Engage our community in supporting Milwaukee County Parks to collectively steward a thriving park system.
Milwaukee Parks Foundation Inc. channels most of its giving into Milwaukee County Parks, with three recent awards of $495,049 in 2024, $455,420 in 2025, and $422,646 in 2023 supporting park events, programs, and facility improvements across the county system. That pattern shows a funder built around park stewardship rather than broad charitable grantmaking. Their work reaches both system-wide needs and neighborhood-level activation, from capital and maintenance projects to resident-led programming in city parks. Recent grants point to a mix of infrastructure and community use: the foundation backed carver park baseball work, prairie springs, Komatsu Forest, fireworks, basketball courts, bleachers, and community centers through Milwaukee County Parks. Outside the county agency, it also funded The Park People for the Rose Park Project and Friends of Moody Park, along with smaller project grants to local groups working in Milwaukee parks and green spaces. The grantmaking structure combines large institutional support with smaller project-based awards, all within Wisconsin.
Milwaukee Parks Foundation Inc. supports park infrastructure alongside community programming. In capital and maintenance work, it gave $20,000 to The Park People in 2023 for the Rose Park Project and Friends of Moody Park, and it later awarded the same organization $17,000 in 2025 through a Sprouts grant. Youth and culture are also present in the grant list. The foundation awarded $8,000 to Milwaukee African Drum and Dance 414 in 2024 for a youth camp focusing on West African drum, dance, and culture. For neighborhood activation, it gave $10,500 to Tru Skool Inc in 2023 for the Berrien Park mural and $8,000 to Zb Consulting in 2024 for the first series in Milwaukee celebrating Latino Conservation Week. Smaller awards also went to Sherman Park Community Association, Serving Older Adults, and Milwaukee Health Services for Sprouts-funded park-based work.
Typical grants are small to mid-sized: the p25 is $8,000, the median is $9,000, and the p75 is $17,625. The recent grant list shows a two-tier pattern. Large awards flow to Milwaukee County Parks for countywide park programs and improvements, while smaller project grants support neighborhood groups and park-user communities through Sprouts and related efforts. Recipients appear across multiple years, including Milwaukee County Parks, The Park People, Sherman Park Community Association, and Zb Consulting, which points to repeat funding rather than one-off support. The foundation funds organizations, not individuals, and the active programs listed do not accept unsolicited applications except for Sprouts.
$526K
$1.4M
$1.3M
$1.1M
Most grants fall between $8K and $18K, with a median of $9K.
25th Percentile
$8K
Median
$9K
75th Percentile
$18K
REBECCA STONER
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Giving is entirely local and entirely in Wisconsin: 100% of recent grants went to recipients in the state, with Milwaukee County Parks in Wauwatosa and Milwaukee-based groups such as Serving Older Adults, Sherman Park Community Association, Tru Skool Inc, Milwaukee Health Services, and Milwaukee African Drum and Dance 414. The grant list is centered on Milwaukee and Milwaukee County rather than broader regional or national distribution. Recent awards also reach Milwaukee neighborhoods through park-based projects and programming.
The foundation funds park maintenance and improvements, public recreation facilities, community events and festivals, urban reforestation and tree planting, public art and murals, and cultural and youth programming. Recent examples include basketball courts, bleachers, a park mural, and a youth camp focused on West African drum, dance, and culture.
No. The recent grants include very large awards to Milwaukee County Parks, but the foundation also makes smaller project grants such as $8,000 Sprouts awards and $10,500 to Tru Skool Inc for the Berrien Park mural. Its pattern combines system-level support with neighborhood activation.
Milwaukee County Parks appears in multiple years, including 2023, 2024, and 2025. Other repeat recipients include The Park People, Sherman Park Community Association, and Zb Consulting, each showing more than one grant in the recent list.
The reported grant-size distribution is p25 $8,000, median $9,000, and p75 $17,625. Recent awards range from $8,000 project grants to much larger countywide investments over $400,000.
Its giving is local, and every recent grant in the data went to recipients in Wisconsin. The recipient list is concentrated in Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, with grants to Milwaukee County Parks and multiple Milwaukee-based community organizations.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Milwaukee Parks Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Community-based organizations, nonprofits, schools and neighborhood groups working on projects in Milwaukee parks (exact eligibility details on the program RFP page).
Deadline: Annual RFP cycle (specific dates published on the Sprouts RFP page; a 2025 RFP page exists)
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS | WAUWATOSA, WI | $455,420 | 2025 | THESE GRANTS SUPPORTED THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS FOR VARIOUS EVENTS AND PROGRAMS INCLUDING: CARVER PARK BASEBALL PROJECT, PRAIRIE SPRINGS, KOMATSU FOREST, HARLEY PARK, KING AND KOZY COMMUNITY CENTER, BASKETBALL GRANT, AND REFORESTATION PROJECTS. |
| SERVING OLDER ADULTS | MILWAUKEE, WI | $20,000 | 2025 | SPROUTS GRANT |
| THE PARK PEOPLE | WAUWATOSA, WI | $17,000 | 2025 | SPROUTS GRANT |
| SHERMAN PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION | MILWAUKEE, WI | $10,000 | 2025 | SPROUTS GRANT |
| DRUMS UP GUNS DOWN | MILWAUKEE, WI | $8,000 | 2025 | SPROUTS GRANT |
| ZB CONSULTING | MILWAUKEE, WI | $8,000 | 2025 | SPROUTS GRANT - FIRST SERIES IN MILWAUKEE CELEBRATING LATINO CONSERVATION WEEK. |
| MILWAUKEE HEALTH SERVICES | MILWAUKEE, WI | $8,000 | 2025 | SPROUTS GRANT |
| MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS | WAUWATOSA, WI | $495,049 | 2024 | THESE GRANTS SUPPORTED THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS FOR VARIOUS EVENTS AND PROGRAMS INCLUDING: CARVER PARK BASEBALL PROJECT, PRAIRIE SPRINGS, KOMATSU FOREST, FIREWORKS 2023, HARLEY PARK, KING AND KOZY COMMUNITY CENTER, BASKETBALL GRANT, AND REFORESTATION PROJECTS. |
| ZB CONSULTING | MILWAUKEE, WI | $8,000 | 2024 | SPROUTS GRANT - FIRST SERIES IN MILWAUKEE CELEBRATING LATINO CONSERVATION WEEK. |
| THE PARK PEOPLE | WAUWATOSA, WI | $8,000 | 2024 | SPROUTS GRANT |
| THE SAFE ZONE SUMMER CAMP | MILWAUKEE, WI | $8,000 | 2024 | SAFE ZONE GRANT |
| SHERMAN PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION | MILWAUKEE, WI | $8,000 | 2024 | SPROUTS GRANT |
| MILWAUKEE AFRICAN DRUM AND DANCE 414 | MILWAUKEE, WI | $8,000 | 2024 | YOUTH CAMP FOCUSING ON WEST AFRICAN DRUM, DANCE, AND CULTURE. |
| MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS | WAUWATOSA, WI | $422,646 | 2023 | THESE GRANTS SUPPORTED THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS FOR VARIOUS EVENTS AND PROGRAMS INCLUDING: FIREWORKS, BASKETBALL COURTS, BLEACHERS, AND COMMUNITY CENTERS. |
| THE PARK PEOPLE | WAUWATOSA, WI | $20,000 | 2023 | 15K ROSE PARK PROJECT, 5K FRIENDS OF MOODY PARK |
| TRU SKOOL INC | MILWAUKEE, WI | $10,500 | 2023 | BERRIEN PARK MURAL |
| WISCONSIN POLICY FORUM | MILWAUKEE, WI | $10,000 | 2023 | SINKING TREASURE |
MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS
$455,420THESE GRANTS SUPPORTED THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS FOR VARIOUS EVENTS AND PROGRAMS INCLUDING: CARVER PARK BASEBALL PROJECT, PRAIRIE SPRINGS, KOMATSU FOREST, HARLEY PARK, KING AND KOZY COMMUNITY CENTER, BASKETBALL GRANT, AND REFORESTATION PROJECTS.
THE PARK PEOPLE
$17,000SPROUTS GRANT
SHERMAN PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
$10,000SPROUTS GRANT
DRUMS UP GUNS DOWN
$8,000SPROUTS GRANT
ZB CONSULTING
$8,000SPROUTS GRANT - FIRST SERIES IN MILWAUKEE CELEBRATING LATINO CONSERVATION WEEK.
MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS
$495,049THESE GRANTS SUPPORTED THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS FOR VARIOUS EVENTS AND PROGRAMS INCLUDING: CARVER PARK BASEBALL PROJECT, PRAIRIE SPRINGS, KOMATSU FOREST, FIREWORKS 2023, HARLEY PARK, KING AND KOZY COMMUNITY CENTER, BASKETBALL GRANT, AND REFORESTATION PROJECTS.
ZB CONSULTING
$8,000SPROUTS GRANT - FIRST SERIES IN MILWAUKEE CELEBRATING LATINO CONSERVATION WEEK.
THE PARK PEOPLE
$8,000SPROUTS GRANT
THE SAFE ZONE SUMMER CAMP
$8,000SAFE ZONE GRANT
SHERMAN PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
$8,000SPROUTS GRANT
MILWAUKEE AFRICAN DRUM AND DANCE 414
$8,000YOUTH CAMP FOCUSING ON WEST AFRICAN DRUM, DANCE, AND CULTURE.
MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS
$422,646THESE GRANTS SUPPORTED THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS FOR VARIOUS EVENTS AND PROGRAMS INCLUDING: FIREWORKS, BASKETBALL COURTS, BLEACHERS, AND COMMUNITY CENTERS.
THE PARK PEOPLE
$20,00015K ROSE PARK PROJECT, 5K FRIENDS OF MOODY PARK
TRU SKOOL INC
$10,500BERRIEN PARK MURAL