Madison West Kiwanis Foundation
The Madison Wiest Kiwanis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, receives grants and private contributions benefitting various Madison West Kiwanis scholarship programs and grants to local community charities.
The West Kiwanis Foundation offers a tremendous opportunity for anyone to contribute annually, through gifts of stock, or in their estates. Currently, because of the continuing growth of the Foundation, grants can be made to charitable groups identified in a grant process to receive assistance from West Kiwanis. Ultimately, the Foundation would like to be able to provide even larger contributions through West Kiwanis to needy organizations and youth groups in our community.
Donations via check to benefit Foundation supported programs should be directed to:
Madison West Kiwanis Foundation
5605 Westbury Place
Madison, WI 53711
Please note if you would like your donation to be directed to a specific fund, or Foundation supported programs in general.
Other giving alternatives:
- Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from your qualifying IRA.
- Donations of appreciated stocks
- Include the Foundation in your estate planning.
- Click here to make an online donation to specific funds.
Foundation Supported Annual Programs
Capitol Christmas Pageant
Prior to 1983, Madison school officials organized and sponsored the annual Christmas Pageant held in the Capitol Rotunda for almost 60 years. Under public pressure regarding the costs to the school system and the religious nature of the program, a plea was made to Madison West Kiwanis to adopt this project. Since 1983, Madison West Kiwanis has accepted the responsibility for this event through the Foundation. Costs of production for the Pageant, maintenance of costumes, and staging exceed several thousand dollars each year. Annual donations in support of the Pageant (from inside and outside West Kiwanis) help cover the costs of producing the Pageant.
Academic Scholarships
Henry Ahlgren Scholarships
The Henry Ahlgren Humanitarian Scholarship was established in memory of the founder and first president of the Madison West Kiwanis Club. When asked why busy people in the community should be members of a service club, Ahlgren replied, “It is from programs aimed at helping people that we derive our greatest and most lasting and most rewarding satisfactions. It is from these programs that we re-discover again and again and again that ‘when you give to the world the best you have, then the best will come back to you.’”
Dr. Ahlgren lived a long life of dedicated service to his community. He continued to give his best to the world through Kiwanis projects and activities until he died in 2004 at the age of 94. After he died, a scholarship fund was created at the Foundation.
A $2,000 Henry L. Ahlgren Humanitarian Scholarship will be awarded to the Madison area student who best exemplifies the characteristics described above. The first Ahlgren scholarship was awarded in 2007.
Candidates for the Henry Ahlgren Humanitarian Scholarship should have made significant contributions to their school community as well as to their neighborhood and city communities. They should be good students with strong leadership records. They should have a record of participation in extracurricular activities and be good citizens of their school and their community. Recipients will be selected from students attending high school in Madison East, West, Memorial, Lafollette, Edgewood, or McFarland.
The Henry Ahlgren Humanitarian Scholarship was established in memory of the founder and first president of the Madison West Kiwanis Club. When asked why busy people in the community should be members of a service club, Ahlgren replied, “It is from programs aimed at helping people that we derive our greatest and most lasting and most rewarding satisfactions. It is from these programs that we re-discover again and again and again that ‘when you give to the world the best you have, then the best will come back to you.’”
Dr. Ahlgren lived a long life of dedicated service to his community. He continued to give his best to the world through Kiwanis projects and activities until he died in 2004 at the age of 94. After he died, a scholarship fund was created at the Foundation.
A $2,000 Henry L. Ahlgren Humanitarian Scholarship will be awarded to the Madison area student who best exemplifies the characteristics described above. The first Ahlgren scholarship was awarded in 2007.
Candidates for the Henry Ahlgren Humanitarian Scholarship should have made significant contributions to their school community as well as to their neighborhood and city communities. They should be good students with strong leadership records. They should have a record of participation in extracurricular activities and be good citizens of their school and their community. Recipients will be selected from students attending high school in Madison East, West, Memorial, Lafollette, Edgewood, or McFarland.
Ernie Rothe Scholarships
The $1,000 Annual Ernie Rothe Memorial Leadership Scholarships are made possible by a generous bequest from Ernie Rothe, a long-time member of Madison West Kiwanis. Ernie Rothe was born in Fennimore where his family operated a hardware store. Ernie graduated from Fennimore High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a life-long Badger fan. He served in the U. S. Army during World War II. Ernie had a long and successful career in Madison with Research Products Corporation, a manufacturer of humidifiers and air filters. Ernie was a charter member of Madison West Kiwanis, chartered April 15, 1959. Ernie left a legacy gift to the Foundation, which was further supplemented by Club members and others, used to establish a scholarship fund.
Dave Dickson Scholarships
Beginning in 2019-20, the Madison West Kiwanis - Dickson Scholarships have been available to students in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), UW-Madison, whose major field of study is in the agricultural and food sciences broadly defined. (Agricultural Business Management, Agricultural and Applied Economics, Agronomy, Animal & Veterinary Biosciences, Biological Systems Engineering, Dairy Science, Food Science, Horticulture, Life Sciences Communication, Nutritional Science and Dietetics, and Soil Science). The scholarships may be awarded to full-time students with demonstrated need, are charged tuition at the in-state rate, in good academic standing, and are in their sophomore, junior or senior year. To qualify, students must submit their scholarship application and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form (FAFSA) to the UW-Madison Office of Student Financial Aid. Scholarship recipients are chosen by scholarship staff in the CALS Office of Academic Affairs. Two to four scholarships of $2,500 to $3,000 are awarded annually.
Golden K Scholarships
Madison West Kiwanis Foundation assumed responsibility for a scholarship program established by a Madison area Golden K Kiwanis Club when that Club terminated. This program offers scholarships to graduating seniors from Madison Metropolitan School District high schools continuing their education at a university, college, or technical school. This program is administered by a Foundation committee in accordance with specified criteria. Two $1,000 scholarships will be awarded annually to two students from Madison High Schools: Memorial, LaFollette, West, and East. Scholarships are awarded based on financial need, community service, and grade point average.
Boris Josheff-William Endles Music Scholarships
Annually one student from each of the five Madison High Schools is selected for a $800 scholarship. The scholarship provides support to attend a summer music camp between their junior and senior years in high school. A music high teacher is asked to identify a student from their school to be a recipient of the scholarship. The scholarship was named to recognize Boris Joseff and Bill Endle. Boris was a long time Kiwanis member serving as Club president and a division Lt. Gov and active in the Madison music scene repairing music instruments. Bill Endle was a Club member and was a long-time music teacher and band leader at Memorial High School. The awards are made in the spring semester.
Other Grants and Scholarships
Adaptive Ski Program Scholarships
The Madison West Kiwanis Club kicked off a multi-year scholarship program in 2008 with Adaptive Sports Association. In May 2006, well-known scientist, University of Wisconsin alumna, and former faculty member Ethel Allen passed away at 98. The provisions of her estate called for a distribution of funds to the Madison West Kiwanis Foundation to be used exclusively for scholarships for Madison area residents with disabilities to participate in Adaptive Sports Association (ASA) programming. In 2007, the Foundation received an endowment from the Ethel Allen Estate to establish a special program for handicapped skiers. The West Kiwanis Adaptive Ski Program allows us to send up to four selected applicants on an amazing ski trip to Colorado. At this ski facility, special instructors with very special ski equipment are able to teach the group we sponsor to enjoy the thrill of skiing or riding down the snow-covered slopes. This week-long trip provides participants with a unique, and often life changing, experience.
Community Grants
Madison West Kiwanis Community and Youth Services grants are awarded annually to local non-profit organizations to help the youth and disadvantaged in our community. Non-profit organizations are required to complete a brief application form – which is available on the Madison West Kiwanis web page. Each grant application must be a local non-profit and should be supported by a member of our Madison West Kiwanis. Grants are evaluated and awarded annually. Each year, the deadline for submissions is April 1st. Most successful grant awards have ranged from $1,000 to $3,000.
Major Foundation Grants
In 2008, the Lussier Community Education Center received a specific donor grant from the Foundation of $20,000 to expand its’ west side facility. During the 2020-21 school year, Madison’s Lincoln School received a $5,000 grant from the Foundation to assist in an upgrade to its’ playground. In 2024, First Tee of South-Central Wisconsin received a Dickson grant of $30,000 from the Foundation for the acquisition of virtual golf equipment. Also in 2024, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra received a Dickson grant of $20,000 from the Foundation for their music scholarship program.
Foundation History
Officially founded in 1970 by a forward-looking Board of Directors, the MWK Foundation remained relatively dormant until 1982. Prior to 1983, Madison school officials organized and sponsored the annual Christmas Pageant held in the Capitol Rotunda for almost 60 years. Under public pressure regarding the costs to the school system and the religious nature of the program, a plea was made to West Kiwanis to adopt this project. Al Anderson, Charter Member of Madison West Kiwanis, and Madison public school administrator, played a major role in bringing the Pageant and Kiwanis together. An anonymous donor offered to provide substantial funding to Kiwanis if they would agree to become the organizer and sponsor of the Christmas Pageant. There was one important obstacle facing West Kiwanians who had agreed this would be a terrific project for the club. The very generous donor asked if the club had a means by which this gift would be tax deductible. Since papers had not been filed to make the MWK Foundation a 501(c)(3) organization when it was formed in 1970, the club quickly submitted the necessary paperwork to make all gifts to the Foundation tax deductible to the full extent of tax laws. Subsequently the funds from the donor became the first major contribution to the Foundation, and the Pageant became the first major West Kiwanis project maintained entirely through gifts to the Foundation.