Packers Foundation gives $800K to organizations
GREEN BAY - Wisconsin nonprofit groups received a record $800,000 this year from the Green Bay Packers Foundation.
Grants to 316 organizations ranging from $1,500 to $6,000 were announced Tuesday during a luncheon at Lambeau Field. Organizations such as Living Loud Inc. in De Pere, a program of The Jordan Hischke Foundation which helps adolescents and young adults who have developmental disabilities reach full potential.
President Danae Hischke said the grant will pay for creation of survival packs for adults and children who find themselves making emergency stays at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital. The kits are purchased and assembled by clients at ASPIRO Inc.
PDF: View list of grant recipients
"It's just so (hospital patients) know someone is thinking about them or helping them with what they are going through," said Hischke.
The kits include things like personal-care items and even change for vending machines. One-hundred kits were produced this year. The goal is to make 1,000 in 2017, and Hischke said there is more than enough need for them all.
The number of grants awarded also was a record, as were the 422 applications. Chairman Terry Fulwiler said the foundation attempts to spread wealth among many organizations. Groups can receive grants in only three successive years.
Recipients include a wide range of programs, including for animal care, child care, literacy, symphonies, youth programs, health care, crime prevention, education and more.
Fulwiler said selection committee members personally visit all new applicants and visit or conduct telephone interviews with repeat applicants.
Sixty-three Brown County nonprofits received $172,100, while $627,900 went to 253 organizations around the state.
Including $250,000 impact grants to the Jackie Nitschke Center and to St. Norbert College, the foundation awarded $1.3 million in grants this year.
The Jackie Nitschke Center Inc. in Green Bay will use its grant for a multiday family education and recovery program. St. Norbert College in De Pere will use its grant for the renovation and expansion of Schuldes Sports Center. The impact grants must be matched by recipients.
The Packers Foundation has distributed more than $7.2 million for charitable purposes since its establishment in 1986.
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