Greater Milwaukee Foundation issues $800,000 in affordable capital.
Milwaukee, Wis., March 17, 2025 – Fueled by a combination of donor generosity, semi-public investment and philanthropic capital, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation has provided $800,000 in new small business loans to enterprises in our region. This is the third round of funding the Foundation has issued through its ThriveOn Small Business Loans program, which launched in 2021.
Helping power this investment in economic opportunity for 16 local businesses was a matching grant for $300,000 awarded to the Foundation through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s Capital Catalyst Program. The Foundation earned the seed funding from WEDC for its focus on emerging growth businesses. Foundation donors then stepped forward to help match the grant alongside additional assets allocated by the Foundation’s Board to underwrite the latest round of loans.
“When we invest together in our region’s small business sector, we create opportunities for economic mobility,” said Greg Wesley, president and CEO of the Foundation. “We are proud to be selected by WEDC to administer Capital Catalyst funding and honored by the partnership and generosity of donors who chose to co-invest with us to multiply the impact. As local businesses thrive, so do we all.”
Funding already has been disbursed. Collectively, this round of loans is projected to support the creation of 13 full-time and 27 part-time jobs.
“Access to capital is critical to helping small businesses survive and thrive,” said Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of WEDC, the state’s leading economic development organization. “Partnerships like the ThriveOn Small Business Loans program provide that assistance to small businesses in a community-based setting, where they are most likely to feel comfortable seeking help.”
Supporting a variety of industries
Receiving funding from the Foundation in this round are:
- Bara Legacies (Milwaukee)
- M. Dika Dermatology (Burlington)
- Encore Cleaning Systems (Menomonee Falls)
- FIT4YOUMKE (Milwaukee)
- Honey Bee Sage (Milwaukee)
- JenGerDoll (Milwaukee)
- Jetlagged (Milwaukee)
- Just Shuttle (Wauwatosa)
- Silent Wealth (Milwaukee)
- Vibez Creative Art Space (Glendale)
- Confluence Graphics (Milwaukee)
- Freeway Acres (West Allis)
- Jennings Asphalt Contracting (Milwaukee)
- Modern Ledger Business Services (West Bend)
- Piece of Love (West Allis)
- Vision Print Designs (West Allis)
As an impacting investing product of the Foundation, ThriveOn Small Business Loans have several unique characteristics. In addition to featuring a below-market 2% interest rate, the program also provides recipients with access to technical support to improve business operations in areas like accounting, cash flow management, customer-building strategies and technology. With its investments, the Foundation also helps open the door for these businesses to access other traditional capital sources.
Overcoming barriers for sustained impact
Small business loans are part of the Foundation’s broader impact investing program, which carefully invests philanthropic resources where limited capital has limited emerging growth businesses from unlocking their full potential. With focus areas that include equitable economic opportunity, early childhood education and beyond, housing, and the ThriveOn Collaboration, the impact investing program is built to generate social returns as well as financial returns, allowing dollars to be cycled back into new opportunities over the long term.
Individual philanthropy is central to the impact investing program’s success. Last year alone, gifts to the program totaled $485,000. Since launching as a one-year pilot in 2017, the Foundation’s program has committed over $22 million in impact investments in the form of loans, guarantees, mission-related investments and more. Donor contributions account for $4 million of that total. This infusion of capital into the community has helped create or retain an estimated 852 full- and part-time jobs and leveraged an additional $65 million from other funders.
The community can join in expanding economic opportunity in greater Milwaukee both by patronizing local businesses and by contributing to the Foundation’s Impact Investing Fund, which supports the ThriveOn Small Business Loans program and other social impact-first investments.
About the Greater Milwaukee Foundation
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is Wisconsin’s largest community foundation and was among the first established in the world. For 110 years, the Foundation has been at the heart of the civic community, helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals, investing in economic and community well-being, and bringing people and organizations together for positive change. The Foundation serves Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties, and its philanthropic impact reaches across the country and globe. Racial equity is the Foundation’s North Star, guiding its strategies for building a Milwaukee for all, together. Leveraging generations of community knowledge, cross-sector partnerships and more than $1 billion in generosity, the Foundation is committed to reimagining philanthropy, catalyzing systems change, convening and following community voice, and building inclusive culture throughout the region.