A Milwaukee for All

A Milwaukee for all has meant deeper impact, connections, innovation, generosity and love for community.

When community members from throughout the region helped shape the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s strategic vision, they left no doubt that the community they pictured should be welcoming, dynamic, inclusive and thriving – a Milwaukee for all.

Much changed in southeast Wisconsin and the world in the five years that followed, but people’s love of community and trust in the Foundation as a true partner in building a better city and region always endured.

Through deep investment, collective action and cross-sector partnership, the Foundation has delivered positive philanthropic impact aligned with forward-thinking community leadership to strengthen the region and its people. Our impact and leadership have been made possible by the generosity of donors and the tireless work of nonprofits. In addition, the business and civic communities have joined in to create solutions, and neighbors have helped neighbors. With this support, the Foundation is preparing to enter its next chapter of impact, energized by recent results and motivated by the opportunities still ahead.

With deep gratitude for the contributions of many over the course of 110 years, and particularly during the last five, the Foundation invites stakeholders across greater Milwaukee to continue working collectively toward the promising future that is within reach.
head shot of Greg Wesley

When I envision a Milwaukee for all, I think of welcoming and thriving communities, excellent educational outcomes, overall health and well-being, economic security and prosperity.”

Greg Wesley

Greater Milwaukee Foundation President and CEO

Foundation leaders discuss the impact of "A Milwaukee for All" over the past five years.

Please explore how the Foundation and its many partners are building a Milwaukee for all together through these prime examples.

Use the arrows below to scroll through highlights and partner testimonials.

Creating Big Solutions through Partnerships

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is how the region works together

At the center of our community’s top priorities – from housing and health to education and jobs – you will find the Foundation bringing people together in partnership to enact positive change.
$330M in new state funding allocated to support Wisconsin's early childhood education sector

Over $330M in new state funding was allocated to support Wisconsin’s early childhood education sector, thanks in part to the advocacy efforts of our Milwaukee Succeeds Early Childhood Education Ambassadors, the Foundation’s convening work and contributions from its new Policy and Research Department, and leadership of partners statewide

  • This state investment is currently projected to help make child care more affordable for approximately 20,000 low-income families in Milwaukee County, help protect about 400 Milwaukee child care providers from imminent closure and help support school readiness across Wisconsin.

The Foundation is helping facilitate changes to the housing landscape in Milwaukee as a founding partner and active participant in the Community Development Alliance, which led development of Milwaukee’s first-ever collective affordable housing strategic plan

  • Through collective impact with its partners, the CDA is building systems that will convert 100 vacant lots to entry-level homes each year, growing homebuyer counseling and down payment assistance by 10% each year and managing an acquisition fund housed at the Foundation to purchase 100 homes per year from landlords and return them to homeowners.
$19.9M in grants has been invested to address housing

The Foundation has aligned investment of $19,928,919 in grants to address emergency, temporary, transitional and permanent housing
$726.8M+ pledged by 4,800+ donors to enhance and fortify the region

Through the historic Greater Together Campaign, more than 4,800 donors pledged over $726.8M to enhance everything that makes Milwaukee thrive and fortify our region’s future
$46M+ coinvested by donors in the Greater Together Campaign's five strategic priority areas

Donors coinvested more than $46 million in the Greater Together Campaign’s five strategic priority areas of housing, impact investing, education, flexible funds and the ThriveOn Collaboration in further philanthropic partnership
42 years of history in supporting the needs of the LGBTQ+ brought in when Cream City Foundation joined

Cream City Foundation joined the Foundation as a supporting organization, bringing 42 years of history in supporting the needs of the LGBTQ+ movement in southeastern Wisconsin. Its addition expands the reach of the Foundation’s partner foundations, which also include West Bend Community Foundation, Oconomowoc Area Foundation and Greater Cedarburg Foundation

Hear From Our Partners
head shot of Rob Johnson

“As a stakeholder in early childhood education, I realize that the donors, providers, and the foundations have to work together to accomplish all of this. And at the end of the day, it’s helping the entire community.”

Rob Johnson

CEO and executive director, Kettle Moraine YMCA; board member, West Bend Community Foundation, about their focus on early childhood education
head shot of Joanna Bautch

“The Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Community Development Alliance are such great supporters of VIA CDC, and the way they hold space for community partners. Obviously, funding from the Foundation is critical, but when they create spaces for us to gather and learn from one another, I think that is the real rewarding piece of the relationship.”

Joanna Bautch

Executive director, VIA CDC, a Foundation grantee and agency endowment partner

Community-based leaders share how partnership with the Foundation strengthens sectors

Investing in the needs of today and ideas of the future

Leveraging new sources of capital to power economic mobility and community vitality

While the Foundation has always been an active funder of effective nonprofits and initiatives, its role continues to expand, encompassing innovative ways to attract, build and mobilize resources for community benefit.
$387.2M invested in the community through grants, scholarships, agency endowment funds and supporting organizations

A grand total of $387,272,547 was invested in the community through Board directed and donor recommended grants, scholarships, agency endowment funds and supporting organizations.
$3.2M corporate and institutional gifts received between 2020 and July 2025

Between 2020 and July 2025, the Foundation received corporate and institutional gifts ranging from $15,000 to $3.2 million, increasing our capacity to invest in community needs and opportunities
$24M committed to small businesses, community development and other enterprises through our impact investing program

The Foundation’s impact investing program reached new milestones in bridging wealth gaps, creating jobs, spurring conscientious development and expanding opportunity and jobs where they’re needed most. A total of $24 million has been committed to small businesses, community developments and other initiatives. Additionally, through the program:

  • 54 total impact investments made
  • 1,000 total jobs created or retained
  • Businesses located in 19 ZIP codes supported
  • 22 investments made in Harambee, Halyard Park and Brewers Hill, the three neighborhoods surrounding the Foundation's new home at ThriveOn King

Hear From Our Partners
head shot of Tom Florsheim

“When you think about a city like Milwaukee that has a lot of opportunities and a lot of prosperity, you want the whole population to participate in that prosperity, and that cannot be done without access to capital.”

Tom Florsheim

Foundation Board member, donor and Impact Investing Committee member
head shot of Dr. Nelson Soler

“The chamber advocates for businesses and entrepreneurs to have access to three forms of capital: financial, social and capital. Through the Latino Empowerment Fund, we can achieve all three. ... Having an opportunity to have an investor like the Greater Milwaukee Foundation that believes in our mission is crucially important for economic development.”

Dr. Nelson Soler

Founder, president and CEO, Latino Chamber of Commerce of Southeastern Wisconsin

Partners of the Foundation talk about its effect on economic mobility.

Bringing ThriveOn King to life

Creating a catalyst for change in the heart of community, with community at the heart

The ThriveOn Collaboration – a partnership of the Foundation, Medical College of Wisconsin and Royal Capital – is taking the lead in supporting a healthy, equitable and thriving Bronzeville and beyond with its place-based investments.

Through an inclusive process that elevated neighborhood voices at every step, the Foundation helped transform ThriveOn King into a place that honors the past, celebrates the present and inspires a thriving future, and continues to bring extensive investment to the surrounding community.
$110M award-winning vibrant hub created from a long-underused building

Through the leadership of the ThriveOn Collaboration, a long-underused building became a $110 million award-winning vibrant hub for early childhood education, jobs, wellness, housing, the arts and community connection while serving as a model for place-based investment and community-centered change
500+ community members engaged in shaping ThriveOn King

More than 500 community members were engaged to help shape ThriveOn King’s direction, from the priority areas addressed by its tenant partners to the art pieces that grace the historic building’s walls
20 local artists contributed works

A resident-led committee selected more than 20 local artists to infuse creativity into its first floor and create a unique sense of place, celebrating the rich history as well as the bright future of Bronzeville
48 African American leaders nominated for naming opportunities

Community residents, along with key stakeholders and partners nominated 48 past and present African American leaders for special recognition within ThriveOn King’s prominent public spaces
90 units of housing

90 units of affordable and market-rate apartments were created to provide opportunities for long-term Bronzeville residents to continue to remain a part of the fabric of the neighborhood as well as to attract new residents to the area.
19K people have attended first floor events

The community has fully embraced the neighborhood gathering space on the first floor. In just over 12 months, 665 events have been held and more than 19,000 attendees have been welcomed inside
278 meetings and events have been held in the Foundation's fourth floor space

Nonprofits and neighborhood groups have also found a home away from home on the Foundation’s fourth floor space – 278 meetings and events have been held in its community conference rooms
$41M in strategic investments have been made in ThriveOn King and the surrounding neighborhoods

The Foundation has made $41 million in strategic investments in ThriveOn King and the three surrounding neighborhoods over the past five years

Hear From Our Partners
head shot of Lexi S. Brunson

“Bronzeville is a place where we can thrive, and I think ThriveOn King is a part of that narrative.”

Lexi S. Brunson

ThriveOn King art review committee member; CopyWrite Magazine owner/editor-in-chief
head shot of Katie Newcomb

“It's a community that has such a rich soul. It's a beautiful neighborhood that I hope continues to see the Foundation, see the ThriveOn King building, as a source and a beacon of hope, of inspiration, of seeing what's possible. ... I hope it's a legacy-building leap pad.”

Katie Newcomb

Adviser to the Mary K. Newcomb Arts Fund, which supported the art at ThriveOn King

Donors and neighborhood partners reflect on ThriveOn King and its influence in Bronzeville.

Fostering People-Powered Philanthropy

Growing the impact of generosity in every form

Whether through time, talent, treasure or ties, philanthropy is for everyone, and the Foundation is a partner that not only honors those contributions but helps ensure they have the greatest impact possible across the region.

By listening deeply and responding authentically with gratitude, the Foundation is building lasting relationships and expanding the invitation to be a philanthropist.
3,000+ new donors joined the Foundation family

Through our comprehensive and historic Greater Together Campaign, 3,077 new donors joined the Foundation family – a powerful reminder of the generosity and shared vision that fuels our community’s future.
$254.4M committed by donors through bequests or planned gifts

Donors committed $254,410,000 through bequests or planned gifts
$25.3M total assets of new agency endowment funds

43 nonprofits created agency endowment funds, representing $25,391,050 in assets
37 people honored for their efforts to shape a more inclusive and vibrant Milwaukee

Celebrating its partners in philanthropy and community, the Foundation honored 37 people, including business leaders, nonprofit leaders, volunteers and professional advisers, over the past five years with its civic awards for their efforts to shape a more inclusive and vibrant Milwaukee

The Foundation has convened and followed community voice, relying on the lived experience of our neighbors to guide key initiatives that are strengthening the early childhood education sector, shaping the future of youth leadership and investing in neighborhood cohesion

  • 13 parents, educators and caregivers participated in Milwaukee Succeeds’ Early Childhood Education Ambassador program, lending their time and their talents to advocate for more sustained investment in the sector
  • A resident-led advisory committee directed efforts to invest $1,288,431 through the Foundation’s Reasons for Hope MKE Fund grants program to support projects in Milwaukee that promote healing and restorative justice, support children, youth and families, advance economic opportunity and foster safe and strong neighborhoods
  • 26 area youth were recruited, trained and positioned within decision-making bodies as part of the Milwaukee Succeeds Autonomous Youth Council

Hear From Our Partners
head shot of Paul Westphal

“I really learned all that I knew about charitable planning through the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. It’s probably the single greatest resource in the city as it relates to charitable giving.”

Paul Westphal

Senior Vice President/Financial Advisor, Consulting Group, RBC Wealth Management, Impact Investing Committee member and Foundation donor.
head shot of Jeffery Payne

“I think that’s what the Autonomous Youth Council was trying to teach us, advocating for yourself. ... I’m with Your Move MKE, which is a cool music organization. ... They always made me feel like I could say something, and it would add weight to the table.”

Jeffery Payne

Milwaukee Succeeds Autonomous Youth Council member

Philanthropists share how they give of their time, treasure, talent and ties

Continuing the journey toward a Milwaukee for all

From 2020 to 2025, the greater Milwaukee region encountered both adversity and opportunity, and has responded with generosity, innovation and resilience. Through its deep connections with philanthropists and partners from all sectors of community, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation is proud of its integral role in that response. As the Foundation concludes its current strategic plan, it is building a bridge to the next chapter, formed through the relationships it has grown, the impact it has deepened and the collaboration it has fostered.
head shot of Dr. Maysee Herr

"It takes all of us. We have to see us all as part of the fabric of the communities in which we live, and to reach out to help every person thrive."

Dr. Maysee Herr

CEO, Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce

Join Us

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is grateful for our region's generosity and partnership. Find your path to impact with the Foundation.
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  • Attend Foundation events and convenings
  • Consider joining the Foundation's Community Adviser & Ambassador Network (CAAN) of leaders and professional advisers with diverse backgrounds and a passion for philanthropy and service
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  • Volunteer with a nonprofit through board, committee or direct service
  • Provide pro bono consulting services in your area of expertise to a community organization
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  • Introduce members of your network to the Foundation
  • Stay connected to Foundation news and impact opportunities by subscribing to publications and social media

A Milwaukee for All - through the years