Greater Milwaukee Foundation

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation began in 1915, shortly after a Cleveland banker came up with the idea of a community foundation. Patrick Cudahy created the Foundation’s first fund with a $25,000 gift. It took 40 years for the Foundation to reach $1 million in assets. That milestone was finally reached in 1956 with a $300,000 bequest establishing the Edith C. and J. Oscar Greenwald Fund. Today the Foundation ranks among the top 30 community foundations in the nation with assets of more than $612 million. In 2012, the Foundation made grants totaling more than $30 million to 3,373 organizations in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, Ozaukee counties and beyond.