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LOWLANDS TAKES
THE HIGH ROAD

Ever since we opened the doors to our first Café Hollander in 2006, we knew that we wanted to do more than simply operate a restaurant; we wanted to become a part of the vibrant communities we serve. Here are just some of the ways we give back here at the Lowlands Group.

view 2018 giving report

LOWLANDS TAKES
THE HIGH ROAD

Ever since we opened the doors to our first Café Hollander in 2006, we knew that we wanted to do more than simply operate a restaurant, we wanted to become a part of the vibrant communities we serve. Here are just some of the ways we give back here at the Lowlands Group.

$100,755

TRULY GRAND OPENINGS

When we open a new location, we partner with local charities to give them 100% of our food sales from our opening weekend celebrations. Since 2015, we’ve been able to raise over $100,000 for the following organizations:

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee
Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County
Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Ozaukee Interurban Trail
Community Groundworks – Madison
DreamBikes – Madison
Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin
Food Pantry of Waukesha County
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

"This is the first time I've been involved in a project like this. The fact that Cafe Hollander donated 100% of their food sales to our kids is absolutely wonderful. We will use the proceeds from this event to purchase new kitchen equipment for our Club kids."
Michael Johnson, CEO for Boys & Girls Club of Dane County
We are grateful for the generosity of the Lowlands Group. With their gift, we will be able to provide 18,000 meals to those facing hunger in our community. We’re honored to have the Lowlands Group join us in our mission to end hunger in southwestern Wisconsin.”
Dan Stein, President & CEO, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin
“Thank you to the Lowlands Group for your support. We’ll use these funds to expand our Mobile Safety & Repair program in Milwaukee and Madison, which services 1,000+ bikes each summer – making them safe to ride – at no cost. Thanks to your generous support, we will be able to supercharge that initiative.”
Mark Joslyn, DreamBikes
"Café Hollander is not only an exciting new addition to Madison, but through their generosity, Community GroundWorks can now fund our entire kids’ services internship program next season or buy a much-needed farm truck. We are grateful for Lowlands Group’s forward thinking and creative engagement with our community."
Karen von Huene, Executive Director, Community GroundWorks
“We were thrilled to partner with Lowlands Group on their new opening. Their support will help us grow not only our Annual Spring River Cleanup, where thousands of volunteers across the entire Milwaukee River basin join together to beautify our watersheds, but also our critical water quality monitoring work.”
Jennifer Bolger Breceda, Executive Director, Milwaukee Riverkeeper
“We are so grateful to Lowlands Group for the donation and plan to use the funds to invest in the development of a new rest area for the Ozaukee Interurban Trail in Mequon as well as pay for the installation of five donated bike repair stations along the Trail.”
Andrew T. Struck, Director, Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Department
“We are grateful to the Lowlands Group and the new Café Hollander in Mequon for generously including us in their grand opening fundraiser. Their donation will support our summer program, which enables us to provide safe spaces and productive activities to thousands of local youth.”
Vincent Lyles, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee

GIVING = GEZELLIG

It’s one thing to make a one-time donation to an organization in need, but we believe the biggest impact can be made with long-term support of programs that benefit the community. From supporting community cultural programs to assisting those most in need, here are some of the causes near and dear to us at the Lowlands Group.
GUEST HOUSE OF MILWAUKEE

Each and every month, our Grand Cafés supply a dinner and a breakfast to The Guest House, an organization that provides shelter, housing, education and meals to Milwaukee’s homeless in an effort to transform their lives with dignity and purpose.
VELO-CAUSE-CENTRAAL CYCLING

We’re proud to be the title sponsor of VeloCause Centraal Cycling, a cycling team that donates all of their race winnings to charitable causes. As part of our sponsorship, our Café Centraal provides numerous meals throughout the year for Meta House, an organization dedicated to ending the generational cycle of drug and alcohol addiction by healing women and their families.
SAUSAGE FEST

For a decade, Centraal Grand Café & Tappery has hosted “Sausage Fest” in Bay View. What started as a simple celebration of tubed-meat and bier has blossomed into an annual event that benefits Camp American Legion, a free retreat camp that helps combat veterans rehabilitate from the traumas experienced through war by reconnecting with nature and their families.
CINEMA FOR THE SOUL

We’re as inspired by film as we are by the European Lowlands, which is why we’re huge boosters of this unique artform in the communities we serve. We’re producing sponsors of the Milwaukee Film Festival, underwriting “Worldviews”, their showcase of global films. In addition, we sponsor the Wisconsin Film Festival in Madison and even support the projects of local Milwaukee filmmakers .
PUBLIC RADIO

We’re proud underwriters of WUWM, Milwaukee’s Public Radio, and 88Nine Radio Milwaukee. Both stations offer programming that helps us learn more about the world, each other and the place we call home - Milwaukee.

GIVE. RINSE. REPEAT MONTHLY.

Each and every month, we donate over $1000 to non-profit organizations that operate in the communities that our grand cafés serve. Our monthly giving program focuses on child health, development and nutrition; cycling advocacy; hunger relief efforts; culture and the arts; and environmental education and sustainability.

LOOKING TO REQUEST A DONATION?

All donation requests must be made online through our donation request form. No postal mail, email, phone or fax requests will be considered. Please keep in mind that we receive many requests for donations, and while we do our best to support our community, we are not able to honor every request we receive.

Donation Request Form