Feb. 22, 2019 – Washington Co., WI – The West Bend Community Foundation, and its component funds, had a total community impact of nearly $4 million dollars in 2018 through grants awarded in Washington County and beyond.
The West Bend Community Foundation (WBCF) is a permanent, charitable endowment dedicated to supporting the interests and advancing the legacies of its donors while inspiring philanthropy and strengthening the greater West Bend community. It is a supporting organization and regional partner of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
More than $3.2 million of WBCF’s funding was given to Washington County nonprofits. When combined with other grantmaking from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the total received by Washington County agencies from the foundations and their donors in 2018 exceeded $4.5 million. In all, 80 different Washington County agencies received 311 grants.
These community investments also are reflected in the grand total of more than $80 million in grants provided in 2018 by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and its many donors and partners, based on preliminary financial figures. Over the last five years, the community has benefited from over $315 million in grants from GMF.
Grants include strategic and responsive investments authorized by GMF and WBCF boards using discretionary resources, as well as grants and co-investments made through the funds of those who partner with the foundations for their philanthropy.
“Community foundation grantmaking is like holding up a mirror to the community’s hopes and needs,” said Ellen Gilligan, Greater Milwaukee Foundation president and CEO. “In any given year, you can see the activities and aspirations of the community reflected in those programs and investments, and each year builds on the legacy of all those who have given generously throughout the last century to bring those aspirations to life.”
Some of the Washington County-area agencies receiving grant funding from the West Bend Community Foundation and/or the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and their donors include: Cedar Community Foundation Inc., Enchantment Inc., Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church, Holy Angels Catholic Church and School, Holy Hill, Kettle Moraine YMCA, and Museum of Wisconsin Art.
