Culver’s commitment to people begins at home. We hire the best team members and teach them responsibility, leadership, teamwork and skills they can use in whatever career path they follow. To show our appreciation for their hard work and dedication, we have always believed in doing our part to help them grow as individuals through education.
One great way to show we care about the future of our team members is by offering scholarships through Culver’s VIP Foundation, Inc.,—a tax-exempt, not-for-profit entity named for Culver’s Very Important Partners (VIP). Through the generosity of these franchise partners, supplier partners and friends of Culver’s—and the passion of Culver’s co-founder and VIP Foundation Scholarship Fund Executive Director, Lea Culver—we have been able to help team members take positive steps toward tomorrow for nearly twenty years.
Culver’s VIP Scholarship Program began with a single $500 scholarship to one team member in 1993. It has since grown to recognize hundreds of team members’ commitment to excellence and academic achievement, supporting them financially as they work toward dreams of earning college or technical school degrees. In 2012, we awarded $294,500 in scholarships to 246 team members from 158 restaurants in 15 states.
Going forward, we will continue to grow Culver’s VIP Foundation, Inc., with an endowment that ensures these dreams of reaching educational goals live on.
Culver's VIP Scholarship Program has awarded over $2 million in scholarships to more than 2,000 team members since 1993.
2013 Culver's VIP Scholarship Review Team
We graciously thank the following partners for their dedication to higher education and the time they spent evaluating applications.
Bill Buranich Sargento
Todd Burns Northern Illinois University
Mike Chrisler Envestnet Asset Management
Tim Craft We Energies
Dave Deadman Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Co.
Michael Drew Pepsi-Cola Company
Lori Dunn Strauss Brands
Jill Dybdahl Dybdahl Classic Kitchens
Donna Faulkner Foundation for Madison Public Schools
Dave Florin Hiebing
Nancy Francisco-Welke University of Wisconsin Foundation
Jim Fuller Econoprint
Ted Galloway Classic Mix Partners
Jack Hart Madison College
Mike Hasler
George Hoch Acosta
Nicole Hoffmann American Red Cross Badger Chapter
Jeff Igel Fox Valley Technical College
Jeff Jobe Valley Meats
David Jordan DelaGet
Rudy Juarez Heinz North America
Rosemarie Kelly Cargill
Lisa King Nordic Group, Inc.
Walter Kirchhoff Specialized Marketing of Wisconsin
George Lochhead Lochhead Manufacturing Company
Marc Lovicott University of Wisconsin - Madison Police Department
Patrice Luer Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital Foundation
Brent Magolan Supreme Great Lakes
Roxi Maier Bank of Prairie du Sac
Marty Masterson The Masterson Company
Jerry Meador Golden County Foods, Inc.
Bryan Mowry Wisconsin Restaurant Association-Education Foundation
Dan Mueller Ecolab
Jeff Ochsankehl Sauk Prairie Middle School
Mike Pardini VF Licensed Sports Group
Mike Petraitis Kerry Ingredients and Flavours
Todd Pieper American Family Insurance
Jim Radant Franklin Street Bakery
Marietta Reuter Tools of Marketing
James Sommer Tomahawk Manufacturing Co.
Jay Torke Torke Coffee
Troy Vest Baraboo Sysco
Justin Visser Gordon Food Service
Nick Warner
Tricia Weisheipl Northwestern University
Ann Westrich Wisconsin Technical College System
Mark Wright Fieldale Farms
John Zinck Land O'Lakes Foodservice
