For most nonprofits, making a difference hinges on financial generosity from community supporters. Some of the most common donation amounts – $10 a month ($120 annually) or a $50 one-time gift – pack a major punch in helping these three local organizations achieve their missions.
1. Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful
Through community classes about environmental stewardship and neighborhood cleanups, this local branch of the nationwide nonprofit Keep America Beautiful focuses on improving quality of life for all Milwaukeeans. “Everyone deserves to live in a beautiful and clean community,” says Zoe Jump, Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful’s executive director. “Our programs help bring together neighbors, friends and business to cultivate environmentally just neighborhoods where both people and the planet can thrive.”
What They Do
Environmental education and community programs.
$50 Donation
One environmental education class for 30 kids.
$120 Donation
One litter cleanup kit for a neighborhood cleanup group.
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KGMP offers educational programming, including speakers that teach K-12 students about recycling, composting, waste reduction and energy conservation in schools or on-site at KGMP’s office. The organization also provides supplies – litter grabbers, buckets, gloves and garbage bags plus large tools like rakes, shovels and brooms – for locals leading community cleanups. Each summer, the organization leads the Great Milwaukee Cleanup, coordinating locals to work together to beautify their neighborhoods.
2. HEAR Wisconsin
The only organization of its kind in the state, HEAR Wisconsin provides services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people of all ages. Along with a full audiology clinic and a shop that offers assistive hearing technology, HEAR supports the special needs of adults with developmental disabilities and hearing loss. Its Adult Day Services program equips attendees with independent living, communication and social skills they need to thrive in daily life.
What They Do
Support deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and families.
$50 Donation
Interactive therapy toys for babies and toddlers affected by hearing loss.
$120 Donation
One language learning kit full of books and toys that help therapists teach and interact with babies affected by hearing loss.
HEAR also supports families affected by hearing loss. The Kellogg Child and Family Program, the org’s greatest need for donations, serves little ones from birth to age 3, whether they’re deaf or hard-of-hearing or their caregivers are.
“Our audiologists and speech language pathologists work with those babies and their families to facilitate communication, to make sure parents know how to engage with their child or babies are learning when the parents aren’t speaking properly,” says Jill Van Calster, president and CEO of HEAR Wisconsin. By intervening in the first few years of life, when babies develop most rapidly, kids have the best chance of success at performing like their peers when they go to school.
3. Franciscan Peacemakers
Founded on the Franciscan principles of supporting the marginalized and honoring human dignity, Franciscan Peacemakers provides comprehensive services to help Milwaukee women affected by sexual exploitation find healing and live productive lives. “Our mission is to provide a pathway out of prostitution, sex trafficking and addiction to start a safe and stable way of life,” says Megan O’Halloran, executive director of Franciscan Peacemakers.
What They Do
Support women impacted by sex trafficking and addiction.
$50 Donation
10 hygiene bags for sexually exploited women.
$120 Donation
Eight hours of pay for women working in its housing program.
The organization started as a street outreach program. Now, it has a hospitality center at 34th and Lisbon where sexually exploited women struggling with substance use and addiction can pick up lunch and a hygiene supply kit consisting of essentials like a toothbrush and toothpaste, washcloth, deodorant, shampoo, body wash and a comb.
Clare Community, its two-year residential program, offers free housing for sober women who want to exit sex trafficking. The program also provides jobs making self-care products – which are sold at the Franciscan Peacemakers Soap Shop. There, the women learn valuable skills in manufacturing, packaging, marketing and sales while building a solid financial foundation for their new lives.
