Many generous individuals and companies across southeastern Wisconsin support a wide range of causes in our community. While gifts of any size can make a big impact, here is a roundup of some of the biggest gifts and fundraising efforts from the past year:
The Rep reaches fundraising goal to rebuild theater complex
The Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced in September that it reached its $78 million fundraising goal for the Associated Bank Theater Center project. Nearly 600 donors contributed to the Powering Milwaukee Capital Campaign, which was kept open to raise additional funds for items that were previously removed from the project’s plan in order to cap the cost at $78 million. The Associated Bank Theater Center is being built in the same space as the Milwaukee Rep’s Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex at 108 E. Wells St. in downtown Milwaukee and is set to open in fall 2025. While the $78 million raised for the project came from private philanthropy, the State Building Commission later approved $1.9 million in state funding for items removed from the renovation plans.
Brothers Marvin and Jeffery Levy donate $75 million to UW-Madison’s new engineering building
UW-Madison alumni Marvin and Jeffrey Levy operate the Madison-based alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage supplier Phillips Distributing Corp. In September, the Levy brothers made a $75 million donation to UW-Madison in honor of their brother, Phillip A. Levy, who died in 2021. The new 395,000-square-foot building will be named the Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center and will need $347 million to complete. So far, the project has acquired $197 million in state funding and $110 million in private donations, including the $75 million from the Levy brothers. The project still needs just over $40 million to be fully funded.
John and Tashia Morgridge donate $10 million to Alverno College
John Morgridge, the former CEO and chairman of Cisco Systems, and his wife, Tashia, donated $10 million to Alverno College in August 2024. The donation was one of the largest donations in Alverno’s history and was made through their philanthropic organization, the TOSA Foundation. Kathy Hudson, the chair of the Alverno College board of trustees, said the Morgridges’ gift is “transformational.” The college is facing financial challenges. Earlier this year, Alverno announced plans to eliminate 25 faculty, 12 staff positions and reduce its undergraduate and graduate major options. The college also announced it would eliminate its track and field team.
Children’s launches massive fundraising campaign
Children’s Wisconsin announced a $300 million community fundraising campaign to support its child care services and research. The campaign, called “Brighter Than Ever,” is the largest campaign in the health system’s history and looks to raise $300 million by Dec. 31, 2025. Children’s Wisconsin has already raised $266 million toward that goal; the funds will support the organization’s efforts to improve the physical, dental, social and mental health of children across the state.
Other significant gifts in 2024:
- The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation announced that it gave $15.7 million in grants to Wisconsin organizations in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin in 2023. Some of the largest donations were awarded to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Badger Institute, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, Concordia University, the Center for Urban Teaching and Seton Catholic Schools. The largest donation, a $2 million gift, was given to the Milwaukee Public Museum to support construction of its new building in downtown Milwaukee.
- Clifford and Mildred Huck, the parents of five Marquette University alums, bequeathed $7 million for university scholarships. This gift contributed to Marquette University’s $801.7 million raised as a part of its Time to Rise campaign, the largest comprehensive campaign in the university’s history.
- Kohl’s Corp. donated $5 million to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to support health equity; $2.5 million to Milwaukee-area nonprofits Acts Housing, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, Greater Milwaukee Urban League, Milwaukee Art Museum, Ronald McDonald House Charities Eastern Wisconsin, Safe & Sound and the Zoological Society of Milwaukee, in support of the health and wellness of local families; and $1.5 million to Hunger Task Force to support the purchase and distribution of healthy foods across the greater Milwaukee area.
- Northwestern Mutual pledged $3.9 million in grants to 57 Milwaukee schools and nonprofits, including Pilgrim Lutheran School, St. Marcus School, Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy and Milwaukee Academy of Science. The funding from the Northwestern Mutual Foundation is partially directed toward the Summer Teacher Project grants, which were awarded to 25 teacher-led initiatives. The other $1.9 million will support early childhood and K-12 education as well as “schools and nonprofit programs spanning from early childhood education to secondary completion.”
- NBA Hall of Famer and former Marquette University basketball star Dwyane Wade donated $3 million to his alma mater to fund youth literacy, scholarships and the men’s basketball program.
- Herb Kohl Philanthropies donated $2 million for construction of the new Milwaukee Public Museum. The gift created the Herb Kohl Education Fund, which will provide Wisconsin educators with free memberships to MPM’s new facility for its first three years. The fund will also give educators opportunities to utilize MPM as an educational resource for students.
- The Zilber Family Foundation partnered with The Bridge Project to introduce Milwaukee’s first unconditional cash program for low-income, pregnant individuals in the city. The Zilber Family Foundation plans to invest roughly $1.57 million into the program, which will provide 100 eligible participants with unconditional cash assistance designed to support their needs during the early stages of their baby’s life.
- The Eck Family Foundation donated $1.5 million to Marquette University to fund projects within the College of Health Sciences as well as an upcoming expansion to the Athletic and Human Performance Research Center. The gift intended for the College of Health Sciences will focus on projects aimed at applying new technologies, therapies and research to address substance use disorders while the portion directed to the athletic center will support the development of a new men’s basketball practice facility that will be created as part of the building’s expansion.
- The Kohler Trust for Clean Waters donated $1.3 million to UW-Milwaukee for a research vessel for the School of Freshwater Sciences. The donation brings the university within $3.5 million of the $20 million needed to begin construction of the 120-foot craft.
- The Dohmen Company Foundation donated $1 million to FoodCorps, a national nonprofit that partners with schools and communities to nourish children’s health, education and sense of belonging. The foundation’s gift will support FoodCorps’ Nourishing Futures initiative, an effort that seeks to ensure all 50 million students in the United States have food, education and access to nourishing, free meals in schools by 2030.
- The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin will donate $600,000 to All-In Milwaukee over the next four years. The gift will support 30 students attending public, private and charter schools in Milwaukee and will assist them on their paths to graduate from a local college and enter the workforce in southeastern Wisconsin. The donation will go to students starting college and majoring in the health sciences at area universities in the fall of 2024 and 2025.
