Community Shares of Wisconsin marks its fiftieth anniversary in 2021 and is recognizing longtime volunteers and leaders with Anniversary Backyard Heroes Awards.
Capitol Centre Market & Willy Street Co-op
As we celebrate our 50th anniversary at Community Shares of Wisconsin, we acknowledge our origins and the enduring nature of grassroots fundraising. We celebrate local grocery retailers Willy Street Co-op and Capitol Centre Market for supporting us through the CHIP® and Community Round Up programs.
Our founding organization, Madison Sustaining Fund, raised donations at cash registers from several local cooperative businesses as their first fundraising method. Fifty years ago, our founder, Candace Weber, rode her bike around town with other organizers to pick up the change collected in coffee cans. Their first year’s fund distribution totaled $400.
Today’s technology makes giving even easier by adding donations to card transactions. Funds raised at cash registers continue to provide a significant source of operational support for CSW today, helping us raise $325,000 annually. This enables us to provide an unrestricted share of funds to every CSW member nonprofit in addition to their donor designated gifts.
