Eau Claire Community Foundation Awards Local Grant Funding

The Eau Claire Community Foundation has announced the distribution of $235,000 in grant funding to local nonprofit organizations.

According to a press release this week, the funding through the 2026 Community Grant Cycle seeks to support the critical programs offered by those nonprofits and respond to the most emerging needs in the region.

A total of 46 nonprofit organizations throughout the Chippewa Valley will receive portions of the 2026 Community Grant Cycle funding. Those organizations were split into five categories, with the largest funding award of over $96,000 combined going to Health and Human Services organizations like Feed My People Food Bank and the Chippewa Valley Free Clinic.

Healthcare access and housing costs have been two of the most significant issues to address in the Chippewa Valley over recent years. The HSHS hospital closures left many without adequate access to healthcare and placed additional stress on the remaining emergency departments in the region. A low vacancy rate in Eau Claire has also made improving housing affordability especially difficult to address, with the costly and time-consuming process of creating new housing units as one of the few available options to do so.

Operations-focused organizations like The Community Table and the Eau Claire Community Humane Association received the second largest portion of the grant funding with over $43,000 combined. Arts and Culture organizations like the Chippewa Valley Museum and Eau Claire Children’s Theatre also received a total of nearly $21,000.

Additionally, Education organizations like the Family Resource Center and Friends of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library received nearly $39,000 in grant funding. Nature and recreation-focused organizations like the Friends of Lake Altoona and Bob’s House for Dogs also received nearly $38,000 combined.