Other grants awarded include:

• $50,000 for the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation’s new-building construction project, which will be completed in September.
• $39,000 for Rebuilding Together’s Project Day in May, which assisted with the refurbishing of homes for needy individuals and families in the Fox Valley.  The group was offered a Keller challenge grant and met its goal.
• $25,000 to The Arc of the Fox Cities for the Kids on the Block puppets, its annual Tea Party fundraiser, general operating expenses and the guardianship program of Calumet and Outagamie counties.
• $25,000 for the American Red Cross of East Central Wisconsin regional disaster relief fund that provides shelter, food and health/mental health care in times of crisis.
• $15,000 for crisis intervention programs of the Sexual Assault Crisis Center.
• $10,000 for programs at the Community Blood Center.
• $10,000 for needy families served by the YMCA Fox Cities’ Strong Kids program.
• $6,000 for the one-to-one mentoring program at Best Friends of Neenah-Menasha.
• $5,000 for Harbor House’s summer support groups.
• $5,000 for the Infant Welfare Circle’s fall fundraiser to support the Children’s Hospital pediatric mental health clinic to open in September in the Fox Valley.
• $5,000 for Fox Valley program of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
• $5,000 for YouthGo’s educational programs.
• $4,800 for the Conscious Discipline Training for three staff at Child Care Resource and Referral.
• $4,250 for early childhood literacy workstations at the Appleton Public Library.
• $4,200 for digital communications equipment for Emergency Communications Resources.
• $3,000 in additional funding for ThedaCare Behavioral Health's Empower Me! Summer Camp for autistic and otherwise-challenged youth.

Grants under $3,000 each went to:  The American Cancer Society, Lutheran Homes of Oshkosh, Fox Valley Technical College Foundation, Big Brothers/Sisters of the Fox Valley, St. Mary High School Foundation, Winnebago CountyWide Crime Stoppers, Christian Motorcyclist Association, National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Brain Tumor Association.

More than $150,000 in discretionary grants were requested by individual members of the J. J. Keller Foundation Board and were distributed to non-profit organizations of their choice in the Fox Valley and beyond.  In addition, $110,000 was given to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation for its scholarship program for HR professionals.  One hundred individuals who are pursuing a college degree or professional HR certification will benefit from the program.

Grants that were approved – pending matches secured by the organizations – include: 

• $50,000 to the Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley.
• $25,000 to CHAPS Academy.
• $20,000 to Lutheran Social Services.

In addition, two grants were approved out of the John J. and Ethel D. Keller Donor Advised Fund at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region Inc.  Included is a challenge grant of $50,000 for Rawhide to fund an Outreach Center in the Fox Valley, and $10,000 for the Keller Adaptive Needs Fund for needy children and families.  

A $30,000 grant for the purchase of a van to transport students in the Second Chance program of the Oshkosh Public School System will come from the J. J. Keller Foundation Fund at the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation.  The program provides court-ordered adjudicated youth with an opportunity to earn high school credits while becoming successful, functioning adults in the community. 

The Foundation’s primary mission is to provide funding to organizations, projects and programs that will positively impact lives in the greater Fox Valley community.  The focus population is homeless and disadvantaged individuals, the elderly, and children and youth.  The Foundation was formed by John J. “Jack” Keller in 1991 in celebration of his wife Ethel’s 70th birthday.  With the subsequent passing of both Jack and Ethel, the family has continued the Keller legacy of giving, and more than 300 community organizations have since been positively impacted as a result.