Over the years, millions of dollars have helped thousands of households struggling to survive keep their heat and power on
This is the 20th anniversary of the Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund and Bruer is not only excited about the numbers of people the agency has been able to help but also about its expansion throughout the state of Wisconsin. “The Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund through its Heat for Heroes campaign has become much better known in some of the most remote and isolated areas of the state where families and friends and neighbors have responded to a lot of our outreach and media activity and have been referring veterans and others who wouldn’t normally come forward,” Bruer says. “That greater awareness has also generated referrals from county veterans services offices, human service agencies, hospitals, clinics, and neighbors.”
Bruer says that it was unimaginable two decades ago to think that a fund such as Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund would have generated over $30 million of generosity and support by individuals, corporations, utility stockholders and customers, as well as the partnership with government, serving to date over 100,000 high risk households facing an energy-related crisis situation.
“The fact that we have over 17,000 donors on an annual basis who have come forward, in addition to all of the fundraisers that we host throughout the year, is pretty amazing,” Bruer says. “The fund is clearly emerging today as one of the largest homegrown charities in Wisconsin and we are particularly proud that we’ve kept our administrative costs down to less than 10 percent. For those who want to provide a survival safety net for those in their community that are really, truly in need, they can continue to do so through KWW/CF.”
Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund, with its voluntary county agencies, donors, and volunteers, has solidified what once was a really fragmented network of services and assistance. “It is especially important because of the declining and uncertain dollars that are available,” Bruer says. “Most importantly, it provides a lifeline for those who have no other place to turn. We are particularly proud that the generosity and support of our donors to the Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund has really made a difference in every community and every zip code in the state.
“As we move forward to our third decade of service to the community, we have a host of activities being planned to ensure the success of this critical safety net for generations to come,” he adds.
