Please select "UW Extension - Leadership Wisconsin" on the donation form.

You Can Make a Difference

We invite you to become a partner in supporting Leadership Wisconsin .If you are committed to strengthening leadership for Wisconsin, please make an investment in Wisconsin’s  future through a tax-deductible gift.

Leadership Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program) was initiated through a grant funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. It is a public-private educational partnership administered through the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension and the University of Wisconsin Foundation serves as the general custodian of our donations.

The direct cost per fellow is approximately $19,000 for the two-year program. Each fellow is responsible for approximately 1/3 of these costs. Generally, they fulfill this commitment through a combination of their own resources and sponsors such as local organizations and businesses. Financial aid to cover part of the participants’ share is available and awarded based on need. The University of Wisconsin System makes a significant contribution in the form of faculty, staff and resources. The remaining funds come from private contributions to the program and the state legislature. A program endowment has been established within the University of Wisconsin Foundation to sustain the program.

In years past, the lion’s share of our funding came through the University of Wisconsin-Extension system, and its sources of federal and state funding. Now with the rising cost of education, coupled with continually growing demands placed on UW-Extension, the financial equation has changed. Now the lion’s share of funding comes from people like you – our friends – alumni, participants, businesses and foundations.

Your support of Leadership Wisconsin goes directly into the day-to-day operations of implementing this nationally recognized, premier leadership development program unless you wish that your support be added to our endowment.  Our investors and partners enable Leadership Wisconsin to develop leaders for communities, men and women who are decision-makers and problems-solvers for communities throughout Wisconsin. Today, more than ever, the public private partnership that began WRLP in 1983 continues to play a critical role.

How will your gift help develop leaders?

We invite you to become a partner in supporting Leadership Wisconsin formerly Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program. Your gift — in any amount — will have an impact upon growing leadership in our state.

As little as…
$10 Buys a Leadership Wisconsin fellow’s lunch during a seminar
$25 Pays for the cost of a Fellow’s educational seminar materials for a day
$50 Provides one night of lodging for a Fellow during a seminar

Looking at it another way ….
$1/day – provides air fare to meet with leaders in our nation’s capital – Washington, D.C.
$10/month – covers the daily cost of meals, lodging and materials for one leadership fellow
$20/month – covers the cost of bringing an expert speaker to one of our leadership seminars
Any way you look at it, the simple actions of one person can lead to the future success of another.
Be the one.

There are many ways to make a gift, depending upon your personal preference and situation. Careful planning can maximize the positive effects of your gift. Your generous gift – of any amount – will have tremendous impact on the lives of Leadership Wisconsin Fellows. Contributions from alumni, corporations and other benefactors offer the opportunity to bring to Fellows a proven method of leadership development.

But the greatest benefit of all will be the satisfaction of knowing that YOU – by your actions – are developing leaders to strengthen communities all over the state of Wisconsin. Please show your commitment with a tax‐deductible gift to the Leadership Wisconsin today.