When I wrote the story of Embolden WI at the start of 2024, I was equal parts resolved and terrified. I knew the "why" in my bones. What I didn't fully know was the "what comes next.
Two and a half years later, I have some answers. Some are encouraging. Some are humbling. All of them have confirmed that the pivot was right.
What We Said We'd Do
In that first post, I wrote about moving from reaction to upstream action. About building a home for community-driven health equity and civic health work in Wisconsin. About fiscal sponsorship as a vehicle for getting bold ideas off the ground without forcing them through the punishing gauntlet of becoming a 501(c)(3).
That wasn't just a vision statement. It became the work.
Today, Embolden WI serves as a fiscal sponsorship platform and infrastructure organization supporting eleven partner initiatives. From the Building Families Alliance of WI, which has grown to more than 1,000 members statewide advocating for statewide legislation to make effective fertility treatments affordable and accessible through required insurance coverage, to the Parkinson's Disease Alliance of WI, pursuing a statewide Parkinson's disease registry, to Roots4Change Cooperative, improving maternal and child health outcomes for families in Dane County, these initiatives exist and are growing in part because we removed the structural barriers standing in their way. That is not a small thing.
PATCH and ECCHO, our two homegrown programs I mentioned in that first post, are still going strong. PATCH continues to center young people as leaders in shaping adolescent health. ECCHO continues to equip BIPOC women and non-binary leaders in Milwaukee and Rock counties to drive systems change. I remain in awe of what both programs have made possible.
Who We're Reaching
The real measure of this work is the people it touches. Across our two homegrown programs and eleven fiscally sponsored partner initiatives, Embolden WI reaches communities throughout Wisconsin, with a particular focus on those most impacted by health inequities.
Through our own programs, PATCH reaches youth ages 14 to 19, connecting teens with healthcare providers trained to communicate effectively about adolescent health. ECCHO engages women of color and community leaders in Milwaukee and Rock counties through a two-year civic leadership development program.
Our fiscally sponsored partners are leading work across the state on behalf of the communities they serve. AMIWI is building health and well-being in Greater Milwaukee's Kinyarwanda-speaking community. Roots4Change Cooperative is supporting immigrant Latina and Indigenous families navigating maternal and perinatal health in Dane County. Comité Sin Fronteras is advancing immigration reform and direct services with young adult immigrant leaders in Southeast Wisconsin. Healthy School Meals for All Wisconsin (HSM4A) is driving a statewide movement to provide free school meals to every K-12 student. The Dementia Care Alliance of WI is providing education, guidance, and resources to older adults and caregivers navigating dementia-related diagnoses. The Building Families Alliance of WI and its 1,000+ member network are advocating for individuals and families facing fertility challenges. And the Parkinson's Disease Alliance of WI is advancing registry legislation and advocacy for people living with Parkinson's disease and their care partners.
Our fiscally sponsored partners also include KindPath, offering technology-driven mental health support to underserved and rural populations; Cade's Light, will soon be building confidence and mental wellness in underserved middle school youth through the Shine Your Light Youth Experience; Zero Waste Madison, engaging Greater Madison residents in zero-waste and circular economy education; and Altera Circular Solutions, supporting emerging innovators in health equity and workforce sustainability through textile recycling and workforce education.
This is what a network built on shared infrastructure looks like. Not one organization trying to do everything, but eleven community-rooted initiatives, each doing their own vital work, supported by a backbone that lets them move faster and reach further than they could alone.
Growing With Intention
The growth of our fiscal sponsorship platform has been both exciting and clarifying. We welcomed five new partners earlier this year alone, and we currently have seven applications under consideration. That kind of momentum is a testament to the demand for this model and the trust communities are placing in Embolden WI as a home for their work.
It has also made one thing very clear: our most important near-term priority is hiring a Fiscal Sponsorship Director. We want someone who can give our existing eleven partners the holistic, attentive support they deserve, while helping us grow with integrity and quality as that demand continues to increase. The right person in this role will ensure that growth never comes at the expense of the care and partnership our partners count on.
What I Didn't Anticipate
Here's the honest part.
I did not fully anticipate how hard this moment in history would be for organizations like ours. Securing nonprofit grant funding is highly competitive right now, and getting harder. With federal funding in flux, a vast majority of nonprofits that previously relied on government dollars are now pivoting to private foundations, flooding already crowded application pools and driving approval rates down across the sector. Funders are more discerning than ever, requiring detailed proof of sustainability, financial health, and long-term impact, and they continue to heavily prioritize established organizations with proven track records. Over the past year we have submitted more than two dozen grant applications, some of the strongest we have ever written, and secured just two of them. That is not a reflection of the quality of our work. It is a reflection of how difficult this landscape has become for organizations like ours, doing equity-focused work in a political moment that is actively hostile to the communities we serve. We are not immune to that pressure, and we will not pretend otherwise.
I also did not fully anticipate how much the transformation to a fiscal sponsorship platform would ask of us, and how much our team would rise to meet it. Serving eleven partner initiatives takes real infrastructure, expertise, and attention, and I am genuinely proud of what our small but mighty team has built. What I know now is that this model works, and that investing further in our capacity will only multiply what's already possible.
What has held us together is the same thing I wrote about two and a half years ago: the belief that communities already possess the power to create lasting change. Our job is to remove the barriers that stand between that power and its full expression. That belief has not wavered. If anything, this moment has sharpened it.
Where We Are Headed
We are actively building toward what comes next. That means growing our fiscal sponsorship platform thoughtfully and sustainably, investing in the infrastructure that allows our partner initiatives to do their best work, and continuing to develop PATCH and ECCHO as models for what community-driven change can look like.
We are also thinking beyond our own platform. As interest in fiscal sponsorship grows across the nonprofit sector, we feel a responsibility to help raise the bar for how this work gets done. Fiscal sponsorship done well is a powerful vehicle for community-driven change. Fiscal sponsorship done carelessly can cause real harm to the partners who depend on it.
We have spent the last two and half years building and refining this model, and we want to be a resource for others who are stepping into this space. If you are exploring fiscal sponsorship, or deepening your own practice, we hope you will take a few minutes to read our latest thinking: Fiscal Sponsorship Is Growing. Let's Make Sure We Grow It Right.
It also means being clear-eyed about the climate we're operating in. Small nonprofits doing equity-focused work are being asked to do more with less, in a moment that is actively hostile to the communities we serve. We are navigating that reality and doing so from a position of strength. But strength has to be sustained, and that is where your support comes in.
How You Can Help
If you believe, as I do, that communities across Wisconsin deserve a fair and just opportunity to be healthy, to participate civilly, and to shape the systems that affect their lives, then I hope you'll consider investing in the infrastructure that makes that possible.
A donation to Embolden WI is a donation to every initiative in our network. It is a donation to the mothers, young people, advocates, and community leaders who are doing the hard, necessary work of building a more equitable Wisconsin. It is an investment in the home we are building together.
We are still here. We are still building. And we are grateful, every day, for the people who believe this work matters.
Founder & Executive Director of Embolden WI
