about us
We create conditions leading to equity for women, girls and gender-expansive people by changing attitudes, behaviors, and culture.
OUR VISION
We envision Greater Milwaukee as a place that is committed to the well-being and advancement of women. It shines as a beacon of progress where all women, girls, and gender-expansive people thrive and realize our full potential.
OUR MISSION
To mobilize philanthropy and foster unity for gender equity.
The Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee is a community foundation working to grow our endowment to ensure resources are always available to support initiatives that strategically advance equity for women and girls. We are the only foundation in Milwaukee that does this.
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Inclusion:
Empowerment of women.
Leadership:
Develop and support women leaders.
Equity:
Economic, social and political equality in all women’s lives.
Sustainability:
Grow the endowment; maintain a responsible business structure that protects our assets and maximizes the use of funds.
WE BELIEVE THAT WOMEN AND GIRLS
Must:
Have economic equality
Must:
Be safe in their home, at work or wherever they are
Must:
Hold positions of power and authority in the public and private sector
Must:
Be able to control their own destiny
WHY IT MATTERS
“When women are fully involved, the benefits can be seen immediately; families are healthier, they are better fed; their income, savings, and reinvestment go up. And what is true of families, is true of communities, and eventually, of whole countries.”
Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General, United Nations
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Ménéwek (Milwaukee) and Wisconsin are the ancestral homelands to the:
Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Brothertown Indian Nation
Forest County Potawatomi
Ho-Chunk Nation
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
Mole Lake (Sokaogon Chippewa Community) Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians, and Oneida Nation
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
Background
Land acknowledgment is an indigenous way of life practiced for time immemorial. It is part of ceremony that is indigenous culture, gratitude, and living in reciprocity with the natural world. Neshnabék – original people – carry a sacred relationship with land. This connection provides lessons for living in accordance with all of creation.
Militarized removal, ethnocide, and subsequent assimilation policies separated Indigenous People from the land. These historical and ongoing injustices began a great divide with the natural world, and yet Indigenous People endure and continue to act as stewards and protectors of land. This is remarkable and an act of perseverance which is essential for all who call Mother Earth home. With gratitude and intentionality, we honor the relationship Indigenous People have with the land, for our benefit, and that of future generations.
Action by Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee
Indigenous People continue to live in Greater Milwaukee and are contributing to the cultural and economic landscape of the region in meaningful ways. The Women’s Fund uplifts indigenous knowledge and voices. We are working to address the inequities that face all women and demonstrate our support by providing HER Scholarships to women pursuing higher education, and with grants to nonprofit organizations addressing specific needs of Indigenous People. We also convene an inclusive community to explore and better understand the lived experience of Indigenous People. We remain steadfast to advancing equity of women…Indigenous women are included in our efforts.
Posted with counsel from Starla Thompson, Indigenous Consultant and WF Board Director
October 10, 2022