Community Giving

The Center for Black Excellence and Culture is a visionary community-led project designed to uplift Black voices and experiences through arts, culture, leadership development, and wellness. With support from over 1,200 donors — including more than 300 Black community members who helped launch the campaign — The Center has reached its $31 million capital campaign goal, ensuring a fully funded, debt-free construction.

Ascendium was honored to be one of The Center’s early lead donors with a $2.5 million gift in 2022, followed by a second contribution during the campaign’s final stretch to help complete the capital raise. Together, these investments support The Center’s opening and future programming focused on empowering Black communities in Madison, Wisconsin, and beyond.

Fair Opportunity Project (Fair Opp) aims to ensure that learners from low-income and first-generation backgrounds have the tools to succeed in postsecondary education and workforce training. Through its School Boost program, Fair Opp offers personalized essay reviews, on-demand mentoring, and one-on-one FAFSA assistance to help students navigate complex application processes and secure financial aid.

With Ascendium’s support, Fair Opp is expanding its reach, providing more students with the guidance and resources they need to achieve their education and career goals and removing economic barriers that could hinder their success.

Many in our community, especially those who are unemployed, underemployed, or formerly incarcerated, face obstacles to improving their skills and finding stable, well-paying jobs. The Black Men Coalition of Dane County (BMC) is addressing this by collaborating with eCornell, the online learning platform of Cornell University. Through this collaboration, BMC provides free online professional certificate programs to hundreds of learners of low-income backgrounds each year, paving the way for a brighter future.

Support from Ascendium and co-funder Diane Endres Ballweg empowers BMC to expand its impact through education and skill development. Leveraging eCornell’s expertise, BMC helps participants gain valuable credentials, enhancing their employability and fostering community growth and resilience.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, student interest in public policy has skyrocketed in recent years. The La Follette School of Public Affairs aims to meet the high demand for public policy education while preparing more students than ever for careers in public service. Capitalizing on student interest in public policy now could mean solving problems that affect us tomorrow.

This grant from Ascendium supports La Follette in enlarging their capacity to educate the next generation of public policy leaders. Thanks to La Follette’s hands-on training, these leaders can improve postsecondary education at the systems level, thereby expanding opportunities for even more students to reach their academic and career goals.

Supporting new residents with language skill development is critical to maximizing their contributions to their local community and economy. Literacy Network offers literacy services to help those new to Dane County improve their English language skills, reading comprehension, and use of information technology. With improved skills, these adults advance their careers, help their kids succeed in school, become U.S. citizens, and obtain their high school diploma or other degrees.

This grant from Ascendium supports Literacy Network in expanding and strengthening its programs over the next three years. The expanded programming will include digital literacy instruction as well as new English as a Second Language class and tutoring offerings that meet student scheduling needs.