Lives program
Aldo Leopold Nature Center
Allied Wellness Center
Alzheimer’s & Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin
Arts & Literature Laboratory
ARTS for ALL Wisconsin Arts Wisconsin
Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Madison Chapter
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society of WI
Badger Childhood Cancer Network
BadgerBOTS Robotics Corporation
Bayview Foundation
Bernie’s Place
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County
Big Oak Child Care Center
Black Earth Children’s Museum
BlueStem Jazz
Boys & Girls Club of Dane County
Breast Cancer Recovery
Cambridge Community Activities Program
Cambridge K-12 PTO
Capital City Theatre
Catalyst For Change
Catalyst Project
Central Cross Country Skiing
Central Midwest Ballet
Centro Hispano of Dane County
CEOs of Tomorrow
Charles Hamilton Houston Institute
Children’s Theater of Madison
Chrysalis
City of Madison Police K-9 Equine Partners
Clean Lakes Alliance
Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups
Combat Blindness International
Common Threads Family Resource Center
Common Wealth Development
Communication Madison
Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin
conNEXTions
Conquering CHD Wisconsin
Cottage Grove Volunteer Fire Department
Creative Community Living Services
Cultural Connections
Cycropia Aerial Dance
Dane County Fair Association
Dane Dances
DANEnet
Deerfield Community Center
Disability Pride Madison
Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS)
Doyenne Group
Easter Seals Wisconsin
Employment Resources
FairShare CSA Coalition
Families and Schools Together
First Tee – South Central Wisconsin
Forward Learning Youth and Young Adults
Friends of the Performing Arts Center
Friends of the UW Odyssey Project
Friends of Wisconsin Singers
Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools (GSAFE)
Gerald A Bartell Theatre
GiGi’s Playhouse-Madison
Girl Scouts of Wisconsin – Badgerland
Girls on the Run of South Central Wisconsin
Glacier’s Edge Council, BSA
Goodman Community Center
Goodwill Industries of South Central Wisconsin
Heartland Farm Sanctuary
HHU Xtra Care
Horizon High School, of Madison
Jewish Social Services
Judo-Jujitsu Madison
Junior Achievement of Wisconsin
Kanopy Dance Theatre
Koshkonong Prairie Historical Society
Latino Chamber of Commerce
Li Chiao-Ping Dance
LitNet
Madison Area Children’s Dyslexia Center
Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens
Madison Area Youth Soccer Association
Madison Association of the Deaf
Madison Ballet
Madison Children’s Museum
Madison Choral Project
Madison Circus Space
Madison Elite Track Club
Madison Festivals
Madison Freewheel Bicycle Co
Madison Montessori Society
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
Madison Northside Planning Council, FEED Kitchens
Madison Opera
Madison Reading Project Madison Roller Derby
Madison Trust for Historic Preservation
Madison Unicyclists
Madison Youth Arts Center
Madison Youth Choirs
Madison Youth Sailing Foundation
Madison4Kids
Maestro Productions
Make Music Madison
Mandt Community Center
Meeting House Nursery School
MellowHOOD Foundation
Middleton Community Orchestra
Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Education Foundation
Mobility Training and Independent Living Program
MOM (Middleton Outreach Ministry)
Monroe Street Arts Center
More Smiles Wisconsin
Movin’ Out
Music Academy of Sun Prairie (d/b/a Prairie Music & Arts)
NAMI Dane County (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
National Mustard Museum
Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library
Omega School
One City Schools
Opera for the Young
Oregon Youth Center
Orion Family Services
Overture Center for the Arts
Porchlight
REACH-A-Child
REAP Food Group
Red Caboose Child Care Center
RISE Wisconsin
Rooted WI
Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center
SCORE Madison
Sector67
Shalom Holistic Health Services / DBA Neighborhood Free Health Clinic
Sidekick Education
Slow Food UW
South Metropolitan Planning Council
Special Olympics Wisconsin
StartingBlock Madison
Stoughton Yoga
Sunshine Place Tellurian
The Business Forum Foundation
The Center for Photography at Madison
The Hmong Institute
The Memory Project
The Progressive
The Rainbow Project
The River Food Pantry
The Wisconsin Union Association
Theater Bus
Three Gaits
TNW Ensemble Theater
Today Not Tomorrow
Token Creek Festival
Tri 4 Schools
University Avenue Daycare
University Houses Preschool
Urban Community Arts Network, Ltd.
Urban Tree Alliance
Urban Triage
Vera Court Neighborhood Center
Verona Area Community Theater
WECOMM, Ltd.
Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters
Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence (WCPE)
Wisconsin Chamber Choir
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
Wisconsin Historical Foundation
Wisconsin Masonic Center Foundation
Wisconsin School Music Association
Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation
Wisconsin Youth Company
Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras
Woodland Montessori School
Work Opportunity in Rural Communities
Worker Justice Wisconsin
YMCA of Dane County
