The Milwaukee Foundation was only 1 year old when Chain Belt Company founder C.W. LeValley and his wife, Helen, established a $100,000 trust designed to transfer to the Foundation when their last beneficiary passed. That deferred gift culminated 100 years later, creating the Christopher Warren LeValley and Helen Pitkin Spencer LeValley Foundation Fund in 2017. It now provides flexible funding in support of the Foundation’s vision of a Milwaukee for all.
I love stories like this because they showcase what makes community foundations truly special – donors’ trust, longevity, community focus and innovation. Much changed in the aforementioned century. Chain Belt’s legacy in Milwaukee moved on in the form of Rexnord Corporation and Zurn Elkay. Those original assets of $100,000 grew to over $1.2 million. And we became the “Greater” Milwaukee Foundation, as our mission expanded to serve the entire region.
There is one constant. The Foundation has always been an engine for philanthropic impact – partnering with donors, stewarding generosity and supporting important causes throughout the community.
Over the last decade and a half, that strong bedrock of philanthropic trust with donors has enabled the Foundation to serve the region in expanded and complementary ways as a catalyst, convener and thought leader. As the community has called on us to help meet emerging needs and opportunities, we have leaned on our philanthropic legacy and leaned into this growing role as a civic leader – bringing forward new ideas to help Milwaukee thrive.
As I reflect on how the Foundation has grown and changed during my tenure of service, it is that powerful blend of philanthropic generosity and community leadership that stands apart and stands the test of time.
Through the years, we have brought hundreds of thousands of people together around the causes they care about most. From intimate gatherings to civic coalitions to communitywide initiatives, we have developed opportunities for people throughout the region to build connections and take action on effective solutions. Where we once gathered input to inform our work, we now truly center community voice and share in decision-making. Together, we have mobilized tremendous resources, advocated for better public policy and demonstrated how transformation is possible when we focus on our community’s assets rather than deficits.
Our North Star of racial equity and inclusion is both a product of working differently in community and a means to effecting the change needed most in greater Milwaukee. Valuing what we hear from community and what we see through research and data has crystalized our priorities and practices, inspired new partnerships and guided our investments to eliminate barriers to opportunity and help all people reach their full potential.
Our bold vision of A Milwaukee for All is predicated on conducting the business and art of philanthropy differently. How we build trust and deepen partnerships, how we bring sectors and stakeholders together for scalable impact, how we ensure those who are historically underrepresented in philanthropy are included and celebrated, how we leverage additional resources through our strategic investments – all contribute to the formula for lasting change. Our lessons from the past have taught us how to use every tool in the Foundation’s toolbox to address systems rather than symptoms.
You can see our principles in practice through our historic Greater Together Campaign, which has invited donors to give according to their personal passions while reimagining philanthropy by introducing opportunities to coinvest in key community priorities and welcoming everyone to see themselves as a philanthropist. We’ll soon be sharing the results of this ambitious undertaking, and it’s just the beginning of our commitment to widening the paths for inclusion, participation and impact. As we often say, our shared vision of a Milwaukee for All will take all of Milwaukee to achieve.
Our vision and leadership are coming to further fruition through the ThriveOn Collaboration, the most transformational effort the Foundation has ever undertaken. Our experience convening stakeholders and following community voice prepared us for deep partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin and Royal Capital and for co-creating a vision with neighborhood residents for a healthier, thriving Bronzeville. This extension of our values will be even clearer when the Foundation moves its offices to the ThriveOn King building and opens its community hub this year in concert with our partners, advancing our long-term commitment to the people and places surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
We may be well over 100 years old, but we are just getting started innovating, collaborating, advocating and investing in a Milwaukee for all. And the impact generated by every step in our journey will ripple out for generations to come.
The LeValley Fund, envisioned all those years ago, is supporting essential community priorities today through the work of organizations like the YWCA, ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis and La Casa de Esperanza, and is even contributing to economic opportunities through the ThriveOn Collaboration. That is because community foundations are places where the past, present and future can intersect, and where philanthropy belongs to and benefits everyone.
Ellen M. Gilligan
President & CEO
Greater Milwaukee Foundation