Grants/Scholarships | kettlemorainegc

Grants and Scholarships

APPLYING FOR A GRANT

Each year the Kettle Moraine Garden Club is proud to award philanthropic grants for civic projects which are aligned with the mission of our club. The 501(c) (3) organizations receiving annual funding for these projects reside in our Lake Country community, SE Wisconsin four-county area, and throughout our state.

Please review the following specific guidelines prior to submitting an application. The guidelines must be followed for a project to be considered for funding by the Ways and Means Committee:

● Must be submitted by a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization.

● Must be aligned with the mission of KMGC: “Kettle Moraine Garden Club, a member of The Garden Club of America, is dedicated to the love of gardening through education and civic projects in the fields of horticulture, floral design, nature photography, conservation and environmental renewal.”

● May NOT be an endowment, maintenance, scholarship, research study or compensation for any salary.

● Must be clearly defined, with a demonstrated need, and presents a unique opportunity to benefit the community-at-large.

● Must have a defined financial plan for using the funds; and consideration for the availability of future funds to maintain the project.

● Must be completed in the following calendar year of the application (June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026)

● KMGC requires the granted requests to supply the Ways and Means Committee Co-Chairs by May 31, 2026, documentation of how and when the project was successfully completed.

● Application shall contain all required names and project information; organization should provide specific project details attached to the application.

● Application must be signed by a KMGC member as a proposer (a KMGC member does not need to be involved with the organization.)

● Applications for 2025 must be received or postmarked by May 1, 2025

Application guidelines may be obtained by clicking here.
Application form may be obtained by clicking here or from the Ways & Means Committee Co-Chairs.

2024 GRANTS AWARDED

The following grants were approved by the Committee, the KMGC Board, and the KMGC general membership:

The Food Pantry Serving Waukesha County - Container Gardens for Food Pantry

A grant of $3,000 to the food pantry provides resources for the purchase of plants, pots, and soil for container gardens

supporting 300 people who utilize the Food Pantry to secure food.

Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens – K12 Plant Science Education Project

A grant of $5,000 assists with providing educational sessions for children on the topics of plant biology, soil, vermiculture, nutrition sources, respect for nature, planting and harvesting.

Summer Stage of Delafield - Pathway Beautification Project

This project seeks to beautify the pathway and the mural wall leading to the port-a-potties. A grant of $3,000 will assist with removing wild growth, preparing soil, adding low growing shrubs at various locations, and purchasing perennial flowers and grasses.

Old World Wisconsin - Prairie Restoration and Heirloom Garden Enhancement

Prairie restoration is underway at OWW. A grant of $2,700 will assist with the purchase or products and materials for

this undertaking.

University Lake School - Greenhouse & Garden Program

ULS seeks funds for their greenhouse and garden project designed to provide students with experience in mixing soil,

planting seeds, composting, and harvesting crops. The grant of $6,000 will be used to purchase products for the greenhouse program and host workshops focused on sustainable agriculture, gardening, and environmental awareness.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee - Picnic Table Project for Group Learning

A grant of $3,000 will assist with the purchase of materials to construct picnic tables used to create outdoor classrooms for youth environmental activities.

Tall Pines Conservancy - Watershed Educational Resources Project

Oconomowoc Watershed Protection Program and Tall Pines Conservancy aim to create interpretive signage to bring

awareness of the watershed area, the work being done to protect it, and how individuals can make a difference. A grant of $2,427 will fund the creation of three interpretive signs.

Notre Dame School of Milwaukee – Garden and Outdoor Classroom

A grant of $5,000 will assist with building a garden space and small outdoor classroom for students. The area created will include garden beds, water catchers, and composting for environmental science lessons.

Retzer Environmental Center - Understory Restoration Project

Retzer Nature Center staff and volunteers are aggressively managing invasive species within commonly used areas.

A grant of $4,000 will purchase approximately 100 native trees and shrubs to restore areas cleared of invasive species.

TOTAL GRANT AWARDS: $34,127

SCHOLARSHIPS

The club also gives out one or more scholarships each year to an undergraduate student studying in a Wisconsin college or university. The area of interest or major area of study we look for is varied but within the framework of our club's interest, i.e., botany, horticulture, landscape architecture, conservation, and land preservation. We send out information to the colleges/universities in Wisconsin along with an application and this is passed on to interested students who are studying (majoring) in these areas. If you know of an interested student, an application will be available in early spring from the Scholarship Committee or by clicking here. The Scholarship Committee reviews all applications and chooses the winner.

2025 Scholarship applications are due by April 30th, 2025

2024 SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED

Gwenith (Gwen) Malokofsky from Denmark, WI and attends UW-Green Bay majoring in Biology. She has a 4.0 GPA and will be a junior this fall. Her goal is to work in the Green Bay community as a conservation biologist. She aspires to work on projects focused on restoring natural habitats, protecting native plants and animals and removing invasive species.

Hong An Nguyen (An) is from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and attends UW-Stout. She is majoring in Environmental Science and will be a senior. She has a 3.827 GPA and her career goal is to get her PhD in freshwater ecology and work as a professor in Vietnam to raise awareness to the public on water issues and conduct research. Her hometown is on the Mekong River Delta, the 6th largest river in the world. She wants to raise awareness of protecting water resources, climate change, pollution and overfishing.

Natalie Hermann is from South Elgin, IL and attends Carthage College. She is majoring in Environmental Science and

Environmental Conservation and will be a senior with a 3.905 GPA. Her career goal is to work in the field of conservation ecology. She would like to work to restore native lands and species that are being threatened by extinction due to human impact.

MAJOR GRANTS

In December of 2012, the Kettle Moraine Garden Club awarded $40,000 to the Friends of Lapham Peak for environmental education exhibits and features at the newly restored Hausmann Nature Center located at Lapham Peak State Park in Delafield, Wisconsin.

School children and the public now can learn about conservation, sustainable building, and environmental resource protection at this new center in the park. The garden club funded installation of permanent exhibits about prairie restoration using native plants, glacial topography, human history, wetland habitat, owls, Nemahbin Springs, a geothermal system display and artifact display. In addition, KMGC funds were used to purchase a telescope, viewing benches, gift shop furnishings, and to create a hands-on interactive children’s nature area. See more information about the center at this link.

www.laphampeakfriends.org/facilities/hausmann-nature-center/

The nature center is open Saturday and Sunday, June 1- November 1 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The KMGC is an IRS Section 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Current tax returns and information are available on request.