2024 grant guidelines

Arts and culture

Background

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation supports targeted arts education and arts and culture strategies representing visual, performing and multidisciplinary art projects and programs.

Area served 

Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties

Who can apply

Grants are made to 501(c) (3) organizations that have board membership that comprises at least 10 percent people of color.

Grantmaking focus

• Arts education programs in traditional or nontraditional educational environments for children/youth from birth to high school
• Creation and exhibition of art that engages the community in creative and substantive ways
• Artists-in-residence within community-based settings 
• Programming that cultivates and supports an appreciation of diverse cultures and art forms
• Projects that integrate arts and creativity into community planning and development

Grant amount

The typical grant range is $5,000 to $75,000. The maximum request for a capital grant is $100,000.

Contact Janel Hines to learn more about this priority area.

Basic Needs

Area served 

Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties

Who can apply

Grants are made to 501(c) (3) organizations that have board membership that comprises at least 10 percent people of color.

Grantmaking focus

Programs and projects that improve food service, facilities, services and operations to help meet the basic needs of individuals and families, particularly focused on emergency shelter and food.

Grant amount

The typical grant range is $5,000 to $50,000. The maximum request for a capital grant is $100,000.

Contact Dani Breen to learn more about this priority area.

Housing

Background

Housing is a major building block of life, health and wealth: the foundation on which people can pursue and achieve their goals, build stronger, more stable communities and build generational wealth. When people cannot afford safe, affordable housing, they are forced to make difficult choices that impact their health, their community connections, or their children’s educational opportunities and their financial lives.

Area served 

Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties

Who can apply

Grants are made to 501(c) (3) organizations that have board membership that comprises at least 10 percent people of color.

Grantmaking focus

• Quality affordable housing
• Pathways to homeownership
• Eviction prevention

Grant amount

The typical grant range is $5,000 to $50,000. The maximum request for a capital grant is $100,000.

Contact Theresa Scott to learn more about this priority area.

Physical health

Background 

The physical health of individuals in our community is impacted by the ongoing harm of racial disparities in our health care system. Access to appropriate health services and improving health outcomes are this portfolio's main priorities. Our grant investment strategy aims to shift power, representation, and policy toward racial equity.

Area served 

Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties

Who can apply

Grants are made to 501(c) (3) organizations that have board membership that comprises at least 10 percent people of color.

Grantmaking focus

• Projects/organizations which build solidarity and collaboration among service providers and community in their sector/work 
• Projects/organizations which build narrative and actual power for oppressed communities
• Projects/organizations engaged in advocacy efforts, including anti-racist organizational development which transforms influence in their sector/work
• Projects/organizations addressing health impacts of racial inequity, particularly interventions that are disproportionately underfunded
• Access to culturally reverent and affordable care

• Access to culturally reverent, responsive, and affordable integrative care 

• Interventions that meet care needs that are not traditionally covered by insurance and/or in locations with inadequate access

Grant amount

The typical grant range is $5,000 to $75,000. The maximum request for a capital grant is $100,000.

Contact Benjamin Porter to learn more about this priority area.