I have terrific news to share.
Thanks to our wonderful supporters, by the end of May we made the match for the $50,000 challenge we received from the Federation of State Humanities Councils with support from the Mellon Foundation! Wow!
That's $100,000 that will make a BIG difference in Wisconsin Humanities' ability to sustain our organization in the face of a massive federal funding cut. We have stabilized and now, with you, can start thinking about moving forward.
This experience makes me more determined than ever to offer programs that increase Wisconsinites' understanding of our neighbors, help us talk with one another, and become knowledgeable participants in a democracy. That's what Congress asked us to be 53 years ago when we were founded. I'm hoping they ask us to do that again in 2026. But for now, we're doing it any way we can, thanks to you.
What we can do right now is...
- Produce 2 new Human Powered Podcast episodes each month in 2025. Now you can listen and be in-the-know about today's challenges to cultural and civic life. And you'll hear from grassroots leaders around the state about how they are facing those challenges with energy, creativity, and hope.
- Keep our Love Wisconsin archive of over 300 stories available online for another year! That means you can enjoy stories from Wisconsin neighbors you would never meet any other way. Warm your heart by reading a story a day from your region or across the state!
So good things are happening even while we spend June vacating our office and figuring out how we'll function with a small handful of staff. My sadness about no longer working every day with the 5 incredible colleagues who had to move on is tempered by the fact that they are continuing to do good things in the world. And I know that our statewide WH family is still passionately committed to making the story of our state one that we all want to tell.
And now you can listen to the first of our new Human Powered podcast episodes and join the conversation
We're kicking off this new series with a conversation with Dena Wortzel, Executive Director, about WH's loss of federal funding and what it means for Wisconsin Humanities and the future of the state. Organizations and lives across Wisconsin are being affected by what is happening in DC. Even with our programs in hibernation and most of our staff laid off, WH is continuing to speak out about how the public humanities can make Wisconsin a healthy, thriving place for all of us.
So listen and subscribe to Human Powered to be a part of the conversation. You'll hear from hard-working, creative folks about how they are nurturing the civic fabric of their communities and creating venues for learning and connection. Next up in a couple of weeks is author and documentary filmmaker B.J. Hollars of Eau Claire.
