Social Emotional Wellbeing - $650,000

Social emotional wellbeing provides a foundation for academic achievement, success in the workforce and overall health. Recent investments in systems that support the social emotional wellbeing of our community include:

• A multi-year grant to  Jefferson County Human Services to support student mental health through the addition of school-based counseling services and evidence-based social emotional learning curriculum
• A multi-year grant to  Dodge County Human Services to support expansion of its Open Door Counseling services to additional Dodge County school districts
• A multi-year grant to  Dodge County Human Services to support the addition of a Substance Use Disorder Treatment Professional on the Child Protective Services team
• Continued financial support for the  Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health to support adoption of the Pyramid Model at seven early care and education sites in Dodge and Jefferson County. The Pyramid Model is an evidenced-based social and emotional learning framework that promotes young children's healthy development. Learn more here.
• Continued financial support for the  Watertown Unified and Waterloo School Districts in developing foundational plans for Social Emotional Learning

Pandemic Response - $71,000

GWCHF's Pandemic Response Grants support agency needs, service adaptations and revenue losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Recent pandemic response grants have been awarded to:

• Gingerbread Preschool & Child Care Center - to purchase electronic equipment to allow for better communication with parents, and to cover fundraising losses due to the pandemic
• Green Valley Enterprises - to support virtual delivery of services and recover revenue lost due to the pandemic
• Watertown Area YMCA - to support the Key Seekers program, which provides child care during virtual school
• Watertown Park & Recreation Department - to fund equipment for socially-distanced lifeguard training
• Watertown Unified School District - for its Breakfast Club which helps students struggling in core classes due to Covid, and to significantly expand the district's BellXcel summer learning program to support more students in recouping pandemic learning loss

Pandemic Response Grants are available through December 31. Learn more here.

Pictured: A Pandemic Response Grant to Green Valley Enterprises supported their SNAP program's new virtual learning format. Over video conferencing, Lindsey connects with her Client Care Specialist, Kristen, to work on activities that promote her fine motor skills, memory, verbal skills, and more.



Early Care & Education - $60,000

High-quality early care and education is critical for working parents and those seeking employment, and for children to learn skills needed for school success. In Dodge and Jefferson counties, there are significantly more children under the age of 5 - about 5,000 - than there are licensed child care spots available. To help solve this problem, the Foundation is supporting the Watertown Area YMCA in leading multiple agencies through a one-year planning process to expand access to high-quality early care and education in our community.

Positive Parenting Program - $21,000

When parents and caregivers have the knowledge and skills to support their children as they grow, they are more likely to thrive! Positive Parenting Program grants are supporting the Hustisford, Lake Mills Area and Watertown Unified School Districts as they continue to implement the Positive Parenting Program.

These districts are three of 11 providers who are being supported by GWCHF in offering this program at no cost to parents and caregivers in Dodge and Jefferson counties. Seminars, discussion groups, classes and one-on-one support offerings are helping families to spend more time learning and growing together, and less time dealing with stress and misbehaviors.

Register today for virtual Positive Parenting programs scheduled in May & June. Please see the article below for dates and registration links.

Community Collaboration - $10,000

Community Collaboration Grants support efforts that build a sense of connectedness between people or create/enhance community spaces where individuals can be active together. Through this program, the Village of Clyman received funds to complete upgrades at their community park.

Community Collaboration Grants are available on an ongoing basis. Learn more here. 

Health Equity Spark - $3,000

Health Equity Spark Grants are designed to spark community dialogue on the topics of equity, diversity and inclusion. They were created to support learning journeys for agencies and grassroot groups such as youth groups, civic and faith organizations on topics such as racism, bias and discrimination. Through this grant program, the Foundation is pleased to support the Dodge County Society of Human Resource Management in offering a conference on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. More information and registration will be available in the coming weeks at the following site: DodgeCounty.SHRM.org.

The Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation (GWCHF) has announced the availability of Health Equity Spark Grants designed to spark community dialogue on the topics of equity, diversity and inclusion. The grants are open through the end of the year and are available to any local organization interested in diving deeper into topics such as racism, bias and discrimination.

"Since inception, our Foundation has focused its resources on health equity, which is defined as everyone having a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible," said Tina Crave, GWCHF President and CEO. "These grants will provide resources to support learning and reflection about equity. We encourage organizations of all sizes to take advantage of this opportunity to experience a shared learning journey and time for personal growth."

GWCHF has recently begun a journey to deepen its understanding of the barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion and their consequences, such as lack of access to good health, decent paying jobs, safe housing and healthcare.

"We are eager to learn how our community can be strengthened by holding the values of equity, diversity and inclusion close, and invite community groups both large and small to learn along with us," said Margaret Hanrahan, GWCHF Board member and Grants Committee Chair.

Health Equity Spark Grants were created to support agencies and grassroot groups such as youth groups, civic and faith organizations within Dodge and Jefferson counties. The grants will support journeys of learning and discovery across the community.

Prospective applicants can view the request for proposals, complete with application details, on the Grants page of the Foundation's website at www.watertownhealthfoundation.com. GWCHF will accept Health Equity Spark Grant applications on a rolling basis through December 31, 2021.

Submitted proposals must directly support the communities served by the school districts of Dodgeland, Hustisford, Ixonia, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, Lake Mills, Waterloo and Watertown.

In addition to its Health Equity Spark Grants, GWCHF has two additional open grant opportunities. Pandemic Response Grants are open through December 31, and are designed to ensure residents' basic needs are met during the pandemic and beyond. Community Collaboration Grants, which are open on an ongoing basis, provide support up to $10,000 for partnerships that enhance community spaces where individuals can be active together.

To date, the foundation has invested $10 million in its five strategic, child-focused priorities:

• strong families
• kindergarten readiness
• school success
• social emotional wellbeing
• healthy eating/active living

To learn more about the foundation and supported initiatives, visit www.watertownhealthfoundation.com or Facebook at Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation.

The Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation (GWCHF) has announced a series of Pandemic Response Grants designed to ensure residents' basic needs are met during the pandemic and beyond. The grant opportunities will be available through the end of the year and will support nonprofit and governmental entities with missions that promote health and wellbeing.

"Many of our local nonprofits, health and social service agencies are experiencing a significantly increased demand for services," said Tina Crave, GWCHF President and CEO. "Our Covid Emergency Response Grants will support these agencies in ramping up capacity to meet community needs."

"At the same time, some nonprofit organizations are experiencing cash flow challenges due to the pandemic," added Crave. "Nonprofit Stabilization Grants will provide emergency operational cash flow to help stabilize nonprofit organizations whose viability has been threatened due to the pandemic. Perhaps more importantly, grants will provide resources for agencies to receive professional technical assistance to evolve strategy, operations or fundraising approaches to thrive in the post-pandemic environment."

The Foundation is offering three Pandemic Response Grant opportunities:

Technical Assistance Grants

Technical Assistance Grants will support nonprofit and governmental agencies in engaging consulting expertise to evolve agency strategy, operations and fundraising to successfully fulfill the agency's mission post pandemic. "The past year has forced many agencies to consider making significant changes to mitigate the pandemic's impact," said Margaret Hanrahan, GWCHF Board Member and Grants Committee Chair. "These grants will provide technical assistance to support nonprofit Boards in rethinking sustainability plans and making pivots to serve the community in a new environment."

Covid Emergency Response Grants

Covid Emergency Response Grants support safety net agencies actively meeting basic community needs (including food, shelter, safety, education, health) who are experiencing increased demand or expenses due to the pandemic.

"We provided over $100,000 in Emergency Response Grants to fill critical service gaps in 2020," said Hanrahan. "We are pleased to make additional resources available for local agencies supporting the most basic needs of our community."

Nonprofit Stabilization Grants

Nonprofit Stabilization Grants provide cash flow needed to stabilize nonprofit organizations whose viability is threatened due to the pandemic. Nonprofit Stabilization Grants can be utilized to support fundraising gaps due to local event cancelations in 2020. Stabilization grants may also support agencies experiencing a significant loss in program and operational revenue due to the pandemic. "Our goal is to ensure nonprofits who meet critical community needs survive the pandemic and rebuild their agencies to serve our communities over the long term," said Hanrahan.

To Learn More

Prospective applicants can view the request for proposals, complete with application details, on the Grants page of the Foundation's website at www.watertownhealthfoundation.com. Organizations may apply for more than one grant opportunity.

Accepted proposals must directly support the communities served by the school districts of Dodgeland, Hustisford, Ixonia, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, Lake Mills, Waterloo and Watertown.

In addition to its Pandemic Response Grant opportunities, GWCHF is accepting applications for Community Collaboration Grants on an ongoing basis. These grants are designed to support collaboration and build community connectedness. Community Collaboration Grants provide support up to $10,000 for partnerships that build a sense of belonging between community members or enhance community spaces where individuals can be active together.

To date, the foundation has invested nearly $10 million in its five strategic, child-focused priorities:

• strong families
• kindergarten readiness
• school success
• social emotional wellbeing
• healthy eating/active living

To learn more about the foundation and supported initiatives, visit www.watertownhealthfoundation.com or Facebook at Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation.

Jefferson, WI – The Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation (GWCHF) focuses on health equity with a vision of thriving communities where everyone enjoys good health and wellbeing. The Foundation recently joined the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce to grow partnerships in the Jefferson community.

"We have strong partnerships in Jefferson with the school district, county and non-profit organizations. We've joined the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce to help build relationships with other business and civic leaders," Tina Crave, GWCHF President and CEO said. "Growing our Jefferson connections will have a positive impact on our work and the community as a whole." The Foundation allocates resources to move the needle on key health indicators for children and families. Its strategic priorities include strong families, kindergarten readiness, school success, social emotional wellness and healthy eating active living. "The Foundation believes in collaborating and supporting community assets," said Karla Mullen, GWCHF Board Chair and Grants Committee member. "We're looking forward to forming new partnerships with the Jefferson community to help improve health outcomes." Foundation investments address root cause barriers to child and family health through collective impact, community capacity building, systems change and grantmaking. Since its inception in 2015, the Foundation has invested nearly 1.4 million dollars in the community of Jefferson and 10 million dollars in total. The GWCHF serves the residents of Dodge and Jefferson Counties with priority given to projects impacting the communities served by the following school districts: Dodgeland, Hustisford, Ixonia, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, Lake Mills, Waterloo and Watertown. For more information on the Foundation and its initiatives, visit watertownhealthfoundation.com.