MILWAUKEE – The Greater Milwaukee Foundation (GMF) has created a Violence Prevention Fund in an effort to augment funding the City of Milwaukee is receiving from Google to support local crime reduction efforts coordinated by the City of Milwaukee Health Department Office of Violence Prevention.
The foundation has already committed $25,000 toward matching funds that Milwaukee is receiving from Google as part of the company’s effort to funnel $2 million in support of grass-roots efforts aimed at lowering gun violence in 10 cities nationwide.
The Violence Prevention Fund is open to philanthropic support from throughout the community, including corporations, groups, or individuals. Contributions of every amount are welcome. Donations are tax deductible and should be made payable to: Greater Milwaukee Foundation Violence Prevention Fund.
Funding will be used to support violence prevention strategies identified in Milwaukee’s Blueprint for Peace.
The Blueprint is a citywide violence reduction plan that focuses on six goals: 1) Stop the Shooting, 2) Promote Healing, 3) Support Children, Youth and Families, 4) Promote Economic Opportunity, 5) Foster Strong Neighborhoods, and 6) Strengthen Capacity and Impact of Violence Prevention Efforts.
The Blueprint has been informed by input from thousands of city residents, agencies, and leaders. Business and philanthropic leaders have also been heavily engaged throughout. Julia Taylor, president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC), and Ellen Gilligan, president of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, both serve as Steering Committee members for the Blueprint.
“We stand united with our entire city to ensure that we are doing everything possible to make Milwaukee one of the safest places to live, work, and do business,” Taylor said. “We are fortunate to receive this investment from Google into Milwaukee and it would be great to see the rest of our community help support violence prevention.”
“How safe people feel in their neighborhood and in their broader community has a tremendous impact on their quality of life. It’s a value shared by us all. As a community foundation, we stand committed to investing in strategies that we believe will have a measurable impact, and we invite those who care about the safety and security of our community to do the same,” Gilligan said.
The GMC and GMF have partnered with the mayor and the City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention to promote the goals of the Blueprint. In January, multiple organizations including Mayor Tom Barrett, Office of Violence Prevention, the Greater Milwaukee Committee, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Northwestern Mutual, United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, and 371 Productions hosted a community wide summit titled Safe MKE to bring awareness to the growing public health issue of violence in Milwaukee.
The event brought together community and business leaders, as well as elected officials and policy makers to discuss solutions to all forms of violence in our city. In addition the Office of Violence Prevention has continued to support violence prevention measures throughout the summer including its Trauma Response Initiative, Heal the Hood, We Got This, Pepp Nation in Sherman Park, “I Will Not Die Young,” and many others.
For more information about the fund, contact the Greater Milwaukee Foundation at 414-272-5802.
For more information about the Blueprint for Peace contact: City of Milwaukee Health Department, Office of Violence Prevention at: 414-286-3521
