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Arts and Culture investments (Foundation priority funding)
Arts educationPublic artArtist support+2 more
Who can apply: Arts organizations and individual artists serving the Foundation's service area; specific eligibility varies by program.
Greater Milwaukee Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismMakes PRIs
About Greater Milwaukee Foundation
To inspire philanthropy, serve donors and strengthen communities now and for future generations.
Focus Areas
Aging and older adultsArts and cultureBasic needsChildren and youthChildren's healthCivic engagementEarly childhood educationEducationEntrepreneurship and small business developmentEnvironmentHealth and human servicesHealthy birth outcomesHospitals and clinics (capital projects)HousingLiteracy
About Greater Milwaukee Foundation
A $10 million grant to the City of South Milwaukee for master planning is one of the clearest signals in Greater Milwaukee Foundation Inc’s recent grantmaking: this funder supports large civic, institutional, and community-building projects alongside scholarships, arts, housing, and health-related work. The foundation’s portfolio includes major endowment commitments such as $5.0 million to the Dr James Cameron Legacy Foundation for establishing an endowed fund, and $2.7 million to Historic Haymarket Milwaukee for a new building campaign. It also backs ongoing community infrastructure through unrestricted support to Community Development Alliance Inc and sustained support for groups such as United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. In the education and talent pipeline space, the foundation has funded scholarship and training-related grants through universities and professional associations, while also making notable awards in arts, environmental preservation, and health equity. Its recent grants show a mix of capital, operating, and commitment-based support rather than a single-purpose strategy. The result is a broad local grantmaker with several large bets on place-based institutions and neighborhood capacity.
What Greater Milwaukee Foundation Funds
In arts and culture, the foundation backed Milwaukee Ballet Company Inc with $892,195 for Ballet Beat 2023, while also supporting museums, theaters, dance companies, arts education, and public art through its priority funding. In higher education and scholarships, it gave $1,457,416 to Marquette University for the Law School Diane Blinka Scholarship and $2,938,692 to Uwm Foundation Inc for the Alice C. Helland Scholarship at UWM Foundation, Inc. Workforce development appears in the $1,945,000 grant to Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce for the Apprenticeship Program. Environmental work also shows up in the $1,074,438 grant to Ozaukee Washington Land Trust Inc for sustaining support and preservation and restoration of nature.
How Greater Milwaukee Foundation Gives
Typical grant size sits at $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $25,000 at the median, and $51,000 at the 75th percentile, even though the recent list also includes several multimillion-dollar commitments. The foundation gives through both direct grants and impact investing strategies, and its DAF classification is Mixed - Community Foundation. Recent awards suggest repeat relationships rather than one-off transactions: United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County appears multiple times across 2023, 2024, and 2025, and Uwm Foundation Inc appears in both 2023 and 2025. The foundation also makes program-related investments.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$188.9M
Total Assets
$1.1B
Total Revenue
$85.2M
Total Expenses
$85.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $51K, with a median of $25K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$25K
75th Percentile
$51K
Geographic Reach
Local33 states funded
About 80% of grants go to recipients in FL.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
YELENA CHESTER
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