War Memorial Launches $18 Million Capital Campaign

War Memorial. Photo by Carl Baehr.

The Milwaukee County War Memorial Center is trying to raise $18 million.

It needs the money to secure a sustainable future for the institution, as it transitions off of taxpayer support. Like many other cultural institutions once backed by Milwaukee County, the War Memorial is being weaned off of county funding and will one day have to stand on its own.

The capital campaign, called Operation Advance: Preserving Our Future, is designed to help the center with two priorities, Co Nguyen, War Memorial Center CEO, told Urban Milwaukee. First, $2 million will be used to make repairs to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the center’s grounds. The rest of the funding will be used to create a preservation fund that generates a large enough annual return to replace the county’s financial support.

The War Memorial Center sought $9 million from the state of Wisconsin. The latest biennial budget provided the center with a $5 million matching grant, which requires $5 million to be raised to access the state funding.

“This is a tremendous show of support by the State of Wisconsin and a significant step forward in building our preservation fund,” said Andy Gordon, Chairman of the War Memorial Center Board. “

The capital campaign has already raised $2 million toward its $9 million goal for private philanthropic donations. Nguyen said the center plans to go after state and federal grants for the additional $4 million that was part of its $9 million request to the state.

Under an agreement between the county and the center, the county started reducing it’s funding in 2024. It provided the center $398,000 in operating support this year. The contribution will continue to go down 10% each year until 2034. Right now, the county’s support only accounts for 20% of the center’s annual budget, Nguyen said.

“We’ve had a really good relationship with the county over the past years,” he said. “You know, it’s just time for us to enter into the next phase.”

The center was built on county-owned land with money fundraised by the community. It was designed by Eero Saarinen and is widely considered a remarkable work of architecture. The building was dedicated in 1957 and the organization has a mission to “Honor the dead. Serve the Living.”

The center is once again asking the community to come together and support its mission, which is more than a slogan, Nguyen said. The center maintains a handful of permanent exhibits honoring veterans. It also provides programming for veterans, including volunteer opportunities and a letter-writing campaign sending messages of thanks to veterans around the holidays. It also runs a public awareness campaign aiming to reduce veteran suicides.

“It’s just really important for us to stay open,” Nguyen said. “We’ve got lots of veterans that we help.”

Existing members must be signed in to see the interactive map. Sign in.