The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is funding 16 projects that emerged out of conversations held during its annual On the Table MKE initiative last fall.
The foundation is investing a total of $25,000 in proposals designed “to help strengthen the community, deepen civic involvement and cultivate the new ideas” from the discussions. The projects will take place in the spring.
The “Ideas to Action” grant winners include:
- Carmen High School of Science and Technology: $2,500 to support student meetings and conversations across the Carmen High Schools and Hmong American Peace Academy to learn about each other’s cultural differences and similarities.
- Center for Youth Engagement: $2,500 to support four panel discussion events, followed by small group table conversations, for people to learn about mass incarceration and the impact on communities of color.
- Community Advocates: $2,500 to support a voucher program to prevent evictions when a tenant completes a tenant-landlord training and the landlord agrees not to pursue an eviction.
- Greater Milwaukee Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses: $2,360 to support the coordination and facilitation of community education sessions for Latino women, addressing women’s health and chronic diseases.
- 5 Points Neighborhood Association: $2,000 to support a performing arts event, bringing individuals together to build unity, empathy and opportunity in Milwaukee’s 5 Points neighborhood and its surrounding neighborhoods.
- Pathfinders: $2,000 to support youth-facilitated conversations with other youth about mental health and stability, a self advocacy training for youth, and to give youth a voice at the Prevent Suicide Greater Milwaukee coalition spring meeting through a youth-led panel discussion.
- Menomonee Valley Partners: $2,000 to support feasibility planning to pilot a Menomonee Valley workforce shuttle to connect adjacent neighborhood residents to jobs in the valley.
- United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County: $1,500 to support a partnership with Ex Fabula to engage Westlawn neighborhood residents to share birth stories in a series of events.
- Alive MKE: Visibility Conference $1,440 to support a conference focused on college and career readiness and professional development for high school and college students and young professionals.
- The Kellogg PEAK Initiative (formerly Lake Valley Camp): $1,350 to support an event focused on bringing Milwaukee’s Midtown community together through a series of interactive culture stations led by residents.
- Phillip Mason: $1,000 to support the creation of an advisory board focused on building self-efficacy and increasing civic engagement among individuals with disabilities.
- Catholic Memorial High School: $1,000 to support a school presentation from Serve2Unite.
- Islands of Brilliance: $1,000 to support a series of conversations to gather input on the best way to deliver student-centered outcomes that improve the likelihood of employment and independence for individuals living with autism.
- America SCORES Milwaukee: $800 to support the participation of 25 coaches in an online Neurosequential Model in Sport training series.
- Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative: $550 to support mothers from Milwaukee’s Clarke Square neighborhood to gather for regular neighborhood clean-ups.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County: $500 to support the creation of a “Zen Den” at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington County for youth who face mental health concerns and trauma.
The second annual On the Table MKE was held in October 2018, during which thousands of people from around the Milwaukee area gathered for small group discussions about the issues facing the region.
According to a recent GMF report, the top three most-talked about themes were race/equity, community engagement, and education.
