100,000 New Reasons to Help Replace the Fox Point Footbridge

Good news for donors waiting for just the right time to financially support replacing Fox Point’s iconic footbridge: It’s here.

Thanks to an anonymous challenge grant, every $5,000 or higher pledge Footbridge Friends Inc. receives from a new donor, now through September 30, will be matched dollar for dollar up to $100,000 in total. Donors who have already pledged $1,000 or $3,000 can have an additional $2,000 matched if they increase to $3,000 or $5,000.

So $100,000 given equals $200,000 received.

If there’s an easier way to double your money, and its positive impact on Fox Point, I haven’t found it.

Why give? Here’s how my neighbors (and friends) Steve and Jane put it:

The bridge is a public structure that is distinctive to Fox Point and has been here longer than Lake Drive. It is an important asset that makes our village more desirable than other communities and thus helps maintain all of our property values.

Fox Point has many assets, and as residents of more than 20 years we have used them as well. Now that our children are grown and we look back, we used the skating rink and pool for maybe 7 years.

The bridge is used by people of all ages their entire lives.

Yes, we live near the bridge. Of course we miss it. But we can look out our windows and enjoy the views without it.

The bridge gives access to this beautiful area to people who live much farther away. It is essentially a park, and we don't ask only park neighbors to bear all of the costs of maintaining them.

Strengthened property values. A more desirable village. And, wow, that view. There’s really nothing else like it. Best of all, it’s freely available to anyone who wants to enjoy it – as long as there’s a footbridge.

If you’d like to contribute toward replacing the bridge – and double the size of your pledge of $5,000 or more – call Barbara Schwartz, Footbridge Friends President, at (414) 446-9501 for a pledge card or visit the group’s web site at footbridgefriends.com.

(Footbridge Friends Inc. is a citizens group working to raise $655,000 as part of a public/private partnership with the village for a new bridge. Such partnerships are increasingly common as communities seek to responsibly fund worthy projects in difficult economic times. Similar joint projects have been undertaken across the North Shore and metropolitan Milwaukee.)