Community Giving

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.

Operation Fresh Start empowers young adults on a path to self-sufficiency through education, mentoring, and employment training. One way it does this is through its training academies, which pay Dane County residents ages 18-24 to work with industry professionals as they gain hands-on experience in their chosen fields.

A $300,000 grant from Ascendium supports Operation Fresh Start in bolstering these efforts. The new-and-improved training will consist of traditional trades with expansion into several aspects of natural resource management, as dictated by the need for workers in emerging green industries.

Created by the Urban League of Greater Madison, the Black Business Hub will be a four-story, 76,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art center of commerce and entrepreneurism located on Madison’s southside. At present, only a miniscule percentage of Dane County businesses with more than one employee are Black owned. The Hub aims to change that by giving Black entrepreneurs the space and financial resources to grow.

Ascendium’s $2.5 million donation moves the project closer to its $26 million goal. Over the next few years, the Hub will house at least 100 Black-owned businesses, from startups to expansions. It will also offer training, coaching, loans, grants, technical help, and networking opportunities to business owners and entrepreneurs.

A project of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County, the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center aims to fill the need for skilled trade laborers while empowering all young people, especially those in need, to reach their full potential. Through its Careerforce Build Up training program, the Center will teach students the hard skills they’ll need to pursue family-sustaining careers as plumbers, carpenters, electricians, HVAC technicians, and more. Students will also learn the soft skills, such as emotional support, they’ll need as they transition to the workplace.

Ascendium’s $1.5 million donation supports the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center Endowment. This sustainable resource will allow the facility to train the workforce of the future for years to come.