2024 Enterprising Leadership Grant Award Winners
The WI SHRM Enterprising Leadership Grant was established in 2008. It awards a chapter or chapters a financial award to support a “partnership” with another Wisconsin-based organization that promotes communication and collaboration between HR and other business professionals and organizations across the state. It funds innovative initiatives that strive to bring business professionals together toward a common cause led by the HR community.
Up to $7,500 was available this year for Wisconsin SHRM Chapters to implement an activity or initiative in Enterprising HR Leadership. Criteria included having:
- a partnership with an organization outside of SHRM with goals and objectives that help advance the HR profession.
- a joint planned activity or initiative with that organization that demonstrates enterprising HR leadership, communication, collaboration, and education of business professionals.
This year, we received a record number of applications, and each reflected the work that each chapter is either doing or proposing to engage with local organizations and partner on essential initiatives in their respective communities.
While we would have liked to have supported each chapter’s initiatives, we selected six chapters to receive partial Enterprising Leadership Grant awards. We were honored to announce and recognize our recipients at our December State Council meeting.
This year’s Enterprising Leadership Grant recipients, in no particular order, are:
- La Crosse Area SHRM – This chapter started an Emerging Professionals group in 2021 and has strengthened its relationship with local educational organizations to continue to provide programming to students and emerging professionals.
- Jefferson County Human Resources Management Association—This chapter made it its mission in 2024 to better connect local employers with a skilled immigrant workforce. They hosted a major conference on this topic and continue to partner with a local school district’s adult English as a Second Language program to provide educational materials to help develop English language skills and enhance the employability of area residents.
- Metro Milwaukee SHRM – This chapter is continuing a partnership with the National Association for African Americans in Human Resources. With this existing partnership, the chapter is looking to host a joint event at America’s Black Holocaust Museum in February 2025 to recognize and celebrate Black History Month.
- Green Bay Area SHRM — For the past two years, this chapter has worked to connect ten local non-profit organizations with their chapter and the employers represented by the chapter members through each organization’s monthly spotlights. The information these organizations share helps connect resources for those in need and creates a more significant community between the non-profits and local businesses.
- Fond du Lac SHRM – This chapter has partnered with a local safety council and a young professionals' organization. They have offered a variety of programming and plan to provide a session on self-defense in 2025.
- Sheboygan Area SHRM - This chapter has partnered with a local leadership development and culture design company. They are looking to host a leadership day to provide attendees with leadership development programming, networking opportunities, and a tour of Lambeau Field.
Thank you to all our grant recipients and those who submitted their applications this year. Please consider this grant next year when we open the application process in late fall for your 2026-chapter initiatives.
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