An anonymous donor has issued a $500,000 challenge grant to help Kathy’s House reach its $12 million fundraising campaign goal for its new hospital guest house in Wauwatosa.
The challenge grant will match donations up to $500,000 through June 1 for the campaign. If that target is met, Kathy’s House would be at 96% of its $12 million goal when the facility opens in the summer.
The new Kathy’s House is being built on a 3.6-acre site on Doyne Avenue between North 92nd and North 87th Streets, adjacent to the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center. The guest house provides affordable lodging for out-of-town patients and their families who come to Milwaukee for medical care. The new house will have 36 rooms, doubling the organization’s current capacity.
“We’re overwhelmed with gratitude,” said Patty Metropulos, president and chief executive officer of Kathy’s House. “This unexpected, wonderful donation brings us so close to the finish line, especially because the matching component doubles the impact of every gift. Achieving our capital campaign goal reduces the need to borrow money to finish construction, allowing us to direct operational dollars to our guests, not paying off debt.”
An unnamed donor has contributed $90,000 – his third donation to the campaign – since the launch of the challenge grant, Kathy’s House said.
Froedtert Hospital provided the lead pledge, $6 million, for the new house in 2017. Other significant gifts have come from the Fotsch Family Foundation, Ladish Co. Foundation and Schneider National Inc., of Green Bay.
