In 2018 the Greater Milwaukee Foundation led a 9-month community engagement process in Sherman Park East to understand residents’ needs and concerns. At the completion of that process, an advisory council made of Sherman Park residents and community leaders determined that the Foundation should invest $150,000 into youth engagement in Sherman Park East.
With a median age of 29 years old, Sherman Park is a young community. There are more than 1,600 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 living in Sherman Park East. But according to residents interviewed, existing nonprofits do not offer programming to adequately address their needs.
Young people in Sherman Park face a number of challenges as they transition into adulthood:
There are a number of programs in the area serving young people at that critical time of early adolescence when they are transitioning into high school; unfortunately, fewer programs have successfully engaged older adolescents (16-24) as they prepare to graduate high school and enter the workforce, according to residents.
Youth ages 16 to 24 are chronically underemployed and lack access to opportunities to develop professional skills that will prepare them to succeed in the workforce. The longer these youth are out of the workforce, the more likely they are to interact with police and enter the criminal justice system. Community stakeholders interviewed and those that participated in the visioning sessions agreed that support for youth engagement activities is a priority with the Sherman Park East neighborhood.
With this RFP, the Foundation seeks to reach groups and organizations that are based in Sherman Park East and demonstrate a track record of hiring and engaging Sherman Park East community members. Priority will be given to initiatives that place the voices of people who are traditionally left out of community decision-making at the center of the planning, implementation and results of the proposed project.
Successful proposals may include the following:
Organizations must be considered charitable organizations as determined by the IRS internal revenue code 501(c)(3). Please note: Organizations that do not have this designation may use a fiscal sponsor (organization recognized as a 501(c)(3) charitable entity) to serve as the recipient and manager of the grant. Eligible nonprofits are required to have board membership that is at least 10 percent people of color. The term “people of color” refers to all persons who are not categorized as white by the U.S. Census.
In an effort to make this application accessible to smaller grassroots and resident-led initiatives, proposals may take two forms: A written proposal or a video submission.
1. Written proposal (no more than 6 pages in length - 5 pages of narrative and 1-page budget). Proposals should address the following:
2. Video submission (no longer than 3 to 5 minutes). Videos should explain the following:
This grant opportunity is currently closed for 2019.
Contact Senior Program Officer Darlene C. Russell to learn more about our community development work.