During Boys and Men of Color Week in 2014, Eric Grimes gave an impassioned speech about the plight of Black boys and men in our country. Clarence Johnson and about 10 staff members of Wisconsin Community Services (WCS) were in the audience and felt moved to act.

Counting himself as part of this population in crisis, Johnson and others at WCS returned to their organization and started having conversations about the pervasive ripple effects of trauma in the African American community. Historically the trauma came from slavery and Jim Crow. Today it comes from factors contributing to the high incarceration rates of boys and men of color. Johnson and others wondered if their organization was addressing these issues specifically for the target population of boys and men of color.
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​Since 1912, under a few different names, Wisconsin Community Services has served individuals who are in the criminal justice system or at risk of becoming involved. They provide pretrial court services, drug treatment, residential reentry services, and a large behavioral health program for those with severe and persistent mental illness.
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​“If you look at communities in Milwaukee where poverty is most likely to happen, it’s in communities that have lower numbers of men who are there to care for their families because they are in prison,” Johnson explains. “WCS provides services that make it more likely for men to stay and support their families.”

Johnson and others realized that their clientele was mostly men of color, but that their organization could be more effective in serving and being aware of that population.

“The prospects of African American males in Milwaukee are very poor compared to other urban areas. I’m not sure the Black community has rebounded from the loss of factory jobs in Milwaukee over 20 years ago. We work with thousands of African American males on a daily basis so it just made sense to start impacting that specific group through the services of WCS,” Johnson explained.

With the support of WCS’s administration, Johnson and others formed the Black Male Advisory Council or BMAC (pronounced Bee-Mac) in early 2015. In the last year and half, 10-15 active staff members met regularly to focus on how their organization can better serve and empower boys and men of color.

“The biggest challenge is finding a place to dig in,” says Johnson. “The challenge is so enormous and all our staff has full-time jobs.”  

Not in anyone’s job description, staff members use their own time to serve on the committee. BMAC has organized successful luncheons and gatherings for WCS staff to recognize the contributions and increase awareness about the challenges facing African Americans. This August 31st, the BMAC will host its second annual Community Resource and Job Fair, where boys and men of color can come and meet employers, mental health providers, and other community resources. The event runs from 10am-2pm and will include food, entertainment, and visits from local politicians.

Johnson has hope that the BMAC provides a strong voice for the people WCS serves.
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“Foundations and funders are well intentioned but the answers have to come from a different perspective.” Black Male Advisory councils, or councils for other target groups for that matter, have the potential to facilitate conversations with less strings attached and to keep the focus on the clients and target population.

Another purpose of the Black Male Advisory Council at WCS is to ensure that all members of the organization's diverse staff are empowered and supported. Forty-five percent of employees are black and fifty-five percent are white. “If we want to be successful with our Black clients, we have to make sure that our Black staff feel empowered and supported. We are counting on them to be our first line of defense.”

Johnson thinks that the Black Male Advisory Council could be recreated in other organizations, both nonprofits and federal agencies, but not through a mandate. WCS’s Black Male Advisory Council works by organic empowerment. Its growing success shows how creating a safe space for a specific population creates awareness, celebrates contributions, and promotes action.

How is your organization providing safe spaces for advocacy and action for specific populations?

Blog from the Big Chair

By Rob Meiksins, CEO
 
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard it from Milwaukee nonprofit executives, and every time I hear it I cringe.  “We’re in financial trouble,” they say.  “I’m going to have to fix things:  I’ll hire a grant writer.”  Argh! as Charlie Brown used to say.  Grant writers are wonderful people and do important work.  But generating income is about far more than putting words on a piece of paper or website.
 
Here’s another one: “My board isn’t doing enough.”  This is shorthand for: “We’re in financial trouble and I need my board to raise funds now.”  That executive has probably never involved the board in fundraising but expects that, magically, the directors will ride in on their white horses and save the day.
One more cringe moment.  “I need to find an angel donor. You know, that millionaire next door that no one ever knew had a lot of money.” So you're telling me that millionaire next door has never had any contact with your organization—but maybe, just maybe, he’s interested in your cause? Cringe.
 
It’s not that fund development for Milwaukee nonprofits is impossible—it’s just that there are many misconceptions about how to do it that run rampant in our sector. To bust those myths and teach nonprofits viable fund development strategies, UW Parkside has developed a Fund Development Certificate program that will be offered here at the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee. 
 
3 Fund Development Myths Debunked
 
Going back to our cringe moments above, here are three fund development myths, along with the facts that contradict them. This is the kind of information that Milwaukee nonprofit executives and fund development staff will learn in the new fund development certificate program:
 
Myth #1: Hiring a grant writer will solve your funding crisis.
 
A report from the Center for Charitable Statistics points out that almost half of funding for nonprofits comes from fees for services and goods. Private contributions only account for 13.3% of income for nonprofits. To really fix a funding crisis, the nonprofit executive needs to pay attention to earned revenue. Of course many people say there’s nothing unearned about charitable giving:  all donations are earned through very hard work. However, according to Giving USA, 62% of all gifts to nonprofits in 2015 were from individuals. People. Not foundations or corporations. Putting those statistics together, a grant writer pursuing foundation and corporate giving is going after less than 6% of nonprofit funding. 
 
Myth #2: Your board can magically raise funds instantaneously.
 
There is a cycle of fund raising that involves identifying donors, cultivating them, asking for a gift, thanking them for the gift, involving them in the organization, and on and on.  You have to diligently establish a culture of philanthropy at your organization, and that takes time and energy.  So start now, before it's a crisis.
 
Myth #3: There’s a millionaire next door waiting to give you lots of money.
 
By definition, a prospect—according to Andy Robinson—is a person who has the capacity to give, has the habit of giving, and knows about you.  So that millionaire next door may have the capacity to give, but does she like to make donations?  If not, you’re out of luck. If she likes to give, it is really unlikely that she’ll give to you if she knows nothing about what you do, so you are out of luck again. The old adage is that it takes seven contacts to get the gift. Simply put, it takes work.  Work to find the donor, work to learn about them, and work to get them to want to give. 
 
Who Is the Fund Development Certificate Program For?
 
The point of the fund development curriculum we’re offering this fall is to help nonprofit staff develop the good habits required for effective fund development.  This is not a class for the desperate, but for people who want to take fund development seriously and establish a sustainable culture of philanthropy at their organization. 
 
There was a strong team that came together at UW Parkside to design this curriculum.  We wanted it to be engaging, interactive, intense, and comprehensive.  We wanted to be able to say that our graduates know how to do fund development the right way.  We hoped that they would learn about the work that’s involved, but also about the rewards.  Knowing that you’ve helped connect a donor to a cause they’re excited about and want to have an impact on is a great feeling. Knowing you’ve helped a cause connect to a donor who can provide some of the resources needed to deliver on the mission is equally amazing. 
 
If this is what you want to do or are being asked to do for your organization, I encourage you enroll in the fund development certificate program.

Want to learn more? Register for a free presentation and Q & A session on the Fund Development Certificate Program, July 13 at 12 noon at NPC, 2819 W. Highland Ave., Milwaukee, WI. ​​

By Georgia Pabst

When former White House representative Marco Davis looks at the growing Latino community in Milwaukee and elsewhere, he knows there are challenges with educational and economic advancement. But what he sees more clearly is a youthful population with great promise whose assets and strengths are too often underestimated.

Davis is speaking at NPC’s June 29 conference, Adelante (Forward): Increasing Opportunity and Success for Milwaukee’s Latino Males. In a phone interview from his home in Washington, DC, he said his talk would focus on how Milwaukee organizations and others can tap into the hard work, creativity and innovation of Latino men and boys locally.

The conference is hosted by UMOS, an NPC Champion member. A grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation is making it possible for NPC to offer the conference at a significantly reduced price for registrants.

In May, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation released the first comprehensive statistical portrait of Latinos in metro Milwaukee, developed for the foundation by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Economic Development. According to their analysis, the city of Milwaukee would have lost population in the last 25 years without the growing Latino community. Other findings include:

• Contrary to what many believe, 73% of Latinos in the Milwaukee area are U. S. born citizens, not immigrants. 
• Latino school children account for all the net growth in K-12enrollment in the region.
• Latino workers account for the net growth in employment in the four -county area. 

​Milwaukee already has a rich legacy of Hispanic-serving nonprofits whose roots go back the Migrant Farmworker movement and various Faith Based Mutual Aid societies.  Organizations such as UMOS, UCC, and Centro Hispano all have more than 40 years of history and have become anchors for the Latino community in the nonprofit sector.  

​The inclusion of cultural arts programming also is a hallmark of Hispanic-serving institutions that uplift heritage and identity.  UCC’s Latino Arts, the holistic programming of Casa Romero, and that of organizations with large Latino demographics such as Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and Journey House highlight the arts as a means of social development within the broader Latino community.  Cultural competency is vital to effective service to this emerging population.​There is a clear connection between public policy, economics, community engagement, and Latino success.  Education remains a major issue for Latinos, the majority of whom live in areas of concentrated urban poverty.  Milwaukee’s K12 enrollment increase, public and private, is due largely in part to the rise in the city’s Latino population, and demand for services is only increasing.  Currently, less than two-thirds of Milwaukee Latinos (66.4%) do not have a high school diploma, while only 13.6% of Milwaukee’s Latinos have a bachelor’s degree.  

The unemployment rate is marginally better for Hispanics than for African Americans, but the significant education gap, particularly for Latino males who represent 51% of the Hispanic population, limit any potential economic gains.  In fact, Latino household income in Milwaukee had a 24% decrease in 2014 compared to 1990.  This presents a challenge for organizations to adapt to the changing face of Milwaukee for a community that is largely underserved.  

The chance for collaborative efforts exist but there has to be an increased understanding of Hispanic culture and family dynamics.  The demand to meet these needs is particularly strong in the areas of education, health, and housing.  Organizational capacity, awareness of need from the philanthropic community, in addition to recruitment and retention of professionals with a commitment to community development, is vital.  Translation of printed materials is necessary, but awareness of cultural nuances and development of Latino nonprofit professionals who can engage the community effectively is needed.  Affinity groups such as Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee and the Latino Nonprofit Leadership Class are vital resources to identify and cultivate individuals to meet this need.  

The opportunities presented are greater than the crisis itself.  Genuine engagement of Latinos represents significant revitalization for urban Milwaukee, particularly the central city and near south side.  The potential for economic development and home ownership in the south side, where Latinos across the economic spectrum reside, can match and support parallel efforts in Milwaukee’s African American north side.  A strong Latino community in Milwaukee is an affront to the hyper-segregation that has been a blemish to our city.  This is not an “either/or” dilemma - this is a pivotal moment for Milwaukee's promise to be fulfilled.