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Brewed for Business: A South Central Wisconsin Networking Morning Worth Showing Up For.
🛡️ Reward Our Heroes™ Foundation · Foundation News
A free quarterly multi-chamber coffee gathering. Nonprofits, small businesses, civil servants, and community leaders — all in one room. I showed up for Reward Our Heroes and as a WVCC Ambassador. I walked out with new connections for Wisconsin's heroes.
Foundation News Wisconsin Networking May 2026Quick Answer
What This Post Covers
Brewed for Business is a free quarterly multi-chamber networking event in South Central Wisconsin — open to everyone, not just chamber members
John Reuter attended the May 2026 event representing the Reward Our Heroes Foundation and serving as a Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce Ambassador
Conversations with Angie Nichols (Stand Down Madison), Matthew Rose (WVCC), and Beth Malcook (One Community Bank) opened up new partnership pathways for supporting Wisconsin's heroes
📅 PublishedMay 8, 2026By John Reuter☕Free Multi-Chamber Networking EventBrewed for Business: A Multi-Chamber Coffee ConnectionSouth Central Wisconsin · Open to Everyone · May 2026
A crisp South Central Wisconsin morning in early May. Just north of the Yahara River, where the familiar echoes of Canadian geese carried softly through the distance.
Nonprofits, small businesses, service industry professionals, civil servants, and community leaders — all in one room. Coffee, fresh connections, and the kind of unhurried conversations you don't get in inboxes.
The event was Brewed for Business: A Multi-Chamber Coffee Connection, hosted jointly by Dane Buy Local, Wisconsin Power Partners, Monona Eastside Business Alliance, and the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce. Over the last three years it's grown into one of the strongest free multi-chamber networking events in South Central Wisconsin. You don't have to belong to any of the host chambers to show up. It's just open. That's the whole point.
I attended representing the Reward Our Heroes Foundation and as a Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce Ambassador. The Foundation runs on partnerships — with the chambers and nonprofits already doing the work, with banks and businesses willing to fund grants and underwrite scholarships, and with the people on the ground who can connect a Wisconsin hero in crisis to the right help fast. Rooms like this are where some of those partnerships start.
Three Conversations That Stood Out
Plenty of great connections happened across the room. These three stuck because they map directly to the work the Foundation is trying to expand.
Angie Nichols
Stand Down Madison
Stand Down Madison serves Wisconsin veterans facing homelessness with hands-on outreach, services, and dignity. The Foundation has fielded calls from female veterans sleeping in cars and from male veterans aging out of every available bed. The work Angie's team does is the kind of frontline coordination that the Foundation's emergency housing grants are built to support.
Matthew Rose
Ambassador · Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce
The Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce is the connective tissue for veteran-owned businesses, military spouses launching ventures, and the corporate partners who want to actually move the needle. John serves as a WVCC Ambassador alongside Matthew, and the conversations at Brewed for Business confirmed what's been clear for a while: the Chamber's reach into Wisconsin's veteran business community creates pathways the Foundation can't build alone.
Beth Malcook
One Community Bank
Community banks understand local. Beth's work at One Community Bank reflects an understanding that the financial side of housing stability — for veterans, first responders, teachers, healthcare workers — needs people who actually know the people they're working with.
The Foundation doesn't compete with these organizations. It connects to them. Every introduction at Brewed for Business made the Foundation's network stronger — which means the next Wisconsin hero who reaches out has more options.
We are stronger together. Wisconsin's heroes deserve a network that acts like one.
What's Next
These conversations don't stop at coffee. The Foundation is following up with each of these organizations on specific collaborations — referral pathways for veterans in crisis, scholarship co-funding, and shared awareness work for the hero professions that don't always get the spotlight.
If you're a Wisconsin business, nonprofit, or community organization with overlapping mission, the Foundation is actively looking for partners. The model is simple: combine networks, fund the work, and make sure no Wisconsin hero feels like they have no options.
Get Involved
Four Ways to Strengthen the Network
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Donate to the Foundation
Tax-deductible contributions directly fund emergency grants, housing assistance, and scholarships for Wisconsin heroes. EIN 39-3358820. Give securely through Zeffy.
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Become a Partner
Wisconsin businesses, nonprofits, banks, and chambers — if your work touches veterans, first responders, healthcare workers, or teachers, the Foundation's door is open.
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Share This Story
Tag the partners. Spread the word. Stronger networks need awareness — share with your community to help us connect more Wisconsin heroes to the right resources.
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Refer a Hero
If you know a Wisconsin veteran, first responder, healthcare worker, or teacher who needs help, send them our way. Reach the Foundation at 608-492-0515.
Frequently Asked Questions
Real answers about Brewed for Business, partnerships, and how the Foundation works.
What is Brewed for Business?
Brewed for Business is a free quarterly multi-chamber networking event in South Central Wisconsin, co-hosted by Dane Buy Local, Wisconsin Power Partners, Monona Eastside Business Alliance, and the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce. Attendance is open to everyone — you do not need to be a member of any of the host chambers to attend.
How does the Reward Our Heroes Foundation work with partner organizations?
The Foundation partners with Wisconsin nonprofits, chambers of commerce, banks, and businesses to expand the support available to veterans, first responders, healthcare workers, and teachers. Partnerships include referral pathways, joint scholarships, sponsored emergency grants, and shared awareness campaigns.
Is the Reward Our Heroes Foundation a registered 501(c)(3)?
Yes. The Reward Our Heroes Foundation is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with EIN 39-3358820. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
How can my business or organization partner with Reward Our Heroes?
If your organization serves Wisconsin veterans, first responders, healthcare workers, or teachers — or if you'd like to sponsor grants, scholarships, or awareness work — reach out to the Foundation at 608-492-0515 or info@rewardourheroes.com.
How does Reward Our Heroes fund its grants and scholarships?
The Foundation is funded by tax-deductible donations, business and partner sponsorships, and proceeds from the Reward Our Heroes real estate program. Every dollar directly supports Wisconsin heroes.
What does a Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce Ambassador do?
WVCC Ambassadors represent the Chamber at community events, build relationships between the Chamber's veteran-owned business members and the broader Wisconsin business community, and connect veterans with resources. John Reuter serves as a WVCC Ambassador in addition to founding the Reward Our Heroes Foundation.🤝 Partner With the Foundation
Wisconsin's Heroes Deserve a Network That Acts Like One.
Whether you're a business, a nonprofit, a chamber member, or a Wisconsin hero who needs help — the Foundation's door is open. Stronger together is more than a phrase.
Donate Now →Become a Partner🎖️John ReuterFounder, Reward Our Heroes Foundation · WVCC Ambassador · Retired USAF Veteran
John Reuter is a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce Ambassador, and founder of Reward Our Heroes™ Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving veterans, first responders, healthcare workers, and teachers across Wisconsin. Through housing grants, scholarships, and real estate savings, the Foundation helps those who serve get taken care of too.
🛡️About Reward Our Heroes™
Reward Our Heroes™ Foundation supports veterans, active-duty military, military spouses, law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, educators, healthcare workers, and Wisconsin's broader hero community through real estate savings, emergency housing grants, scholarships, and direct support programs. Our mission: hero supporting hero, across Wisconsin. EIN 39-3358820 | IRS-Approved 501(c)(3) Nonprofit | rewardourheroes.com | 608-492-0515
Keep Reading: Veteran Living in Wisconsin
Thinking about a move? See how Reward Our Heroes helps Wisconsin veterans buy and settle in, or how the home-buying rebate works.
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