When it comes to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s work to strengthen economic opportunity through Milwaukee’s small business ecosystem, it all revolves around providing access.
Access to capital. Access to information. Access to resources. Access to opportunity.
The Foundation over the past few years has created or invested in programs and projects that remove those barriers to access, recognizing that small businesses are the lifeblood in most cities, particularly in communities of color.
The experience and expertise of leaders such as Jon Gaines help the Foundation to make an impact. Gaines has volunteered as a member of the Foundation’s Impact Investing Committee for the past five years, dedicating his time to reviewing project proposals for the loans and equity investments the Foundation makes. By virtue of sharing his time and talent, Gaines is one of many area philanthropists helping the Foundation reimagine philanthropy. The Foundation views impact investing as another way — beyond grantmaking — that community foundations can strengthen communities.
Gaines knows how small businesses can create economic opportunity and uplift neighborhoods through the 13 years he has spent in the role of vice president of business services and finance at Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation, a nonprofit that provides training, technical assistance, education and loans to small businesses statewide.
“The impact you can have with putting shovels in ground, meeting with folks in community, listening to their needs and responding to those needs and helping with those needs … that is how you change community,” Gaines said. “I want to bring the best of me, my skills and folks I have as resources to ensure that individuals, families, communities and projects have their best chances of success.”
Gaines has helped the Foundation deploy more than $18 million in impact investments since 2017, and he appreciates the diversity of projects it supports in areas such as housing, early childhood education and equitable economic opportunity.
In 2022, for example, the Foundation provided a $2 million loan to the Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy toward its new high school in Halyard Park and a $1.54 million loan to JCP Construction, a Black-owned construction firm. To date, 368 jobs have been created or retained through the Foundation’s impact investing program.
“Small business is Main Street America, and we need those businesses,” Gaines said. “They are really important to making sure that the community stays stable and grows in the direction it needs to grow. Every day I’m in the business of how do we make sure we have the proper tools and resources to support individuals.”
The Foundation supports entrepreneurs today by investing in them directly through its impact investing program. And for years, it has supported intermediary organizations such as WWBIC and the Commercial Corridors Institute, which in turn provide small businesses with the access to resources and capital they need to create jobs and build wealth. With generous financial support from donors, these partners together work to support jobs and increase economic mobility in Milwaukee.
“I am proud of the steps the Foundation is taking to address the issue of access to capital to underserved and underrepresented communities,” said Jacqueline Ward, a Foundation Board member and consultant who has worked with small businesses and entrepreneurs for nearly 20 years. “Though we have a way to go, and we must stay the course, the Foundation is doing its part and hopefully setting an example of what organizations and governmental programs alike can strive to do.”
The Commercial Corridors Institute works with business improvement districts in underserved communities to bolster their efforts in developing and growing small businesses. BIDs are funded through assessments of the properties in a particular geographic area and are governed by local property and business owners. Ultimately, they can help create strong commercial corridors by promoting and supporting small businesses. But many are run by volunteers and may not have the structure in place for long-term viability.
Through a pilot program funded by the Foundation in 2022, the Commercial Corridors Institute is providing business and economic-related technical assistance to the Historic Mitchell Street, Uptown Crossing, Historic North Avenue Gateway and North Avenue Marketplace BIDS. The BIDs are in low- to moderate-income, distressed commercial corridors and areas of Milwaukee.
“There are resources out there, but BIDS don’t know how to access them,” said Stephen Adams, the nonprofit’s founder. “We’re trying to connect the dots. Our goal is to try to help these communities focus on commercial economic development.”
The nonprofit is helping the BIDS with board training, organizational support and developing partnerships so the groups can bring in more resources. Two, for example, are pursuing nonprofit status, which will help them leverage more public and private dollars.
“Our biggest hope is that by working with the BIDs, it will strengthen the area, improve outcomes of the neighborhoods they are serving, help businesses grow and thrive, and better serve the residents in those communities with services that are needed that they don’t have now,” said Adams.