LEAVEN helps Fox Cities residents avert crises

For people living paycheck‑to‑paycheck — which describes up to two-thirds of Americans — one disaster can throw life into uncertainty, potentially causing the loss of housing, transportation, child care or even employment.

But for the past 40 years, an innovative organization in the Fox Cities has been stepping in to help prevent those disasters with temporary financial assistance and connections to services that can help people navigate through a crisis.

“We’re a bit of a unique duck, not even just in the Fox Cities, but in the state of Wisconsin,” says Nikki Gerhard, executive director of the nonprofit LEAVEN, which stands for Limited Emergency Assistance Valley Ecumenical Network. The word “leaven” itself refers to an influence which transforms something for the better, essentially, making it rise. That’s exactly what the organization aims to do — lift people up when they need it, Gerhard says.

LEAVEN was created in 1987 by a group of church leaders who noticed the financial need in members of their congregations. LEAVEN originally launched in St. Joseph’s Middle School.

“At the core of what we do is we provide emergency financial assistance to prevent the loss of something,” Gerhard says. “Typically, that would include basic needs, such as housing.” Sixty-eight percent of requests are housing-related. LEAVEN helps with rental assistance, security deposits, mortgage assistance and utilities. It also helps with transportation needs such as car repairs, gas cards and bus vouchers.

In the last two years, LEAVEN also has added child care assistance, providing an average of $1,000 per request.

It’s tough for even two-income households to find affordable child care, says Emily Thiel, child and family services manager for Child Care Resource & Referral, Inc. (CCR&R), which helps families find affordable, regulated child care options in their area.

“The more that we’re able to make child care accessible … the more people, more families, more working parents will be able to get into the workforce,” Thiel says.

CCR&R is on site at LEAVEN every Tuesday afternoon to assist clients through a database of child care providers who have openings. “Nobody has time to call 80 to 100 programs when you’re working full time and you’ve got kiddos at home,” Thiel says. “So that really helps families with cutting that time down on that search to find child care.”

Anybody in the Fox Cities footprint who is experiencing an emergency or crisis can apply for assistance through LEAVEN.

Once an emergency is managed, clients are referred to LEAVEN partners to help build a more stable future, Gerhard says. Onsite, LEAVEN houses nine organizations full-time and a variety of rotating partner organizations.

Just in the past year, LEAVEN has seen more than a 25% increase in the level of financial need in the community. In 2024, the organization provided $752,000 in assistance to 12,845 individuals. In 2025, the number of requests had decreased (10,373 people); however, the amount of financial assistance grew to more than $1.1 million — an unprecedented amount for the organization, Gerhard says.

LEAVEN’s support staff and operations are supported by endowments, allowing the organization to put donations toward helping the community, Gerhard says. Furthermore, its staff of eight and a half is supplemented by about 128 volunteers, whose time saves LEAVEN $500,000 a year. In 2025, 65% of LEAVEN’s budget went to direct client assistance.

Donations, however, are always needed to meet the growing demand in the community.

“There’s so many ways to help, whether it’s through financial giving or becoming a volunteer,” Gerhard says.

If anyone knows someone experiencing a crisis or an emergency financial situation, she adds, “I would encourage them to reach out to us and just be an advocate for LEAVEN and look out for your neighbors and know that help is closer than you think.”