Foundation’s next chapter begins with a powerful new partnership
Were it not for the support of the Cream City Foundation, hundreds of LGBTQ+ youth in southeastern Wisconsin would remain homeless; the stories of Milwaukee and Wisconsin’s LGBTQ+ history and heritage would be forever lost; Milwaukee would not have a festival to celebrate the LGBTQ+ communities and their culture; and one of the country’s leading providers of HIV care, treatment and prevention would not exist.
“It’s a name that has a legacy,” said Charlie Nash, CCF’s board chair.
As one of the oldest LGBTQ+-focused foundations in the country, CCF has mobilized resources for over 40 years to address the myriad challenges the community in southeastern Wisconsin has faced, from the AIDS epidemic to the fight for marriage equality. In doing so, it has helped advance the community’s health, equity and prosperity.
A new partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation is ensuring CCF will thrive in perpetuity to address whatever new set of needs and challenges may arise. In 2024, CCF joined the Foundation as a partner foundation, structured as a supporting organization. That relationship allows it to maintain an independent board and decision-making power while benefiting from the Foundation’s investment expertise, administrative support and deep community ties.
“Philanthropy is most effective when it is inclusive and collaborative,” said Greg Wesley, Foundation president and CEO. “For decades, the Cream City Foundation has served the community with purpose. Now, thanks to their leadership’s trust in our partnership, we have the privilege of co-authoring a new chapter in this story of indelible impact, bringing us closer to a thriving Milwaukee for all.”
Started in 1982 with $500 in seed money, CCF has built up the capacity of many LGBTQ+-serving agencies over the years through financial support and fiscal sponsorship. Entities such as the Wisconsin LGBTQ+ History Project, the state’s largest digital collection of historical LGBTQ+ media, and Out Families, an organization that seeks to support and connect LGBTQ+ headed families.
CCF also has provided more than $1.6 million in grants to organizations, including Milwaukee Pride, Pathfinders and Vivent Health. It gave the first $500 to create Milwaukee’s PrideFest in 1988 and helped pull the organization out of bankruptcy in 2003. In 1991, CCF provided startup funds for Vivent Health’s HIV prevention work.
The foundation was a critical catalyst in founding Q-BLOK, Pathfinder’s housing program for LGBTQ+ and allied young people ages 17 to 25. Sixteen years ago, CCF commissioned a study on youth homelessness and later provided $100,000 in seed funding for Q-BLOK, now recognized as a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development best practice housing program.
The foundation also has fostered leadership within the LGBTQ+ community by awarding $270,000 in scholarships — including a record-breaking $50,000 in 2024.
“I am a prime example of the impact that CCF made in Milwaukee,” said Trenice Ferguson. The $2,500 scholarship she received in 2023 allowed her to continue pursuing her master’s in public service at Marquette University at the time. She now serves as director of operations for the Community Development Alliance, a coalition advancing racial equity by ensuring quality, affordable housing for all Milwaukee residents.
“The goal is to make sure other people feel empowered and have these opportunities that are not fully available everywhere,” said Ferguson, now a member of CCF’s board who also serves on its scholarship committee.
CCF has weathered its share of difficulties over the years and has alternated between being volunteer-driven and having paid staff. Such expenditures have impacted its endowment.
“As a small organization, you can have turnover and feel very uncomfortable,” Nash said.
Donor generosity and connections
The board felt a responsibility to safeguard CCF’s legacy and in 2019 began conversations with the Foundation about becoming a supporting organization. CCF had created a designated fund at the Foundation in 2007 to support its grantmaking, and the two foundations had a number of donors in common, such as Ross Draegert and Robert Starshak.
The philanthropic couple has supported many LGBTQ+ community efforts, including LGBTQ+ acceptance, policy, and the LGBT milWALKee app, through the Birch Lodge Fund, a CCF fund they started in 1989. Draegert was one of CCF’s early vice presidents. But they also started a Foundation fund within recent years because of its solid, longstanding history.
“The Foundation is known for being very reputable and solid,” Starshak said. “If you put your money there, you knew it would be put to very responsible and impressive causes.”
They view the new partnership between the two foundations as one that will provide greater long-term stability and sustainability for CCF.
Nash said what has led to CCF’s longevity is its ability to meet the needs of the moment. With reduced operating expenses due to the Foundation’s back-office support, CCF can heighten its focus on donor engagement, convening and grantmaking.
“There is still an underrepresentation of philanthropy directed to the LGBTQ+ community versus needs we see,” Nash said. “This relationship allows us to spend the time looking at the opportunities and organizations and talk to people doing that work.”