Solar for Good Program Helps Fund 13 Solar Energy Projects for Wisconsin Nonprofits

RENEW Wisconsin’s Solar for Good program will issue nearly $140,000 worth of solar panels to Wisconsin nonprofits as part of their fall 2019 funding cycle. These grants will go to 13 organizations across the state that together will install nearly 600 kilowatts of clean, renewable electricity. When completed, these solar projects will lead to over $1.2 million of solar investment in Wisconsin.

The following organizations have been offered Solar for Good grants to install new solar electric systems:

CAP Services, poverty alleviation, Stevens Point.

Camp Amnicon, outdoor retreat and spiritual worship, South Range.

Menīkānaehkem, Native American educational organization, Gresham.

Habitat for Humanity – La Crosse Area, affordable housing provider, La Crosse.

Jackson County Animal Shelter, safe haven for stray animals, Black River Falls.

Heartland Housing, affordable housing provider, Madison.

First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, house of worship, Milwaukee.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater La Crosse, youth education, La Crosse.

Bethel Lutheran Church, house of worship, Madison.

Movin’ Out, alternative housing provider, Madison.

Zwingli United Church of Christ, house of worship, Verona.

Kathy’s House, alternative housing provider, Wauwatosa.

One organization has asked to remain anonymous at this time.

This round of Solar for Good funding features a diverse group of awardees from across

Wisconsin. The Boys and Girls Club of Greater La Crosse will use their solar installation to help educate members on renewable electricity and energy efficiency for their recently-renovated facility. Over 200 solar panels will be installed at Kathy’s House, a hospital guest-house in Wauwatosa. And the Indigenous-led organization Menīkānaehkem, will install solar to power several tiny homes being constructed on the Menominee Indian Reservation to house the community’s homeless population.

“We decided to go solar to reduce our energy bills and to focus more of our resources on programming,” said Guy Reiter of Menīkānaehkem. “We plan to use the array as a training center for community members interested in pursuing a career in solar. Thanks to the Solar for Good grant, we are moving closer to our goal of making the Menominee community energy-sovereign as a way to create jobs, restore hope, reduce carbon pollution, and mitigate climate change.”

This marks Solar for Good’s 5th funding cycle and the second-largest to date. Including the fall 2019 funding cycle, the program’s impact will total 74 Wisconsin nonprofits installing 88 new solar arrays throughout the state. The program will add 3.25 megawatts of clean, renewable power to Wisconsin’s electric mix, enough to power approximately 650 homes. In total, these 88 solar arrays will spur over $7 million in investments in renewable electricity.

About Solar for Good

RENEW Wisconsin’s Solar for Good initiative fosters the expansion of solar power among mission-based nonprofits and houses of worship in Wisconsin. Through a generous partnership with Couillard Solar Foundation, RENEW Wisconsin awards solar panels to nonprofit organizations, helping them switch to clean, renewable, solar energy.

About RENEW Wisconsin

RENEW Wisconsin is a nonprofit organization which promotes renewable energy in Wisconsin. We work on policies and programs that support solar power, wind power, biogas, local hydropower, geothermal energy, and electric vehicles. More information on RENEW’s website: www.renewwisconsin.org.

Social Justice Hub Accepting Action Teams Applications

Contact Information: Shauna Breneman, Communications Director
Office: (608) 262-8862
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu

SOCIAL JUSTICE HUB ACCEPTING ACTION TEAMS APPLICATIONS

MADISON – The Wisconsin Union’s Social Justice Hub team is accepting applications for its campus Social Justice Action Teams now through Feb. 9, 2020.

Social Justice Action Teams are individual University of Wisconsin-Madison students or teams of UW-Madison students who build a collaborative group to achieve social justice goals.

During a seven-week period, team members work together with support from Hub staff to set their purpose statement, identify potential collaborators, identify actions to complete, and create momentum to further support their social justice goals.

Students can learn more about Social Justice Action Teams, such as how to apply, what creating an action team entails, available support and more, at an information session on Jan. 30, 2020.

Current Social Justice Action Teams include a voting team and a criminal justice team.

“We have such outstanding students at UW-Madison, who care so much about creating a better world,” Social Justice Hub Director Jim Rogers said. “We want to support students in the development of their transferrable skills as they work to improve the quality of life for all.”

The application is available at go.wisc.edu/SocialJusticeActionTeamsApplicationForm. Those with questions can contact Rogers at Jim.Rogers@wisc.edu.

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About the Wisconsin Union

The Wisconsin Union enhances the lives of members and visitors through recreational, cultural, educational and social opportunities. Formed in 1907, the Wisconsin Union is a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more about the Union and its tradition of providing experiences for a lifetime: union.wisc.edu. 

[Note to the editor: Click here to download a photo of the Social Justice Hub’s voting team. Photo by Jim Rogers. Photo provided by the Wisconsin Union.]

To read this release online, visit union.wisc.edu/about/news/action-teams.

The Creative Company Wins International Video Award

MADISON, WI – The Creative Company won a Gold MarCom Award in the category of Nonprofit Video Production. The MarCom Awards are an international competition that honor excellence in the fields of marketing and communication. Each year, about 6,000 entries are submitted from dozens of countries around the globe.

Madison Lee, a publicist and producer at The Creative Company, produced the winning video for Midwest Environmental Advocates, a nonprofit environmental law center that defends public rights, protects natural resources and ensures transparency and accountability in government. As a former TV news producer, Madison has extensive experience producing compelling video content and created an impactful marketing tool for Midwest Environmental Advocates.

“It was truly an honor to help MEA tell their story for their 20th Anniversary,” said Madison Lee. “To have our video recognized by MarCom and win a Gold Award made the project even more gratifying. How exciting to receive this award for such a worthwhile project.”

To see the video, click the link HERE.

About The Creative Company, Inc. The Creative Company is a Public Relations, Web Development, Interactive Digital Media and Marketing Agency located in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1989, The Creative Company is an award-winning team of senior-level branding strategists, designers, artists, digital developers, and PR pros, led by company founder, 2019 SBA Women in Business Champion of the Year, and State of Wisconsin Trailblazer, Laura Gallagher.

Debut of Wood Carved Table by Local Artist, Craftspeople to be Celebrated at ‘In Her Honor’ Gathering Dec. 12

Contact Information: Shauna Breneman, Communications Director
Office: (608) 262-8862
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu

DEBUT OF WOOD CARVED TABLE BY LOCAL ARTIST, CRAFTSPEOPLE TO BE CELEBRATED AT ‘IN HER HONOR’ GATHERING DEC. 12

MADISON – The 4W Initiative (Women, Well-being, Wisconsin and the World) and the Wisconsin Union invite the public to celebrate the completion of a wood carved table, which was designed and created by a Wisconsin artist and Wisconsin Union team members in celebration of the contributions and achievements of women at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The celebration will take place on Dec. 12 from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Hamel Family Browsing Library at Memorial Union and will include light refreshments. Following the event, the table will remain in the Hamel Family Browsing Library for Wisconsin Union members and guests to enjoy.

Artist Sylvie Rosenthal designed the table with consultation from 4W Assistant Director Olivia Dahlquist and 4W Director Lori Diprete Brown. Rosenthal constructed the tabletop, which includes brass inlay and red sand inlay that form a constellation as well as carved depictions of prairie wild flowers and women. Rosenthal designed the base that was crafted by Wisconsin Union team members Creighton Hinkes, Scott Wilson, and Jeff Rauser.

Rosenthal, who is a local artist, designer, woodworker, sculptor and educator, earned a bachelor’s degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Woodworking and Furniture Design Program in the School for American Crafts and a master’s degree in sculpture from UW-Madison. Rosenthal maintains a studio practice and teaches woodworking at UW and the fundamentals of construction at Madison College.

Wilson, a Union carpenter, and Rauser, who serves as the Union’s advanced repair worker, spent more than 40 hours crafting the table’s white oak base. Hinkes, a Union painter, put the finishing touches on the table by applying multiple coats of epoxy to protect and preserve it.

The event at which the table will debut marks the end of a year-long celebration of the 150th anniversary of women earning bachelor’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Event guests will have an opportunity to learn about the In Her Honor Chancellor’s Fund, a giving program that honors the ways that women have impacted lives. This fund helps support campus programs that aim to promote gender equity, make life better for women, and make the world better for all.

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About 4W

4W leverages the strengths of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to be a convener and leading voice in education, applied research, and impactful engagement to promote global wellbeing and full participation of women in society. The team’s vision is to make life better for women and make the world better for all. More information is available here: 4w.wisc.edu.

About the Wisconsin Union

The Wisconsin Union enhances the lives of members and visitors through recreational, cultural, educational and social opportunities. Formed in 1907, the Wisconsin Union is a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more about the Union and its tradition of providing experiences for a lifetime: union.wisc.edu. 

[Note to the editor: Click here to download a photo of the Hamel Family Browsing Library. Photo by Skot Weidemann. Photo provided by the Wisconsin Union.]

To read this release online, visit union.wisc.edu/about/news/womens-table.

Naviant Partners with Kryon Systems to Offer Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Solutions

Media contact: Jen Hein | 608-848-0873 | jhein@naviant.com

Naviant Partners with Kryon Systems to Offer Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Solutions

December 6, 2019 MADISON WI & CLEVELAND OH – Naviant, a top partner of Hyland Software within the Content Services industry, is partnering with Kryon to sell intelligent robotic process automation technology (aka a Digital Workforce). Kryon, a world leader in RPA software, provides customers with a full-cycle intelligent automation suite that complements and further automates existing Hyland solutions.

With access to an intelligent digital workforce that continuously evolves and improves, customers can automate transactions, raise productivity levels, and continue to innovate. Additionally, as they streamline their processes, organizations will be able to deliver better customer service.

“RPA is a strategic priority for Naviant and Hyland, and we view it as an excellent complement to the Hyland platform and rich portfolio of automation and integration tools,” said Elizabeth Skolaski, EVP and COO of Naviant.

RPA enables organizations to drive business agility and efficiency by offloading repetitive high-volume work to a digital workforce (think “software robots”). The concept of a digital workforce combines RPA, artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics, and machine learning. Robots work 24/7/365 at digital speeds without breaks, enabling employees to focus on business-critical tasks.

“True process automation requires a platform that can bring to bear a suite of automation capabilities to meet our customers’ business challenges, which is why adding partners like Kryon helps us create that ideal mix,” Michael Carr, President of Naviant, said. He adds, “The RPA tool you use should enhance the systems already in place to manage processes, so partnering with Kryon allows us to extend the value of customers’ existing investments with Hyland and expands our RPA offerings to new organizations.” What differentiates Kryon’s full-cycle automation suite from other RPA platforms is its Process Discovery™ tool, which identifies and visualizes business processes that are ideal candidates for automation.

The RPA offering from Kryon Systems is now available. For more information on how to transform your business with AI-based RPA technology, visit Naviant.com.

About Naviant
Business processes and solutions that empower better and faster decisions are what we do best. As a nationally-recognized document management solutions integrator and business process consulting organization with over 30 years of experience, our clients do more with less by streamlining processes and gaining visibility into the information they need to make better decisions. As a long-standing key partner of Hyland Software, Naviant helps organizations operate more efficiently using the OnBase software platform, Brainware intelligent capture platform, and Kryon Robotics Process Automation platform. Naviant is a top-tier partner for OnBase, a single enterprise information platform for managing content, processes, and cases, that combines ECM, case management, business process management (BPM), records management, compliance, and capture functionality on a single platform. In addition, Naviant also partners with Kryon Systems for Robotics Process Automation (RPA) technology to enable organizations to drive business agility and efficiency by offloading repetitive high-volume work to a digital workforce (aka software robots). Process focus. Excellence.

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