The Milwaukee 7 economic development partnership recently kicked off its new fundraising campaign and is more than halfway to its goal, surpassing $5.1 million for the next five-year strategic campaign. Special thanks to the companies and organizations that have already stepped up and contributed to our Prosperity Fund.
Now, more than ever, it is critical to do all we can to ensure the economic prosperity of the Milwaukee region. In today’s global economy, we are competing with cities and regions across the U.S. and around the world to attract and retain companies and talent.
Formed in 2005, the Milwaukee 7 has successfully brought together the seven counties of our region and developed the team, processes and tools necessary to compete and win in a global economy.
Taking on this charge has required strong regional buy-in. It’s also required the financial support of investors that believe in Milwaukee 7’s mission, more than 85 percent of which come from the private sector.
We are now calling on companies of ALL sizes with a vested interest in the Milwaukee region to get involved in the Milwaukee 7 fundraising campaign. Your financial support is critically needed to sustain our impact, compete with our peer regions and invest in the future growth of our regional economy.
What’s in it for you? It’s simple: The more the region grows, the more opportunities for your business. As the saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
In its first five years, the Milwaukee 7 has delivered on its mission to grow jobs, payroll and capital investment. Results to date include 5,693 jobs with a direct payroll of $308 million. Measuring our results through the jobs retained and added to our economy is one important benchmark of our impact – and serves as a snapshot of the job projections by companies at the time we were engaged in the projects.
Recent wins include Ingeteam, a Spanish wind-turbine generator manufacturer that is building its North American headquarters and production plant in Milwaukee, creating 275 jobs and $9 million in payroll. Another is Republic Airways, which retained 800 jobs in Milwaukee and Oak Creek and is moving/creating 800 more as it consolidates a portion of its Frontier Airlines operations here.
These accomplishments were made possible only through collaboration among the many businesses, public-sector leaders, partner organizations and dedicated people who share a common purpose: to advance our region’s prosperity.
But our long-term success depends on our ability to continue to accelerate the region’s growth overall. Your investment in our strategy will greatly enhance the ability of the Milwaukee 7 to not only add to our economic prosperity but help us aggressively go on the offensive in attracting, retaining and growing new jobs and capital investment for the region.
The challenge is global, the opportunity is here, and the benefits to competing as a region are great. We urge you to help us exceed our campaign goal of $8.5 million for our 2010-2015 campaign.
For more information about contributing, contact Jim Wall, Milwaukee 7 vice president of investor relations, at (414) 287-4119 or jwall@mmac.org. To learn more about the Milwaukee 7 and see the current list of investors, visit www.choosemilwaukee.com/milwaukee7.
This blog was co-written by Milwaukee 7 co-chairs Gale Klappa, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Michael Grebe, president and CEO of the Bradley Foundation.
