With startup funding from BMO Harris Bank and Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Milwaukee’s Cream City Foundation has launched a scholarship program to support area students in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community as they advance their leadership skills.
The LGBTQ Scholarship Program is designed to build the capacity of the LGBTQ community, as well as the capacity of regional nonprofits serving LGBTQ individuals, according to Peter Holbrook, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of the Cream City Foundation.
The foundation promotes philanthropy, collaboration and quality of life for LGBTQ individuals and families.
The scholarship program will center on creating “an environment in which all LGBTQ individuals, regardless of economic or financial background, have the ability to earn the credentials necessary for them to have the career that they want to have and be successful in that career,” Holbrook said.
Cream City Foundation will likely kick off scholarships during the 2016-’17 academic year and will dole out three scholarships at values ranging between $2,500 and $5,000 to start. The organization currently has $15,000 for the program and hopes to raise another $15,000 to $30,000 in the next year.