United Way of Sheboygan County Awards First-Ever Innovation Grants to Support Local Solutions
At United Way of Sheboygan County, we know that meaningful change happens when community members are empowered to try something new, respond to emerging needs, and scale programs that are already making a difference. That’s why this year, we launched our first-ever Innovation Grants. This new funding opportunity was designed to support bold, creative, and community-driven solutions that address real challenges right here in Sheboygan County.
With guidance from our volunteer-led Community Action Team (CAT), we received and reviewed 29 applications from local nonprofit organizations. These proposals were evaluated based on how they aimed to:
- Launch creative solutions to pressing community challenges
- Address urgent, unexpected, and/or unfulfilled needs
- Invest in capacity-building to strengthen impact
- Meet emerging or short-term needs affecting service delivery
- Expand or refine current programming to better serve Sheboygan County
After two rounds of review and presentations, we’re thrilled to announce the two recipients of the 2025 Innovation Grants:
Nourish Farms: Advancing Food Justice Through Community Partnerships
Thanks to an Innovation Grant from United Way of Sheboygan County, Nourish Farms is able to innovate partnership with the other local agencies to provide fresh, nutritious meals to community members in need. This new program will bring Nourish’s commercial kitchen and growing operations to create a highly collaborative, cost-effective, and scalable model for food distribution utilizing local volunteers.
In 2024, Nourish received federal and state grants to build two new hoop houses, season-extending greenhouse structures, which were completed in May 2025. By the end of the growing season this year, Nourish estimates that they will be able to harvest 8,000 pounds of fresh produce from these new hoop houses, significantly increasing their food output.
The goal of this project is to facilitate donations of this food to community members struggling with food insecurity. As of July, they have already donated over 850 servings to community partners. Already this week, the staff and volunteers at Nourish have harvested 147 pounds of fresh produce including eggplants, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, and green beans, nearly filled a pickup truck bed. Thanks to a partnership with local agencies, this produce was then then turned in to nutritious meals to feed local residents in need.
Through this new program, Nourish Farms is able to support other community organizations including the Sheboygan County Warming Center’s Herb Kohler & Natalie Black Community Café, which serves lunch six days a week, and Fresh Meals on Wheels of Sheboygan County, which delivers fresh, nutritious meals to over 400 aging and homebound residents. The Innovation Grant has been critical in launching this program, strengthening volunteer engagement, and building a more resilient and equitable local food system.
“Nourish is grateful to United Way for recognizing the importance of investing in collaborative, community-based programming to address food insecurity in our community,” said Katie Bartelt, Director of Development at Nourish Farms, “Thank you to all the donors who supported the Innovation Grant program and the Community Action Team for all they do!”
Sheboygan County LGBTQ+ Alliance: Fostering Belonging and Mental Health Support
The Sheboygan County LGBTQ+ Alliance is tackling a serious and measurable gap in youth well-being in our community. According to the 2023 Healthy Sheboygan County Community Health Assessment, only 40% of LGBTQ+ high school students reported feeling a sense of belonging, compared to 65% of their straight and cisgender peers. Alarmingly, 40% also reported experiencing bullying at school or online. These findings highlight the urgent need for local, affirming, and accessible support.
With Innovation Grant funding from United Way of Sheboygan County, the Alliance is launching a comprehensive initiative that includes peer-led workshops, expanded training programs, and newly developed support networks. These programs will be queer-led, meaning they will be designed and facilitated by other individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, ensuring programming is grounded in lived experience and cultural understanding.
The Alliance will also develop a pipeline of community-based trainers, adapt existing training curricula to include LGBTQ+-specific content, and offer these sessions at no cost to participants. The result will be stronger support systems for both LGBTQ+ individuals and the allies and professionals who serve them. Dedicated peer support groups and mental health-focused workshops will create safe spaces for connection, resilience, and healing, particularly for queer youth who may otherwise feel isolated.
Investing in Innovation: A Message from Our Leadership
These inaugural Innovation Grant recipients reflect the values at the heart of United Way’s mission: collaboration, community-driven change, and bold solutions that serve the residents of Sheboygan County.
“We are incredibly proud to support innovative, local solutions that respond directly to the emerging and unaddressed needs in our community,” said Kate Baer, President & CEO of United Way of Sheboygan County. “Both Nourish Farms and the Sheboygan County LGBTQ+ Alliance are leading the way with thoughtful, inclusive, and impactful programming that will uplift our neighbors and strengthen the fabric of our community.”
As United Way looks toward the future, we’re excited to see the impact these projects will have. The success of these programs will be measured not just in meals delivered or the number of trainings offered, but in meeting our mission to improve lives and community conditions.
