Join us for the 40th Annual

“ I have a Dream” Scholarship Ball in Honor of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 17, 2026

The Monona Terrace, 1 John Nolan Dr, Madison WI 

6:00 – 11:00 PM

Please join us!

Women In Focus 2026 40th Anniversary Ball will be exciting and lively as we celebrate both our history and our future!  Plans for this elegant but fun event are under development and we will share them with you as soon as we have the information. But you can count on hearing from another of our past WIF scholars as keynote speaker, great food and interesting entertainment and games, a chance to dress up, dancing and an opportunity to support the 2026 WIF Scholarship Fund!  Our 2026 Ball Chair is Marsann McCants.  Thank you Marsann and the 2026 Ball Committee for your energy and event planning skills!

2025 Keynote Speaker:

Each year Women In Focus invites a past WIF scholar to be our keynote speaker. In 2025, our speaker was Alex Booker, a 2014 Women in Focus Scholar, who was a freshman at Edgewood College when he received his scholarship. Alex updated us on his interesting educational and vocational journey.

Alex Booker, 2014 WIF Scholarship recipient

Alex Booker is a Madison native, farmer and teacher/workshop presenter.  He is a manager at Badger Rock Neighborhood Center and this summer he enjoyed working as the 2024 Naturalist in Residence for the Madison Public Library.  In addition to coordinating the Black Excellence Life Readiness cooking series, he grows culturally significant crops at Firm Footing farm that he uses in his culinary and herbalism workshops. Alex is also a part of the ASE cooperative that honors the troubled connection Black Americans have to the land. His overall goal is to help people get reconnected to their food systems and to the land.

Help us create hope for the future through education!

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and donors, since 1986, we have been able to award over $900,000 in scholarships. We are extremely appreciative of our sponsors as their contributions have truly made a difference in the lives of our scholarship recipients. We encourage organizations and individuals to become sponsors of our Ball. Your financial assistance will enable WIF to continue to award substantial scholarships this year and in the years to come.

Donate a fully-funded Dream Scholarship!

Would you like to remember someone who has passed, encourage students entering a particular field of study, or “pay it forward” by funding a WIF scholarship? Please consider this a wonderful way to make a positive impact!  Click here for more information about this opportunity. 

Sponsor the Dream Ball & Silent Auction!

Sponsorship is a win/win opportunity!  Your support helps us put on a quality virtual event and also helps fund scholarships for BIPOC youth in Madison!  Showcase your business in our electronic program book, on the WIF website for a year, and, depending on the amount of your support, you’ll be featured in WIF social media posts prior to the Ball.  Click here to learn more!