United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County announced Thursday that its 2017 community campaign brought in a record $60,355,186.
The campaign exceeded the organization’s $60.25 million goal by $105,168. The organization also exceeded its volunteer goal, recording 25,252 volunteer hours during its annual Season of Caring, which runs from August to December.
The organization announced the campaign results Thursday night at Manpower Group’s headquarters.
“This is a wonderful achievement – we set two ambitious goals to help meet the growing needs in our community and top businesses as well as individual donors have generously responded,” said Gregory Marcus, president of The Marcus Corp. and chairman of the United Way board of directors. “Thanks to the people in this community, United Way will continue to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in our four county area.”
Last year’s campaign pulled in $60.13 million.
The 2017 campaign chairs included: Sheila Cochran, Milwaukee Area Labor Council AFL-CIO retiree; Matthew Levatich, president and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson Motor Company; Jay Magulski, president and CEO of Landmark Credit Union; and Jonas Prising, chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup.
“It’s the people behind United Way that make all the difference. Corporate teams, government workers, health care providers, retirees, college students and organized labor all came together to address the communities’ most critical problems,” said Mary Lou Young, president & CEO of United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. “When diverse people and groups work together to overcome obstacles – we can drive measurable, lasting impact that none of us can achieve alone.”
At the campaign’s outset, United Way announced a volunteerism goal of 23,000 volunteer hours to be completed from August through December. That goal was surpassed by 2,252 hours.
“The volunteer goal enhances the resources mobilized through donations with sweat equity; helping United Way partner agencies and initiatives fulfill their missions and offer services they may not have the capacity to do without the extra time and talent that volunteers provide,” said Darienne Driver, Milwaukee Public Schools superintendent and volunteer engagement committee chair.
Some other highlights from the campaign include:
- The largest corporate supporter overall was Johnson Controls.
- Eleven companies in addition to Johnson Controls contributed more than $1 million in employee gifts and corporate support. They are: Aurora Health Care, Robert W. Baird, BMO Harris Bank, Fiduciary Management, Inc., GE, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc., ManpowerGroup, MillerCoors, Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation and We Energies
- Rockwell Automation topped the list for number of volunteer hours.
- Eight organizations in addition to Rockwell exceeded 500 volunteers hours during Season of Caring. They are: Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Johnson Controls, ManpowerGroup, Marquette University, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee Public Schools, Northwestern Mutual and ProHealth Care, Inc.
