The Milwaukee-based Zilber Family Foundation announced it has awarded $1.7 million in grants to 19 nonprofit organizations.
Ten of the grants target Milwaukee’s Lindsay Heights, Clarke Square and Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods, where the foundation has focused much of its investment over the past 10 years.
“The foundation is pleased to support a set of programs and projects that improve social and economic opportunities for individuals and families in our communities. As we continue to recover from the difficulties presented during the (COVID-19) pandemic, philanthropy has an opportunity to support and sustain nonprofit organizations delivering essential services, while also funding innovative ideas to address systemic barriers to prosperity” said Gina Stilp, executive director.
Grants will support:
- Acts Housing to pilot a property tax and repair loan fund for homeowners in the Lindsay Heights, Clarke Square, and Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods.
- Capuchin Community Services to support the St. Ben’s Community Meal Program and other supportive services for people experiencing homelessness, poverty and hunger.
- Community Development Alliance to support the development of a multi-stakeholder, city-wide affordable housing strategy and implementation plan.
- Escuela Verde to support general operating and program start-up expenses to open the Escuela Verde Newline Community Café in the Layton Boulevard West neighborhood.
- Hispanic Collaborative to expand a free online marketplace, MercadoMKE, for small businesses in Milwaukee and in the three Zilber Neighborhood Initiative neighborhoods to establish an online presence and conduct online sales.
- Milwaukee Christian Center to repair and rehab single-family homes and develop new single-family homes in the Clarke Square neighborhood.
- Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity to support critical home repairs for low-to-moderate income homeowners in Lindsay Heights.
- Neu-Life Community Development to support pre-development costs for NeuVue, a mixed-use development that will provide affordable housing and program space for the organization.
- UniteMKE to support the development of two tax-foreclosed properties into affordable residential housing, a local workforce training restaurant, and UniteMKE’s offices.
- Walnut Way Conservation Corporation to support the acquisition and redevelopment costs of a commercial property to serve as Blue Skies Landscaping headquarters.
- YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee to support early children education, youth development, and healthy living programming, with a particular focus on serving families from Lindsay Heights.
- YWCA Southeast Wisconsin to continue to support personal financial management coaching, education, and matched savings for Lindsay Heights residents.
- Zilber School of Public Health to support the Ron Perez Legacy Fund, and to increase marketing and recruitment efforts to grow undergraduate student enrollment at the Zilber School of Public Health.
- KEY Project to support the Living Library Project, a media production space for youth and seniors to create virtual stories about the community’s past, present, and future.
- Hawaii Community Foundation to support nonprofit organizations in Hawaii.
- Hawaii Investment Ready to support the startup of the Hawaii Funder Hui, a network focused on collaboration and information sharing to promote effective philanthropy in Hawaii.
- Make-A-Wish Hawaii to support granting wishes for children in Hawaii who have been diagnosed with a critical medical condition.
- Partners in Care to support and coordinate housing programs for homeless individuals and families through Hawaii’s continuum of care.
- Vision to Learn to support the Better Vision for Keiki program to provide free vision care to public school students in Hawaii.
The grants support the foundation’s primary focus areas, including affordable housing, community economic development and basic human needs. The foundation was formed in 1961 as a private grant-making institution by the late real estate developer Joseph Zilber.
