Milwaukee, Wis., March 4, 2022 – To rally community support at a pivotal moment in our region’s forward trajectory, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation is entering the public phase of a $700 million philanthropic campaign to build a Milwaukee for all.

The Foundation’s Greater Together Campaign, a comprehensive campaign spanning 2017-2023, offers an invitation for everyone in greater Milwaukee to play a catalytic role in realizing a generational vision for this community. Ever aligned with the Foundation’s North Star of racial equity and inclusion, this especially includes addressing systemic racial disparities that have inhibited lives and livelihoods throughout Milwaukee’s vibrant Black and Brown communities.

Through transformational partnership and investment, the Foundation aims to advance the building blocks of a better life – educational opportunity, health equity, economic opportunity and housing security – on a communitywide scale so all of Milwaukee can thrive. The campaign welcomes all donors to contribute to building a better Milwaukee through the prism of their personal passions while the public phase also places special emphasis on five priorities for community impact:

  • ThriveOn Collaboration – a new model to address interrelated health, economic, social and racial inequities together through a historic, place-based investment
  • Early childhood care and education – a generational investment in creating an accessible, affordable, high-quality early childhood care and education system for all
  • Housing – bringing dignified, affordable housing within everyone’s reach
  • Impact investing – an innovative use of capital for social and economic impact
  • Flexible funding – the means to address emerging issues, pressing needs and important opportunities as they arise

“There is no better organization than the Greater Milwaukee Foundation to lead this charge: its resources, skill sets, knowledge and partnership are essential tools,” said Foundation Board Chair Jackie Herd-Barber. “The Foundation has done research, we have partnered across the community and, most importantly, we have listened. Now, it’s time to do this important and necessary work, and we need everyone to act together and join us in this journey.”

To-date, the Greater Together campaign has raised nearly $500 million toward its goal, and people throughout greater Milwaukee now have an opportunity to continue the region’s legacy of generosity and build on over a century of partnership with the Foundation to ensure a brighter future. This includes essential contributions of talent and time as much as treasure.

As the Foundation continues to animate its strategic vision of a Milwaukee for all, the Greater Together Campaign will provide the rocket fuel needed to reimagine philanthropy, recenter communities and remake systems, on the way to a new era of opportunity, prosperity and well-being for the region.

Serving as co-chairs of the Greater Together Campaign are Peter Bruce, Cecelia Gore, Dave Kundert and Linda Mellowes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the Greater Together Campaign website for more detailed descriptions of campaign priorities, to meet the campaign volunteer leaders and to learn about the many paths to partnering with the Foundation to build a Milwaukee for all.

“For too long, our region’s great potential has been overshadowed by disparities that divide people from opportunity and whole communities from well-being. To transform the Milwaukee we know into a Milwaukee for all, we need to invest in smart solutions that bring people together, center community voice and advance racial equity so that everyone can thrive,” said Ellen Gilligan, Foundation president and CEO. “Now is our moment to build on generations of past generosity to realize the vibrant, inclusive region that is within our reach.”

About the Greater Milwaukee Foundation

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is Wisconsin’s largest community foundation and was among the first established in the world. For more than a century, the Foundation has been at the heart of the civic community, helping donors achieve the greatest philanthropic impact, elevating the work of changemakers across neighborhoods, and bringing people and organizations together to help our region thrive. Racial equity is the Foundation’s North Star, guiding its investments and strategies for social and economic change. Leveraging generations of community knowledge, cross-sector partnerships and more than $1 billion in financial assets, the Foundation is committed to reimagining philanthropy, recentering communities and remaking systems to transform our region into a Milwaukee for all.

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Please contact: Jeremy PodolskiDirector of Public Relations and Editorial Strategy