Connexus Cares: 2021 Year in Review

As a member-owned credit union, Connexus understands the importance of giving back to the communities we serve. We value philanthropy and have made it a core tenet of our organization.

Our belief in giving with purpose drives our philanthropic program, Connexus Cares. Since its creation in December of 2018, Connexus Cares has donated $5,043,561. And in 2021 alone, we donated $2,500,189.40 – surpassing our $2.5 million goal!

Read on for a recap of 2021’s giving highlights.

2021 in review

January – We kicked off the year with a combined $50,000 donation to The Salvation Army of Wausau and the Stevens Point Salvation Army to support their Red Kettle Campaigns. In December 2020, Connexus Cares challenged the Wausau and Stevens Point communities to donate $25,000 and $15,000 respectively to the Red Kettle Campaigns. Connexus Cares then raised the overall match by $5,000 for each organization. As a result, we donated $30,000 to the Salvation Army of Wausau and $20,000 to the Stevens Point Salvation Army.

March – Connexus Cares was proud to make our largest donation to date: a $1 million donation to Community Partners Campus (CPC) in Wausau, Wisconsin. CPC is a newly formed non-profit center offering a functional, collaborative, shared space for organizations with a mission-driven purpose and focus on food, clothing, shelter, medical care, mental health, and social wellbeing. CPC’s first partners to occupy the new space include the Neighbor’s Place, Catholic Charities Warming Center, Blessings in a Backpack, North Central Community Action Program, Wausau Free Clinic, North Central Health Care’s Crisis Assessment Response Team, Wausau Police Department’s Victim Resource Center, and Wausau Area Mobile Meals.

April – Connexus Cares continued its community giving with a $10,000 donation to the Community Food Pantry of Merrill. The Food Pantry provides food to families living in Lincoln County, WI, who are facing hunger due to unemployment, financial hardship, or homelessness.

September – Cares announced a $125,000 donation to the Feeding our Communities with United Services’ (FOCUS) building relocation project, a dollar-for-dollar campaign match of all donations made between May and August of 2021. FOCUS was established in 2020 when three local non-profits merged resources to address food insecurity in Wisconsin’s South Wood County.

October – Connexus Cares announced our participation in two international campaigns to raise awareness for Metastatic Breast Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. At sunset on October 13, Connexus’ Corporate Cove building in Wausau was one of three Wisconsin landmarks lit in green, teal, and pink for the #LightUpMBC campaign supporting Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) awareness.

November – For Giving Tuesday, Connexus offered employees a 2-to-1 charitable donation match. Contributions supported 55 different non-profit organizations and with the match from Connexus Cares, raised over $25,000.

Additionally, Connexus illuminated Corporate Cove in teal on November 4 to support Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Light the World in Teal campaign. Corporate Cove joined Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel as the two Wisconsin landmarks to participate in the campaign, supporting more than 5.8 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s.

December – For the 15th consecutive year, Connexus Credit Union proudly served as the sole Presenting Sponsor for the Relay for Life Event in Wausau, Wisconsin. Connexus employees, families, friends, and business partners came together to raise a total of $125,000 for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

What’s next for Connexus Cares?

We’re incredibly grateful to have set a record donation amount in 2021, and we have even bigger goals for 2022. We’re crafting plans to grow our financial support of vital organizations, volunteer our time, and find even more new and creative ways to give back to our community.

Follow along with our giving on the Connexus Cares page, and make sure you like our Facebook page for more updates about our goals for giving in 2022 and beyond!