Funding Cut Could Mean the End of Canopy Center

Canopy Center is a child abuse treatment and prevention agency in Dane County whose mission is to help strengthen families and support children, teens, and adults impacted by trauma and adversity. We recently learned that a substantial source of our funding is not being renewed (Update on funding below.). This grant funding has supported our programming since 2006 and in recent years has accounted for nearly half of the agency’s operating budget. This news comes at a time when the agency was poised for growth – less than a year after relocating to a new and larger space built out to allow us to expand our services and to do so in a trauma-informed environment. Without replacement for this funding, 2/3 of our clients will go unserved and won’t receive the critical services they need.

Under Canopy Center’s umbrella of services, we provide specialized treatment to children who have experienced sexual abuse to support them and their families in their healing. We also support families on the path to reunification by providing a safe and comfortable space for supervised family visits to take place, cutting down on the number of days that children have to spend in the foster care system and nurturing positive parenting in parents who themselves may not have had good role models from whom to learn. Additionally, we coordinate and support a highly-trained pool of volunteers who provide hundreds of hours of advocacy and mentorship each month to children who have been abused or neglected and are under the protection of the Dane County court system. These services are essential for the most vulnerable children in our community.

With the end of the existing funding fast approaching and so much uncertainty remaining, staff layoffs and cutbacks have already taken place, putting victims in the position of losing essential services and support. As we work to replace this funding, we need the support of our community. You can help by donating and by spreading the word.

Every donation helps further our mission, right down to the donation that allows us to provide a peanut butter & jelly sandwich to a seven-year-old whose basic needs need to be met before they can go into a therapy session and focus on the really important and hard work of processing their trauma. 

All the money donated to this campaign will go toward keeping needed services intact for these child victims. We’ll be hosting an Open House to discuss our important work and show how it’s provided in our space on Monday, October 7 from 4:30-7:00pm (RSVPs are not necessary, but more information can be found on our Eventbrite page ). We are also pursuing an appeal for the grant funding that was not renewed. We will keep all donors updated on our progress, share stories, and tell you about our own volunteer experiences. So please visit this page often, and share with your friends!