All Hands Boatworks, a leader in hands-on learning and craft education in Milwaukee, has inspired and taught more than 5,500 Milwaukee-area youth in more than 145 wooden boatbuilding projects and on-the-water rowing, canoeing and sailing activities.
Founded in 2013, the organization has partnered with more than 50 Milwaukee-area schools and community organizations, ranging from the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, and is a member of the national Teaching with Small Boats Alliance.
All Hands’ 8,600-square-foot boat shop in Walker’s Point is a hub for a growing number of craft education activities. The organization has responded to a growing need for hands-on programs and most of its projects are centered around small groups of youth actively working together to learn skills to construct and use functioning wooden rowing skiffs, sailboats and canoes. The many benefits of these projects – using one’s hands, working with real-world materials, trading screen time for tool time, problem-solving, increasing confidence, overcoming challenges – extend far beyond the classroom.
All Hands sustains its programming and operations with six paid staff and a dedicated crew of volunteers who annually log more than 30,000 hours as instructors, mentors, and shop assistants.
“Building a wooden boat and using them is a powerful vehicle for not only individual growth, but also social growth. Building a community is very important to us. A space where each person, whether they’re 9 years old or 90 years old, can feel that they are safe, respected and connected.”
– William Nimke, executive director and founder, All Hands Boatworks
Small Nonprofit Organization of the Year Finalist: HPGM
Formerly known as the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, HPGM is dedicated to empowering the lives and futures of Latinos in Wisconsin. HPGM serves more than 3,600 professionals and students annually in greater Milwaukee and collaborates with more than 100 community organizations, corporations, nonprofits and small businesses.
The organization was founded in 2001 and is led today by Francesca Mayca Wegner, who came on board as executive director in 2021 after serving as senior director of development and communications for Sojourner Family Peace Center. Wegner leads a team of four.
HPGM operates entirely on charitable donations, event revenue and corporate memberships. Those resources are strategically deployed to ensure the greatest possible impact, most notably, through various programs, mentorship sessions and scholarship awards. Quality rules over quantity; whether it is programming or fundraising events, the HPGM product is tailored to provide the “biggest bang for the buck” to members and guests.
Small Nonprofit Organization of the Year Finalist: Journey21
Oconomowoc-based Journey21 provides safe, supporting and enriching learning options for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Doubling in just two years, Journey21 has served more than 200 people ages 15 to 61.
The nonprofit, led by executive director Mike Brauer, offers a structured path of post-secondary options for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are looking for employment, social activities and vocational training.
Through strong community support, Journey21 in April 2023 opened its new 10,000-square-foot Enrichment Center in Oconomowoc. Replete with a large multipurpose room, fitness center, art room, music room, technology lab and teaching kitchen, the center serves as a venue for programs, learning academies, outings, clubs, events and social gatherings.
Under the direction of program and Enrichment Center director Heidi Hamilton, every Joruney21 student is matched with an internship at an organization in the community and has a volunteer mentor.
“Not only are companies acquiring a culture of acceptance when being introduced to members of the Journey21 community, but leaders of these organizations are realizing the workforce potential to fill key roles and are seeing young adults with IDD for their abilities rather than their disabilities,” said Brauer.
Small Nonprofit Organization of the Year Finalist: Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful
Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful has been providing environmental education and beautification programs since 1983.
Its education programs impact more than 4,700 youth and adults every year and focus on important environmental topics such as waste and recycling, litter prevention, composting and soil management, water pollution and conservation and urban trees.
KGMB also focuses on beautifying the greater Milwaukee area through community cleanups through the Great Milwaukee Cleanup program. In 2023, KGMB conducted 422 litter cleanups across 3,600 city blocks, filling 8,135 bags with more than 162 tons of litter from neighborhoods, trails and streets. This work was made possible by 21,058 volunteers in 2023.
The Great Milwaukee Cleanup is a year-round, city-wide initiative to continuously maintain healthier neighborhoods by reducing litter through organized cleanups and litter prevention education. KGMB assists groups of all sizes on cleanup coordination, site selection, volunteer recruitment, day-of support and reporting. Site coordinators are outfitted with all the supplies necessary for a successful cleanup.
To assist the community, KGMB has a Litter Lookout Club Toolkit for students and teachers, Clean-a-thon Program with MPS, and Mobile Tool Trailers fully stocked with cleanup supplies that are available to aid in cleanup campaigns.
