“Milwaukee is a city built on neighborhoods,” remarked Ellen M. Gilligan, president and CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation (GMF) in its Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative 2013 Community Impact Report. Milwaukee grantmakers are investing in initiatives to help strengthen Milwaukee neighborhoods and the greater community.
As an association of Wisconsin grantmakers, Donors Forum of Wisconsin wants to highlight some of the work currently underway to improve Milwaukee neighborhoods that is being done by some of our members. Perhaps you’ve seen the results of their work in your neighborhood.
Zilber Family Foundation Neighborhood Initiative
Announced in 2008 and launched in 2009, the Zilber Family Foundation selected several communities for the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative (ZNI). ZNI is a $50 million grant making program to improve neighborhoods in Milwaukee, starting with Lindsay Heights where its founder Joe Zilber grew up. Since then, residents, nonprofit leaders, educators and business owners in Lindsay Heights, Clarke Square, Layton Park, Burnham Park, and Silver City have come together to envision the future of their neighborhoods and take action.
The Zilber Family Foundation supports local action with grants for staff, operating expenses, organizing, and planning, as well as funding for organizational development, technical assistance, and “early action” projects. It directs resources to 110 square blocks on the north side and 170 square blocks on the south side, areas where residents and local nonprofits are carrying out plans for comprehensive community improvement.
So far the foundation has awarded $25 million through the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative. These grants have leveraged $45 million in additional investment and contributed to:
* Lower rates of crime in all the neighborhoods
* More than 100 blighted or foreclosed properties returned to productive use
* New schools and expanded academic after school and summer programs
* New and improved community centers for youth and families, and increased access to organized sports, arts, and recreational activities
* New businesses, and dozens of jobs for local residents in landscaping, snow removal, home repair, health care, and janitorial and food services
* Increased access to healthy foods and community-based health and wellness services
* Creation of hundreds of community gardens, orchards, and pocket parks
* Over 75 acres of parks and other green space restored to safe public use
Greater Milwaukee Foundation Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative
This public-private partnership is spearheaded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the City of Milwaukee. “The Greater Milwaukee Foundation provides financial and technical support to the 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization grantees,” explained Darlene Russell, senior program officer at GMF in a recent Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service article, “and the city provides up to a $10,000 matching grant per project, as well.”
The initiative began as the Healthy Neighborhoods Approach by GMF in 2005, with the focus on Milwaukee’s middle market neighborhoods – places that were neither weak market neighborhoods with falling prices and limited demand nor strong neighborhoods with stable or rising housing prices and demand.
The 14 Milwaukee neighborhoods currently included are Thurston Woods, Old North Milwaukee, Capitol Heights, Havenwoods, Silver City, Burnham Park, Layton Park, Harambee, Riverwest, Sherman Park, Kinickinnic River Neighborhoods, Lincoln Village, Baran Park and Polonia. There are also two Healhty Neighbrohoods in Waukshea: Dunbar Oak and Tower Hill.
Today, each neighborhood designs their own program to promote their neighborhood, engaging residents around positive actions such as involving neighbors, promoting the neighborhood as a good place to live, improving neighborhood appearance and encouraging homeowners to buy in the neighborhood. This strategy puts neighbors and business owners at the forefront of improving the neighborhood’s physical conditions, creating a positive image, positioning the housing market, and managing the neighborhood’s behavior.
With the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s investment of $528,000 to nonprofit organizations implementing the Healthy Neighborhood strategies, more than $8,850,000 has been leveraged through matching grants from the City of Milwaukee Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation (NIDC), financial contributions from partner and lead agencies and in-kind donations.
Here are some quick statistics from GMF’s Healthy Neighborhoods Initiatives-2013 Community Impact Report:
* 13,489 residents have been engaged
* 242 homes have had improvement projects
* 257 beautification projects have been created
* 105,000 residents were impacted in these neighborhoods
Community Connections Small Grants Program
Three Milwaukee-based foundations (Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Northwestern Mutual Foundation and Zilber Family Foundation) also launched a separate pilot program last year to support efforts to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods. The distinction is that these efforts are resident-led and benefit the community, not individuals.
The program awards grants of up to $500 to fund neighborhood projects, events and activities. All grant applications are reviewed and scored by a group of residents from some of the neighborhoods listed below. Groups that receive a grant need to secure matching donations of at least 50 percent of the total of the grant. Matching support can be money, volunteer work or donated goods or services such as land, event space, tools or equipment, etc.
Resident-led groups living and working in the following neighborhoods can apply: Amani, Baran Park, Capitol Heights, Clarke Square, Concordia, Harambee, Havenwoods, Johnsons Park, Layton Boulevard West, Lincoln Village, Lindsay Heights, Martin Drive, Metcalfe Park, Muskego Way, Riverwest, Sherman Park, Silver Spring, Thurston Woods, Tower Hill Waukesha, Old North Milwaukee and Washington Park.
Milwaukee grantmakers are making a visual and meaningful impact in our community. Because of the collective commitment and investment of Milwaukee grantmakers, our city’s neighborhoods are increasing the vitality of Milwaukee.
Contributed by Melinda VerDuin, communications and marketing manager, Donors Forum of Wisconsin
