The unique K9 War Memorial, pictured above, now proudly stands guard in McCoy Park near the Veterans Memorial.  The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson spearheaded the project, working with artist Mark Dziewior, the Block Memorial Company, and key City of Fort Atkinson staff members.  Of course, the project field marshall was Mabel Schumacher who made it all happen with her passion and her ability to separate people from their wallets, include a $12,600 grant from the Community Foundation.  Congratulations to all involved!

Thanks to the Fort Atkinson Parks and Recreation Department and the Fort Youth Baseball organization, fans attending little league games at Memorial Park are now able to watch in safety and comfort from the new stadium-style seats located behind the home plate backstop.  The Community Foundation was happy to partner with the City and Fort Youth Baseball to provide a grant to help make it happen.  Just looking at that inviting photo makes us want to hear, "Play Ball."

Back in 2016, the Foundation awarded a matching grant of $50,000 to the revitalized Beautification Council for a five-year program to replace all the city trees lost to the emerald ash borer.  At the same time, we opened a designated  fund, the Fort Tree Fund, so the Council could raise the matching money needed.  Thanks to the Council's fundraising efforts, the City has been making steady progress in replacing our urban canopy.

On April 25th, the crew pictured above planted 18 trees, working with Chris Weismann and Jake Kelty of the City of Fort Atkinson's Public Works Department.  Our thanks to the Beautification Council, Wisconservation Club, the students from Fort Atkinson FFA, Crossroads students, and Unity Group students for doing the work.  And a special thank you to everyone who has donated to the fund, earning a matching gift from us.
 

Five Rockwell Elementary School teachers were able to enhance their students' classroom experience thanks to a grant of up to $5,000 from the Community Foundation.   From the flexible seating options and quick-change art frames pictured here, to a unique dry-erase table and sensory materials, these targeted improvements added great value to the school's learning environment.  Grant applicant and Kindergarten teacher Amy Schuldt was pleased to report every piece was 100% wonderful.

Amy's grant application for small classroom projects that could have a big impact on learning environments got us thinking about how we might be more helpful in this regard.  See below for the announcement of our new Classroom Teacher Wish Fund. 

Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Community Foundation and a gift from the Fort Atkinson Lions Club, Fort Atkinson City Clerk Michelle Ebbert was able to purchase a full set of electronic poll books, known as Badger Books, and get her election staff trained on them in time for the April 2019 election.  She was thrilled with how the electronic poll books streamlined the voting process as were most voters.  The feedback has been positive all around.

The Foundation was happy to partner with the School District of Fort Atkinson to help purchase a van for use by the district's 18-21 year-old Community-Based Learning Program.  The program provides education and transitional services for students with disabilities in order to improve post-school outcomes.  The services are provided primarily in community settings, hence the need for transportation. The district qualified for a state grant that covered about 60% of the cost and we were able to provide the rest.

We are happy to announce the creation of a new fund and granting program at the Foundation that will benefit School District of Fort Atkinson classroom teachers and their students.  Starting this fall, the Classroom Teacher Wish Fund, a designated fund seeded with $100,000, will annually award approximately 4% of the fund in small grants to classroom teachers to help improve their classroom environments.  The intent is to provide assistance beyond what tax dollars can support.

Classroom teachers or school librarians at public schools in the School District of Fort Atkinson are eligible to apply for the funds.  Applications are limited to requests for specific materials, supplies, equipment or program to assist a teacher with a new or an existing project in their classrooms.  The maximum grant award will be $500.

The first annual application window will be this year from August 1st to September 15th.  Applications can be requested after August 1st from the Foundation's administrator, Sue Hartwick, via email at facf@fortfoundation.org.  Awards will be announced sometime in early November.

We recently updated our website to make it more mobile-friendly and to improve its accessibility for people with disabilities.  A big thank you to Mark Nordeen of Oakhill Studios for his good work!
 

The Foundation is excited to be working with the Fort Atkinson chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to offer a unique scholarship opportunity.  Starting this year, the new AAUW Grants for Gals Scholarship Fund at the Foundation will make awards to local girls and women to help them take advantage of a variety of educational, cultural, leadership or professional advancement opportunities.  Separate from our traditional college scholarship program, 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 August 2019 newsletter.