Impact100 Greater Milwaukee Awards $407,000 in Grants to Five Local Nonprofits

Impact100 Greater Milwaukee, a membership organization of women committed to collective philanthropy, recently awarded $407,000 to five local nonprofit organizations at its virtual Annual Awards Ceremony, broadcast Monday, September 21.

The 407 members of Impact100 Greater Milwaukee each contributed $1,000 toward the grant pool, from which four $100,000 Impact grants and one merit grant of $7,000 were awarded. Grants were awarded based upon the online votes of the Impact100 Greater Milwaukee members.

The following four nonprofits received $100,000 Impact grants for these projects:

Lighthouse Youth Center  www.lighthouseyouthcenter.com

Polonia Kitchen Renovation and Program Launch. LYC’s dream is to educate and transform the approach to meal and snack planning, cooking, and eating with LYC youth ages 10-18, their families, and community members in the three neighborhoods they serve: Garden Homes (N. 25th and Roosevelt); Havenwoods (N. 68th and Silver Spring); and Polonia (S. 11th and Oklahoma). LYC aims to launch the “Plan, Prep, Prepare & Partake” program through the transformation of the Polonia Kitchen.

Milwaukee Public Library Foundation https://www.supportmpl.org/

Hotspot Lending Program. In response to the need to address the “digital divide” in Milwaukee, MPL has a program to provide hotspots: small, portable devices that connect up to 10 laptops and mobile devices to the internet. The Hotspots are checked out just like any other item in the library’s collections and do not require installation in the home. The project will provide for significant expansion of this service to help ensure that more individuals and families will have access to the internet regardless of socio/economic status.

NAMI Waukesha, Inc.  https://www.namiwaukesha.org/

Crisis Intervention Team Training (CIT). This is a best practices program for police officers that provides them with improved understanding of mental health conditions and how to help someone experiencing a mental health crisis. This 40-hour class teaches techniques designed to improve communication when interacting with someone experiencing a mental health crisis, with the goal of de-escalating the situation. This CIT program will create awareness and partnerships between law enforcement and mental health services and resources. Seventy-five Waukesha and 125 Milwaukee police officers will be trained.

Operation DREAM  https://www.operation-dream.org/

Teen Mentoring and Entrepreneurial Business Creation — DREAM Screen. This program will provide high quality services and products that are needed on an annual basis for youth organizations, businesses, schools, churches, and individuals seeking custom apparel. DREAM Screen will be a source of income for the young men in the program while they also learn valuable business skills such as research, product development, accounting, marketing, graphic design, sales, and customer service.

The following organization received a $7,000 merit grant for this project:

Neighborhood House of Milwaukee  https://www.neighborhoodhousemke.org

The 75th Anniversary Green Infrastructure and Entryway. This project involves replacing the old and dangerous drive and entry area with green components to conserve water, reduce pollution, and improve safety, functionality and appearance. Designed in partnership with MMSD, the project will recapture over 9,000 gallons of water per major rain event. The green infrastructure components will double as teaching tools for NH students and for interns from their innovative Conservation Corps program.

“As we wrap up the fifth anniversary of giving for Impact100 Greater Milwaukee, I’m grateful for the community impact we’ve made so far and for all the women who have invested in our collective philanthropy,” said Past President Ann Homstad. “The critical work being done by area nonprofits deserves support and our $100,000 grants have been a game-changer.”

Looking to the future, President Robin Martin said, “Now we are ramping up for our sixth year of giving and if enough women join, we could pass the $2 million mark in cumulative giving to nonprofits in our area. I’d love to see us hit that milestone and additional community organizations benefit from it.”

Nonprofits who are interested in applying to Impact100 Greater Milwaukee can participate in an October 12 Virtual Grants information session by going to the website, https://www.impact100mke.org/apply.

Women who are interested in joining Impact100 Greater Milwaukee can find out about membership by going to the website, https://www.impact100mke.org/membership.

Formed in 2015, Impact100 Greater Milwaukee is an organization of women leveraging their collective philanthropy to award $100,000 grants to local nonprofit organizations to strengthen the Greater Milwaukee community. The organization has awarded over $1.6 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in its funding area of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington Counties.

Impact100 Greater Milwaukee was the 28th Impact100 group in the United States and Australia, and the first in Wisconsin. Globally, Impact100 has more than 60 chapters that have contributed almost $80 million since the inception of the first chapter in 2001.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.