Greater Milwaukee Foundation Grants More Than $6.2 Million in First Quarter to Help Local Nonprofits

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 15, 2009 — Grants to help food pantries, shelters and other agencies meet the basic needs of people who are struggling because of the economy were among the more than $6.2 million approved by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation Board and boards of supporting organizations in the first quarter of 2009.

A total of $362,500 from the Foundation’s newly created Basic Needs fund was awarded to a total of 17 agencies. Area food banks, including Second Harvest of Wisconsin, Hunger Task Force and Waukesha County Food Pantry, received $110,000 while various shelter programs received $232,500. The remaining money helped provide emergency assistance to individuals in the form of payment for rent, utilities and security deposits.

Of $6.2 million in grants awarded during the first quarter, more than $4.2 million came from donor advised, designated and agency endowment funds.

Other grants made from the Foundation’s competitive grant process include:

$150,000
Teach for America (over three years) to launch the teacher recruitment program in Milwaukee Public Schools. The program recruits recent graduates from colleges and universities around the country, provides intensive summer training and places new teachers in the highest-need public schools. Teach for America plans to place a corps of 90 teachers in MPS schools over the next three years.

$100,000
Community Advocates (over three years) to create the Milwaukee Addiction Treatment Initiative, whose goal is to make treatment for alcohol and other drug abuse available to all Milwaukee County residents through additional financing, treatment and advocacy.

$75,000
Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (over two years) to continue to offer its range of employment and training services in construction, manufacturing and other sectors. WRTP plans to help place 135 low-income women and people of color in apprenticeship and construction jobs in 2009.

$70,000
SHARE (Self Help & Resource Exchange) (over two years) to support SHARE Express, a mobile food distribution program that would target areas in Milwaukee that do not have easy access to healthy and affordable food.

$50,000
Housing Resources to market and coordinate tours of the eight neighborhoods participating in the Foundation’s Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative. Tours will be given to preapproved clients of several local homebuyer counseling agencies.

Marquette Universityto continue the Safe Streets Milwaukee Project, a program aimed at reducing gang violence and helping ex-offenders reenter the community.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Foundationfor the Center for Urban Initiatives and Research to provide updates and new research to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation for use on its website.

$42,500
Urban Anthropology for a full-time coordinator that would implement the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative in the Historic Lincoln Village neighborhood on Milwaukee’s south side.

$40,000
Justice 2000 for second year support of the Center for Driver’s License Recovery and Employability, a program designed to help low-income Milwaukee County residents recover suspended or revoked licenses, often a prerequisite for employment.

$35,000
NAMI Greater Milwaukee for a coordinator to oversee the Crisis Intervention Team and Crisis Intervention Partner training programs. The programs train law enforcement and people from community agencies on how to best respond to people who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

University of Wisconsin Extension – Waukesha Countyto implement the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative model in the city of Waukesha. The West Side neighborhood, located west of downtown Waukesha, was the first neighborhood selected.

$30,000
Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund to support Leadership Pathway, an 18-month leadership development program for 25 youth and adult students.

$25,000
Alma Center to continue its Employment and Life Skills Program, which works with male batterers to reduce or eliminate the barriers that prevent them from finding and retaining full-time employment.

Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearingto provide early intervention speech and language therapy to hearing-impaired children through itsKellogg Child and Family Program.

Express Yourself Milwaukeeto complete the second half of its arts studio program for at-risk youth at Running Rebels.

Make a Difference - WisconsinInc.to expand its program of educating and engaging youth about financial literacy.

$20,000
SHARP Literacy to adapt its literacy curriculum, Eight Building Block of SHARP, for first grade students. The pilot will work with 500 first grade students at SHARP’s existing partner schools.

$15,000
Big Brother/Big Sisters of Ozaukee County to support a community-based enrollment specialist position for Children of Promise, a mentoring program that works with youth who have been removed from their home because of abuse, neglect or their parents’ incarceration.

Grants from other funds include:

Nonprofit Management Fund:$152,970 to 32 organizations

Nonprofit Management Fund (Waukesha):$33,885 to seven agencies.

Theodore and Anna Grollman Fund:$12,350 to 10 organizations.

Youth in Service Fund (Milwaukee):$17,862 to 13 agencies

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is a family of more than 1,000 individual charitable funds, each created by donors to serve the local charitable causes of their choice. Grants from these funds serve people throughout Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties. Started in 1915, the Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the world.