Last month five UW-Whitewater alumni launched their non-profit endeavour, Brackets for Hope, and recently donated $3,500 to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The former Warhawks saw their grass-roots movement grow into a national phenomenon.
“We had over 120 brackets submitted, which was pretty good for our first year,” co-founder Tori Hutchison said. “We were just winging it to start with and didn’t really know what to expect, but it gave us a chance to learn what worked and what didn’t.”

Hutchison said this year’s event was a great learning experience for all involved and that the group will have plenty to think about moving forward.  Especially in terms of applying this fundraiser model to other events and expanding the staff to accommodate for larger workloads.
Carla Blakeman, the center’s project coordinator for development communications and marketing, said Brackets for Hope was a unique approach to donating. She said they receive dozens of requests for external fundraisers, but has never seen anything like the brackets idea.
“I thought it was a great idea that took the passions people had for the tournament and made them think about their enjoyment in a philanthropic way,” Blakeman said. “I’m a big fan of March Madness myself and I think it was a great way for people to support cancer research.”
Blakeman said the donation went into a general cancer research fund, which would support new ideas that could not exist without the generous support of third parties. She also said it’s heart-warming to see people continue donating to causes even though money is tight and jobs are hard to come by.
Hutchison said he is grateful for all of the support over the last few months and hopes people will encourage others to participate next year.
“I’d just like to say thank you to all of our supporters large and small,” Hutchison said. “We couldn’t have done it without them and hopefully next year we will raise closer to $10,000.”