Roots & Wings Foundation Offers Wings Not Strings

In spring 2022, Project Babies co-founder Jeanne Erickson got an email from an organization called the Roots & Wings Foundation. They wanted to set up a call to introduce themselves and discuss possibly giving Project Babies a grant. Erickson had never heard of them — and as the volunteer director of a nonprofit organization that is 85% reliant on grants (which require countless hours spent applying and complying each year), she was interested but admittedly wary.

A woman named Shana Dall’Osto introduced herself as the executive director of Roots & Wings, explaining that it was a family foundation created in late 2019 by her parents, Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner husband Gordon, with a special interest in funding nonprofits across four key categories: family safety, health, early learning and basic needs.

By the end of the call with Dall’Osto, Erickson was sold on Roots & Wings, ready to begin what she assumed was a lengthy application process. That’s when she got the biggest surprise of all.

“They said to me, ‘And we’re prepared to give you a grant as of right now.’ I was like, what?” she says, laughing. Roots & Wings had pre-filled the application before the call, then added to it from notes they made as they were interviewing Erickson. All she had to do was review it; add a budget number here, a percentage there; and sign. The two-year grant was for $20,000 per year. Less than a year later, unprompted, Roots & Wings added another $10,000 per year.

“So they gifted Project Babies with a total award of $60,000, no strings attached, unrestricted funds,” Erickson says, shaking her head — she’s used to an entirely different experience.

Read the full story in Madison Magazine.