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Fort Atkinson Community Foundation
February 2019 Quarterly Update
The mission of the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation is to receive donations for educational, cultural, charitable, or benevolent purposes and use them to  benefit our residents and enhance the quality of life in the Fort Atkinson area.

Recently Awarded Grants

January 2019 Community Foundation Board Meeting:


$10,000 to the City of Fort Atkinson
to purchase five electronic poll books, known as Badger Books.  These secure Badger Books will replace the bulky paper poll books and will dramatically improve election efficiencies at our municipal polling station.  Our city clerk, Michelle Ebbert, hopes to have them in place for the April 2019 election.  And you won't have to remember what ward you live in!
$11,750 matching grant to Project Lead 
to assist with their $23,500 project to add an innovative shade sail, like the one pictured above, umbrellas and other enhancements to the Fort Atkinson Aquatic Center.  The Chamber of Commerce's 31st Project Lead Class has worked with Parks & Rec Director Scott Lastusky to identify how to best add much-needed shade options to our well-attended aquatic center. 
Learn more about the project
Project Lead is now fundraising to try and raise their half of the funds.  If you'd like to help and have your gift matched by us dollar for dollar, please click on the button below.
Donate to the Project Lead Project
$150,000 challenge grant
to the City of Fort Atkinson
to help build a new 'Wheels Park' in Fort Atkinson for the youth - and the young-at-heart adults - of our community to enjoy.  The proposed approximately $300,000 facility set for Ralph Park  includes 6,000 square feet of ramps, rails, an open bowl, and 14 other challenges seen in the schematic design above. 
Learn more about the project
The Foundation's grant is a matching challenge grant meaning that the Wheels Park group has to raise $150,000 to be eligible to receive the grant.  A fund has been opened at the Foundation to receive donations toward the match.  If you'd like to help, you can donate to that fund by using the button below.
Donate to the Wheels Park Project
$6,000 to Purdy Elementary School PTO
to help purchase two new pieces of playground equipment for Purdy Elementary School, replacing two old, hazardous pieces.  Our grant will cover half the cost of the project, with the matching funds to be provided by the Purdy School PTO.   
$1,150 to the Ernie Pope Art Show
sponsored by FCCU
to provide cash prizes for this unique art show sponsored by Fort Community Credit Union and put on by the local art teachers.  The grant will come from our Ernie Pope Memorial Art Fund, a fund set up years ago by Jonathan Pellegrin and Johnson Hill Press to provide financial support for the show. 

In the late 1980s, Ernie Pope of Johnson Hill Press convinced his company to put on a juried art show to recognize and encourage the artistic talent of Fort Atkinson students.  Over the years, Johnson Hill Press changed owners and Ernie passed away from cancer, but the local art community rallied to keep the popular show going.  A few years ago, FCCU - a strong supporter of local art just like JHP - stepped forward to sponsor the show, ensuring it would remain a mainstay of the school calendar.  

Foundation News

Fort Atkinson Community Foundation's
2019 Board of Directors

Pictured here are the members of the 2019 Board of Directors, taken right before their January board meeting. They are, left to right: Sitting – Mary Behling, past chairman; Kristin Wallace, chairman; Scott Housley, vice chairman; and Sue Hartwick, administrator. Standing – Jim Vance, legal counsel; Loren Gray, secretary; Sue Johnson, director; and Michael Bender, treasurer.

The Board consists of five voting members, each serving a term of five years, who are chosen for their community involvement and knowledge of the educational, cultural, civic, public, and charitable needs of the Fort Atkinson area. Joining the directors are three ex-officio members who provide support. 

New 2019 Director Sue Johnson

A warm welcome to Sue Johnson who was recently appointed to serve a five-year term on our Board of Directors.  Sue was nominated by the Fort Atkinson City Council and will be replacing Mary Behling who has completed her term and who will spend 2019 serving the board as past chairman.

 

“Sue will be a valuable addition to this board,” noted 2018 Foundation Chairman Mary Behling.  “Her extensive involvement in the community, her knowledge of local issues, and her financial expertise will serve the Foundation well.” 

 

Johnson has been a member of the Fort Atkinson community since her family moved here in 1978.  She is currently the President and CEO of Fort Community Credit Union, having been with FCCU for 27 years.  Her volunteer resume includes service and officer positions on the board of directors for the Fort Atkinson Historical Society, the Fort Atkinson Music Boosters Association, and the Fort Atkinson Orchestra Boosters.

 

In her free time, Sue enjoys spending time with her husband Mark and their children Alex and Faith. 

 

“I’m looking forward to joining the board,” stated Johnson, “It is an honor to be a part of an organization that understands our community, its needs and how charitable support can impact lives locally.” 

Scholarship News

Now accepting scholarship applications!
Fort Scholarships, the online scholarship application website sponsored by the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation, is now accepting applications for scholarships for the 2019-20 schoolyear.
Local students will find Fort Scholarships to be a very convenient one-stop shop where they can review the eligibility requirements for a whole host of local scholarships and then apply for those for which they qualify.  Housed on the site are all 39 of the competitive scholarships offered by the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation, plus many of those offered through Fort Atkinson High School. 

The application deadline for most scholarships is February 15, 2019.  Four voc tech scholarships have a later deadline of April 1st.
 
To Learn More About FACF Scholarships . . .
New Fireside Theatre Scholarship

Established by a generous gift from Ryan and Kristi Klopcic, owners of The Fireside Theatre in Fort Atkinson, the Foundation's new Fireside Theatre Scholarship will make its first award this year.  

Ryan and Kristi, both graduates of Fort Atkinson High School, set up this fund to provide financial assistance to local students and encourage them to pursue studies that support The Fireside Theatre’s mission of hospitality and entertainment.

The scholarship is open to graduating seniors at Fort Atkinson High School, former Fort Atkinson High School graduates, or residents of the Fort Atkinson School District, who are pursuing, or are planning to pursue, an education in theatre, music, hospitality, retail or culinary fields at an accredited four-year college or university or two-year technical or vocational school.  Preference will be given to students who have worked at The Fireside Theatre but that is not a requirement for application.  

Read more about the new Fireside Theater Scholarship here
New AAUW Grants for Gals Scholarship

Thanks to the Nsibirwa Family (see immediately below) and our local AAUW Chapter, this unique scholarship fund will soon be making grants to local girls and women to help them take advantage of educational, cultural, leadership or professional advancement opportunities.  Separate from our traditional college scholarships, Grants for Gals will have its own application process by which smaller awards are made to girls and women for less traditional educational and leadership opportunities such as attending summer camp, a STEM seminar, or a leadership conference.  

The first application
window will be from August 1st to September 15th, with the next one from February 1st to March 15th.   AAUW is currently developing the application process so stay tuned and we'll have an update for you in the May 2019 newsletter.

Giving Thanks

Angelina Nsibirwa Memorial Gifts
At the end of last year, the Nsibirwa family of Fort Atkinson made two substantial gifts to the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation in memory of their daughter, Angelina Nsibirwa. 

With the first gift, the family opened a designated fund to benefit the Fort Atkinson Food Pantry (see more on this below).  A second gift was made to the Foundation’s AAUW Grants for Gals Acorn Fund, a gift that pushed this acorn fund past the $15,000 threshold, allowing it to become a regular, active scholarship fund (see above).

These two impactful gifts were made in loving memory of Angelina Nsibirwa, a 23-year-old Fort Atkinson graduate who was killed in an early morning car crash while heading into her job as a phlebotomist at UW Hospital in May 2018.
 
Angelina was a quiet and kind young woman with a gorgeous smile that could light up a room. She was loved by her family, friends, teachers, co-workers, and the many clients and patients for whom she cared. 
 
She was active in Girl Scouts for many years, earning both her Bronze and Silver Award.  Instinctively drawn to helping people, Angelina was a friend to anyone in need – family, friend, or perfect stranger.
 
Inspired after attending a papal mass in Poland, Angelina knew that she wanted to make a difference. She went to school to become a phlebotomist and was working at UW Hospital in Madison. Just months before her death in May, Angelina decided that she wanted to return to school for nursing and was set to begin in the fall of 2018.   
 
After Angelina’s death, her family thought about how best to honor her vibrant spirit.  “We wanted to do something that mirrored her desire to help others,” noted Angelina’s stepmom Bridget Nsibirwa.  “We thought about a scholarship, but we wanted to be able to help more than just one or two people each year, so that just didn’t seem like the answer.”

Her father Sira Nsibirwa added, “then, we thought about the number of people who utilize our local food pantry on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis, and decided that was the perfect idea. We started the Fort Atkinson Food Pantry Fund at the Community Foundation so our local food pantry will always have the things they need to operate and serve the community.” 
 
In addition to supporting the food pantry, the Nsibirwa family wanted to give a boost to the new AAUW Grants for Gals Acorn Fund.  “We thought it was also important,” noted Bridget Nsibirwa, “to help young women, like Angelina, who wanted to do something to help find their path in life; maybe attending a camp or workshop or taking a class. We decided Grants for Gals was a great fit and decided to make a donation to that fund, in Angelina’s memory, as well.”
 
Foundation Chairman Mary Behling expressed her gratitude for these generous and meaningful gifts.  “The Foundation is indebted to the Nsibirwa Family who, amid their grief over the loss of Angelina, remembered and acted on her compassion for others.  She was a wonderful young woman who would have been an excellent nurse.  We are humbled by these gifts.”    

Fund Focus

New Fort Atkinson Food Pantry Fund

Our new Fort Atkinson Food Pantry Designated Fund, established by the Nsibirwa family (see above), is an endowed, invested fund that will provide long-term, annual financial support to the Fort Atkinson Food Pantry.  It is set up to make an annual distribution to the local food pantry and to also be available to make larger grants to the food pantry should a need arise.  As the invested fund grows, so too will the support it can provide to the food pantry. 

To learn more about the good work done by our local food pantry visit their website here:

Fort Atkinson Food Pantry
To make a donation to the new Fort Atkinson Food Pantry Fund at the Foundation, donate here:
FACF Food Pantry Fund
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