The United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County hit a new fundraising milestone in 2016, the organization announced Wednesday night.
It’s 2016 campaign pulled in $60.13 million, about $5,500 more than its goal and $64,000 more than it raised last year.
“It’s truly a testament to the generosity of the people in our four-county region that we surpassed our aggressive goal this year,” said Gregory Marcus, president of The Marcus Corporation and chairman of the United Way board of directors in a statement. “Many organizations and individuals increased their gifts to meet our new goal, and I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to this year’s campaign. We did this together.”
The 2016 United Way campaign was chaired by community volunteer Jackie Herd-Barber; Larry Blanton, senior vice president and general manager of MetalTek International; Richard Meeusen, chairman, president and CEO of Badger Meter; and Steven SaLoutos, executive vice president of U.S. Bank.
Nearly 1,500 organizations and companies in southeastern Wisconsin participated in the 2016 campaign.
“Reaching this goal is a shining example of our community coming together to create life-changing moments for individuals and families in our community,” said Mary Lou Young, president and chief executive officer of the local United Way. “We are committed to ensuring children get off to a strong start and achieve success in school, helping families build financial stability, and providing people with the ability to live healthier lives. Whether you contributed a major gift or a dollar a week, we thank you.”
The organization also recorded 21,124 volunteer hours in 2016, which exceeded its goal of 16,750.
Here are some additional facts about the United Way’s 2016 campaign:
- The group’s largest corporate supporter this year was Johnson Controls, Inc.
- 10 companies in addition to Johnson Controls —Aurora Health Care, Robert W. Baird, BMO Harris Bank, Fiduciary Management Inc., General Electric, Harley-Davidson Motor Company Inc., MillerCoors, Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation and We Energies — contributed more than one million dollars in employee gifts and corporate support.
- Rockwell Automation topped the United Way’s list for volunteer hours and was one of seven organizations to exceed 500 volunteer hours. The others were Johnson Controls, Northwestern Mutual, ManpowerGroup, Milwaukee Public Schools, ProHealth Care, Inc. and U.S. Bank.
- Aurora Health care and Fiduciary management both exceeded $3 million in total giving
- Adient ran a United Way campaign for the first time since its spinoff from Johnson controls and raised nearly $700,000
- Seven companies, including Badger Meter, MGIC Ivvestment Corporation, Rexnord Industries, LLC, Baird, U.S. Bank, Landmark Credit Union and ProHealth Care significantly increased contributions over last year.
