Zilber receives MANDI Vision Award

Philanthropist and Zilber Ltd. founder Joseph Zilber, who has committed to investing $50 million over 10 years to rebuild Milwaukee’s neighborhoods, has received the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDI) Vision Award.

The MANDIs are bestowed each year by the Milwaukee Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC), which renamed the main award the Zilber Vision Award this year.

The Zilber Neighborhood Initiative that will fund community plans in 10 neighborhoods and support several programs that benefit multiple neighborhoods and their residents.

The winners of this year’s MANDIs also included:

• Navigator Award – Mick Hatch, a shareholder in the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, for his continuous pro-bono legal services to non-profit community development organizations and has been instrumental in creating several collaborations between public entities, nonprofits and the private sector including Menomonee Valley Partners and LISC.
• National City Trail Blazer Award – Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) Co-Developer Mentor Protégé Program, pairing emerging minority and women developers with established developers to provide business development, appropriate training and resources resulting in increased capacity for development projects.
• Harris Bank Cornerstone Award – St. Catherine Residence, providing safe, affordable and supporting housing to low-income women and now men, while providing them employment training.
• The State Farm Insurance Building Blocks Award (Large Project) – IndependenceFirst Main Office, 540 S. First St., relocation and expansion that enables the nonprofit organization to grow its workforce to serve a greater number of clients with disabilities that leads to independent lives.
• The State Farm Insurance Building Blocks Award (Small Project) – Teutonia Gardens, corner of Center Street and Teutonia Avenue, Milwaukee, developed by Maures Development, redeveloped site including affordable apartments, commercial space and a community teaching garden, a stormwater cistern.