Zilber Family Foundation announces $1.8M in grants

MILWAUKEE – The Zilber Family Foundation announced today that its Board of Directors has awarded $1.8 million in grants to 16 nonprofit organizations in Milwaukee, WI and Hawaii. Funding was awarded in alignment with the Foundation’s primary focus areas, including affordable housing, community economic development, and basic human needs.

Ten grants target Milwaukee’s Lindsay Heights, Clarke Square, and Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods where the Foundation has directed much of its investment for more than a decade through the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative (ZNI). These grants support community-based organizations to coordinate and implement projects and programs that increase access to quality, affordable housing; provide financial education and skill building opportunities; develop minority-owned small businesses; and build the capacity and effectiveness of residents and nonprofits leading the work. Additionally, basic human needs grants will increase access to adult literacy, mental and physical health, and a range of services to support the immediate needs of houseless individuals and families. The Foundation also announced that its emergency grants for COVID relief, distributed between April and December, now total $1.9 million.

“Our grantees have shown incredible resolve during a particularly challenging time and have responded to increased demand for services during the pandemic. Local, community-based organizations are essential to meeting the community’s immediate needs and creating pathways to long-term social and economic opportunity. We’re proud to be working together to advance individual and community wellbeing” said Gina Stilp, executive director.

Grants will support:

• Aurora Zilber Family Hospice to offer training and educational opportunities for hospice and palliative care employees and volunteers.
• Catchafire to support 150 organizations via an online platform that matches nonprofits with highly-skilled, vetted, pro-bono consultants to complete projects that meet operating, organizational, and programmatic needs.
• Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative to serve as the lead agency in Clarke Square, and to implement community economic development, housing, and arts and culture action plans in partnership with residents and stakeholders.
• Community Warehouse to support the sale of discounted home improvement and household materials to residents in ZNI and other Milwaukee neighborhoods.
• Hawaii Food Bank to provide emergency food to community members impacted by the pandemic, as well as those already facing hunger.
• LISC Milwaukee to support the placement of nine AmeriCorps volunteers at Milwaukee nonprofits offering financial counseling, eviction prevention, and community engagement services.
• Literacy Services of Wisconsin to support adult literacy, education and workforce readiness skills.
• Milwaukee JobsWork to support the delivery of financial skill building, job readiness training, and small business supports for residents of Lindsay Heights and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Mediate Milwaukee to support eviction and foreclosure prevention via free mediation services.
• Mental Health America of Hawaii to provide mental health programming, advocacy, and community events for youth and adults in Hawaii.
• Neighborhood News Service to support coverage of low-income minority majority neighborhoods in Milwaukee’s central city through objective, professional reporting.
• Project Vision Hawaii to provide health and human services to access-challenged communities via mobile services units and community health fairs free of charge.
• Southside Organizing Committee to support bilingual resident outreach, education, and organizing on Milwaukee’s southside; and to participate in housing and economic development activities in Clarke Square and Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods.
• UW Milwaukee Zilber School of Public Health to work in partnership with Black leaders to advance a health promotion strategy that engages grassroots leaders and organizations in Milwaukee, and coordinates testing, education, and outreach to combat COVID-19.
• Walnut Way Conservation Corporation to continue to serve as the lead agency in Lindsay Heights and coordinate community economic development and housing activities for the neighborhood.
• Women’s Fund of Hawaii to support nonprofit organizations that help women and girls reach their full potential.

A complete list of the Foundation’s 2020 grant recipients is available on the Foundation’s website.

About the Zilber Family Foundation

Formed in 1961 by Joseph J. Zilber, a philanthropist and businessman, the Zilber Family Foundation is a private independent grantmaking institution dedicated to enhancing the well-being of individuals, families, and neighborhoods by supporting nonprofits to address basic needs and personal safety, increase access to social and economic opportunity, and improve the quality of life in neighborhoods.

For more information, please visit: www.zilberfamilyfoundation.org.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.