The Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, and Oshkosh Area Community Foundation are proud to announce the distribution of $1.5 million in grants through the 2025 Otto Bremer Trust Community Responsive Fund. This regional philanthropic partnership leverages the combined knowledge of the three foundations to address urgent needs and opportunities across 10 counties in Northeast Wisconsin.
Building on last year’s pilot, the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region was once again selected as one of seven intermediaries to administer the 2025 Otto Bremer Trust Community Responsive Fund. New this year, an expanded partnership with the Oshkosh Area and Greater Green Bay community foundations broadened the reach of the initiative, enabling grants to support nonprofit organizations advancing work in literacy, foster care and adoption, children’s health and disability services, mental health, and capital projects for hospitals and clinics.
"We were pleased to be selected for a second year as an intermediary for the Otto Bremer Trust Community Responsive Fund,” said Curt Detjen, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region. “Through our collaboration with the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation and the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, we were able to expand to 10 counties making an important impact."
Through this collaboration, each community foundation led a local invitation and application process tailored to the needs of their respective communities.
The following organizations were selected to receive funding based on alignment with the Otto Bremer Trust’s focus areas and the potential for meaningful impact in their service areas:
ADVOCAP: To enhance literacy support at Head Start programs in the rural communities of Markesan and Ripon, including daily literacy activities, culturally responsive reading materials, and routine vision screenings.
Apricity: To support the Residential Treatment Program, focused on the treatment of co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health disorders.
Aspiro: To provide comprehensive early intervention for children with disabilities and their families.
Bay Area Workforce Development Board: To coordinate resources, provide training, and offer support for local organizations serving youth transitioning out of foster care.
Boys & Girls Club of the Bay and Lakes Region: To support direct, targeted mental health services for the most vulnerable youth.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley: To provide mental health services for youth through a comprehensive and holistic model of care, including clinical and evidence-based practices for children and their families.
Boys & Girls Club of Tri-County Area: To help children ages 0–5 build strong language skills through books, songs, sign language, and play-based learning—while actively engaging and equipping families in under-resourced communities with tools and resources to foster literacy at home.
Brown County Oral Health Partnership: To provide dental care for low-income children in clinics, hospitals, and schools.
CAP Services: To support the early childhood development program in Waupaca and Waushara Counties.
Catalpa Health: To support mental health and psychiatry programs for youth at the Appleton and Oshkosh clinics.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay: To provide improved access for mental health counseling for area youth and families.
CORE Treatment Services: To meet the growing demand for trauma-informed clinical care for individuals impacted by substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders in Shawano and Waupaca counties.
Covey: To support two vital programs for youth with disabilities: iCanBike, which teaches bike-riding skills to boost independence and health, and Let’s Talk About It, which equips young adults with tools to build healthy relationships and prevent abuse.
CP: To provide pediatric occupational, physical, and speech-language therapy for children with disabilities.
Diverse Options: To support youth with developmental disabilities ages 10–19 through age-appropriate classroom instruction and community engagement that build life, social, and vocational skills while offering real-world practice, fostering confidence.
Encompass Early Education & Care: To support high-quality, affordable early childhood care centers providing literacy development and wraparound care.
Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin: To support the Parent Connection Program, improving children's health outcomes and social, emotional and developmental well-being.
Golden House: To provide free on-site licensed professional counseling for adults and children who have experienced domestic abuse.
Greater Green Bay YMCA: To provide recreational programming for youth with physical and cognitive disabilities.
HeadsUp Fox Cities: To support programming for foster youth and former foster youth ages 16–24.
Remarkable (formerly known as Lakeside Packaging Plus): To support teens with disabilities (ages 13–19) in Winnebago County through structured programs that build skills, confidence, and character, empowering them to make positive life choices with guidance and strong role models.
N.E.W. Community Clinic: For expanded pediatric healthcare services for uninsured and low-income children and adolescents.
New Hope Center: To provide recreational programming for youth with physical and cognitive disabilities in Calumet County.
NorthLakes Community Clinic: To provide school-based behavioral health services in Oconto County.
Oshkosh Community YMCA: To enhance early literacy for children ages 0–5 through language-rich childcare programs that build skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing—laying a strong foundation for school readiness and long-term academic success.
Partnership Community Health Center: To support improved health outcomes of pediatric patients through the Community Health Worker initiative.
Rawhide: To support trauma-informed, outpatient behavioral health therapy for youth at the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh and school-based services in the Oshkosh Area and Omro School Districts as well as the expansion of services into neighboring rural communities.
Reach Counseling Services: To sustain and strengthen trauma-responsive mental health services for survivors of sexual violence across Winnebago, Outagamie, and Calumet counties.
Samaritan Counseling: To support youth counseling services for K-12 students across northeast Wisconsin.
Tri-County Dental Clinic: To provide free quality oral health care to children in Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago counties.
Unity Hospice: For pediatric hospice, palliative, and grief care for children and their families.
Us 2 Behavioral Health Care: To provide clinical mental health services.
Winnebago Area Literacy Council: To eliminate language and literacy barriers for multilingual learners by providing free, learner-centered English instruction and tutoring to build communication skills, foster community integration, and support educational and workforce success.
Wise Women Gathering Place: To support the expansion of clinical mental health services for individuals impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and victims of crime.
______________________________________________________________________
The Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region awarded $600,000 in grants to 13 nonprofit organizations through the Otto Bremer Trust (OBT) Community Responsive Fund.
Grant recipients awarded through the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region include:
Co-funding with Oshkosh Area Community Foundation:
______________________________________________________________________
The Greater Green Bay Community Foundation awarded $525,000 in grants to 13 nonprofit organizations through the Otto Bremer Trust (OBT) Community Responsive Fund —
“We are honored to help bring these critical resources into our community and direct them where they are needed most,” said Amber Paluch, Senior Vice President of Community Impact for the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation. “Our relationships with local nonprofits and understanding of the region’s challenges allow us to connect funding with organizations that are creating real, lasting impact in people’s lives.”
Grant recipients awarded through the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation include:
______________________________________________________________________
The Oshkosh Area Community Foundation awarded $375,000 in grants to 12 nonprofit organizations through the Otto Bremer Trust (OBT) Community Responsive Fund –
“It’s exciting to bring more grant funding into our region, especially for the rural communities we know and care about,” said Amy Putzer, Director of Programs at the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation. “There just aren’t many funders serving our tri-county service area, so support from the Otto Bremer Trust goes a long way. With a focus on children’s health and mental health, literacy, foster care and adoption, and services for youth with disabilities, these grants will help fill critical gaps. And thanks to our local knowledge and relationships, we’re in a unique position to help these dollars reach the people and programs that need them most.”
Grant recipients awarded through the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation include:
Co-funding with Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region:
###
About the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region
The Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, an Appleton-based nonprofit founded in 1986, helps people provide long-term support for their favorite charities through endowments and other charitable funds. The second-largest certified community foundation in Wisconsin, its donors have enabled it to award $485 million in grants since 1986 to nonprofit organizations from 1,835 charitable funds. It partners with affiliated community foundations in Brillion, Chilton, Clintonville, Shawano, and Waupaca. To learn more, go to www.cffoxvalley.org, subscribe to The Loop at www.cffoxvalley.org/loop or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About the Otto Bremer Trust
The Otto Bremer Trust is a private charitable trust based in St. Paul, Minn. Created in 1944 by business and community leader Otto Bremer, it is committed to supporting an enhanced quality of life for residents of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Since its founding, OBT has invested more than $1 billion in its region’s people, places, and opportunities. www.ottobremer.org