Keep Us Together Campaign
The Keep Us Together Campaign to build the Ostara Mother Baby House is seeking $4.5 million to acquire, renovate, furnish, and launch Wisconsin’s first mother-child supportive living community that will serve as a humane alternative to incarceration for pregnant and postpartum justice-involved women.
Beyond Wisconsin, this facility will serve as a replicable national model – demonstrating how justice systems across America can prioritize maternal-infant bonds while achieving better outcomes for communities.
Campaign Purpose: Create a New Model of Holistic Maternal Health Support for Justice-Impacted Mothers and Their Infants
A New Model of Care
Designed to balance security with dignity, this new model of career community will include:
Clean, secure place to deliver a baby
Private and semi-private living spaces for mothers and infants
Dedicated nursery spaces with infant-safe furniture and changing stations
Communal dining and gathering areas for mothers and children
Spaces for parenting classes, therapy, life skills, and evidence-based therapies
Family visiting areas welcoming fathers, extended family, and support networks
A secure outdoor space for recreation and bonding
On-site laundry, staff offices, and 24/7 residential support
The Program:
Residents will follow a structured daily program that includes:
Trauma-informed doula support through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum
Parenting education on infant development, bonding, and responsive caregiving
Evidence-based trauma programming and life skills development
Substance use recovery support led by peer specialists with lived experience
Case management covering housing, employment, family reunification, and reentry support
Scheduled family visitation designed to strengthen family connections
What the Campaign Will Fund
Acquisition of a suitable residential property to bring Ostara's program design to life
Renovation and furnishing to meet federal standards
Administrative infrastructure, licensing, and compliance systems
Specialized staff recruitment, training, and onboarding
Support for developing and implementing evidence-based programming: parenting education, doula support, somatic and occupational therapy, and peer recovery services
Funds to sustain the facility through its first year of full operation
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Mother incarcerated in prison: $268/day
Infant in foster care: $116/day
Total: $384/day
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Mother + infant, residential facility: $234/day
Amount saved per mother-baby pair compared to prison + foster care: $150/day
Estimated public savings over three years: $2M+
References: KPI 2025, WI Watch 2026, Penn State Social Science Research Institute 2026
Join Us in This Historic Moment
A gift to the Ostara Initiative Keep Us Together Campaign is more than a donation. It is an investment in the reinvention of prison birth. Wisconsin has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to lead the nation in showing what justice and humanity can look like together.
We invite you to make a meaningful contribution to the campaign through a one-time gift or multi-year pledge. Your investment in the Ostara Initiative is an investment in Wisconsin’s mothers, children, and communities. It is a smart investment in public safety, family stability, and a more humane approach to administering justice.
Other Ways to Give
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Double your impact. Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions made by their employees, retirees and/or employees’ spouses.
To find out if your company has a matching gift program, please enter your employer's name below.
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Give in honor, memory or celebration today.
Celebrate or remember someone special with a gift made in their name—an enduring way to recognize the people who matter most.
When you make a tribute donation, your loved one will receive a note sent by email or by postal mail letting them know about the gift in their name. (Please note that you—the donor—will receive the tax receipt and benefit.)
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To make a tribute gift by mail, please mail your donation and a note letting us know that it is a tribute gift. Please include the recipient's name, address or email, and any personalized message for the note.
The note and your enclosed check may be mailed to:
Ostara Initiative
P.O. Box 18603, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55418
(Attn: insert name) -
You can make a gift each year to Ostara directly from your IRA. Qualified charitable distributions may be able to reduce your taxes while fulfilling your required minimum distribution.
This charitable transfer excludes the gift from your gross income for Federal Income Tax purposes and can be especially attractive for donors who do not itemize or would like to keep reportable income down to avoid having social security and other income taxed at a higher rate.
It’s easy to get started
Contact your IRA plan administrator to make a gift. Your funds will be directly transferred to Bridging to help support resilient clients in search of new beginnings as they overcome incredible adversity. Ostara is a 501(c)3 organization.
For your account administrator:
Ostara Initiative
Tax ID: 82-4855661 -
Legacy giving turns your compassion into action.
Create a lasting impact by including Ostara Initiative in your will, trust, or estate plans—ensuring your values live on for generations.
YOU have the power to shape and define your legacy in the most meaningful way possible. This is an opportunity to create a lasting gift that aligns with your values and directly contributes to INSERT HERE
Please reach out to Ostara at using our Contact Us form and select “Legacy Giving.”
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Donate appreciated stocks or securities to maximize your tax benefits while supporting our work in a powerful way.
A gift of stock may provide more benefits than a cash gift. When you make a gift of stock to Ostara, by eliminating the capital gains tax that would be due upon selling the stock, you receive tangible tax-savings and benefits while also supporting the humanitarian mission. A gift of stock may be right for you if:
1. You are holding stocks that have risen in value. If your stocks are highly appreciated, you may find yourself with a hefty tax bill when it comes time to sell. By using these securities as a gift, you can avoid the capital gains tax on any paper profit.
2. You would like to maximize your deduction while not affecting your liquidity. If you decide to make a gift of stock, you not only retain your cash assets, but you also receive a charitable tax deduction for the full fair market value of the stock that you’ve owned for more than one year.
How to make a Stock Donation Transfer
Please contact Ostara via the Contact Us form and select “Stock Donation.”
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Donor-advised funds provide a flexible, tax-savvy method of giving. An increasingly popular charitable vehicle, donor-advised funds can be established with a number of entities, including community foundations and financial services companies.
How to give with a Donor-Advised Fun
You can recommend your donor-advised fund to make a gift on your behalf – even during a multi-year time frame – provided the commitment comes from the fund itself. You can also establish a memorial fund in honor of someone through a donor-advised fund. It could be a new fund or you can make a grant in memoriam out of an existing fund.
Contact your gift advisor to start the giving process and direct your gift to the address below.
Ostara Initiative
P.O. Box 18603, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55418
Tax ID # 82-4855661In order to acknowledge your generous gift, please provide your name and/or fund name and address.
Thank You For
Your Support!
Hear from Ostara Initiative Executive Director, Erica Gerrity, on how your support creates change.
