UPAF Raises $9.1 Million to Sustain the Arts That Help Southeastern Wisconsin Thrive
2026 Community Campaign invests in the organizations behind the region’s performances, creative careers and arts education as UPAF approaches its 60th anniversary.
MILWAUKEE, WI – The United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) announced that its 2026 Community Campaign raised $9,146,160, turning community generosity into a shared investment in Southeastern Wisconsin’s performing arts. Those gifts help sustain 28 nonprofit performing arts organizations whose work gives the region its distinctive cultural life—and whose impact reaches into classrooms, careers and local businesses.
The campaign total was unveiled at Funding Day on October 1, marking the culmination of UPAF’s 2026 Community Campaign. The celebration took place at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, home to three UPAF Member organizations: Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, First Stage and Danceworks. During the event, UPAF recognized and thanked its 2026 Community Campaign Co-Chairs, Cecelia Gore, Executive Director of Brewers Community Foundation, and Vince Vitrano, host of Wisconsin’s Morning News on 620 WTMJ, for their leadership and commitment to the campaign.
“Behind this campaign are people who care deeply about this community and what makes it home,” said Annemarie Scobey-Polacheck, President and CEO of UPAF. “We would not have reached this total without the more than 150 businesses that champion UPAF annually and the thousands of employees who donate to the campaign through their workplaces. We recognize that each of our donors has a story of connection with the arts. To everyone who gave this year, thank you. Your generosity helps these organizations keep creating, teaching and welcoming people in. As we approach 60 years, I’m grateful for what this community has built together and excited about what we can carry forward.”
The performing arts are part of Southeastern Wisconsin’s economic life, with benefits that extend well beyond the stage. The region’s nonprofit arts and culture sector generated more than $350 million in economic activity and supported more than 4,500 jobs. Audiences spent more than $140 million beyond admission, supporting restaurants, shops, hotels, transportation and other businesses. UPAF’s Members and Affiliates contribute to this broader activity through the people they employ, the audiences they attract and the work they bring to the region.
Behind that regional impact is a partnership between the people who create the work and those who help make it possible. Nearly 100 corporate supporters, individual donors, campaign volunteers and representatives from UPAF Member and Affiliate organizations came together at Funding Day to celebrate that shared commitment.
“This is a community of performing arts creators and it’s a community of performing arts enablers,” said Maggey Oplinger, General Director and CEO of Florentine Opera, in remarks at Funding Day. “As we look at the stagehands, the set designers, the incredible talent that directs, that performs, that builds the shows that we all know and love, we are also looking at every donor who supports UPAF.”
That partnership extends into workplaces across the region, where employers and employees turn their support for the arts into collective action.
“At DeWitt, our workplace giving campaign for UPAF gives us an opportunity to come together as a team while supporting the performing arts that make our community such a vibrant place to live and work,” said Tim Stewart, President and Managing Partner of DeWitt LLP and Chair of UPAF’s Board of Directors. “UPAF makes it easy for us to support a broad range of outstanding arts organizations through one collective effort. It’s a meaningful way for our people to give back, strengthen our community, and help ensure the performing arts continue to thrive.”
UPAF’s 60th anniversary in 2027 will mark six decades of community commitment to the performing arts and the region they help sustain. This year’s campaign carries that commitment forward, supporting organizations whose strength matters to Southeastern Wisconsin’s economic and cultural future. Their continued success helps keep creative talent here, supports local commerce and makes the region a place where people choose to build their careers and lives.
Learn more at upaf.org.
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.
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