Support violence prevention and healing through the MKE Responds Fund

With escalating violence threatening the well-being of people across Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation has launched a direct response that includes both immediate support and long-term collaborative efforts.

In this time of critical and urgent need, we invite the community to invest with us to prevent violence and promote healing through a gift of any size to our MKE Responds Fund. Already, our support is helping community organizations advance these essential efforts, and our sustained strategy will include convening other funders, donors and leaders to support systems change through community-centered solutions.

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Milwaukee is in crisis, as violence is rising this summer, causing increased harm and trauma for individuals, families and neighborhoods in our city. Just as the pandemic worsened longstanding racial and economic disparities, so too have we experienced an increase in homicides, non-fatal shootings, reckless driving, suicides and overdoses. These issues affect the whole community, and their disproportionate toll on residents of color demonstrate how racial injustice and structural barriers remain at the root of the problem. The Foundation is committed to taking action.

Through flexible funds, the Foundation is making an initial investment of $1 million, which will go toward the Violence Prevention Fund, grassroots organizations, funeral services support, youth-identified programming, mental health support and more. But the support cannot stop there. The Foundation is inviting individuals to contribute to the MKE Responds Fund and help make a difference.

The MKE Responds Fund was tailored to respond to the community’s most pressing needs, and it originally provided relief to individuals and organizations adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

All new donations made to the MKE Responds Fund will support violence prevention efforts. Any level of support is encouraged. As the Foundation continues to invest in deeper systemic changes, it’ll continue to respond to emerging and immediate needs.

Actions you can take:

Read our invitation to invest

Donate to the MKE Responds Fund

Please contact Development and Philanthropic Services with any questions, or to make a gift through another payment method.