Mission

Cream City Foundation serves as a catalyst for social change on behalf of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Communities in Southeastern Wisconsin. To achieve our mission, the Cream City Foundation:

• Mobilizes philanthropic resources

• Funds initiatives that target system-level change, taking into account race, class, gender and age

Vision

Cream City Foundation serves as the leader in mobilizing philanthropic resources, fostering strategic collaboration, effecting positive change and the advancement of the quality, dignity, and health of LGBT people in Southeastern Wisconsin.

We are a 501(c)3 Tax Exempt Organization

History

Cream City Foundation was founded in 1982 and is celebrating over 27 years of giving to LGBT communities. Cream City Foundation was originally spun-off from the Cream City Business Association, a Milwaukee based association of LGBT business owners formed to promote LGBT entrepreneurship and business support for LGBT communities. Initially begun with $500 in seed money, Cream City Foundation has grown to provide over $700,000 in grant dollars to many organizations and projects that are working to improve the quality of life for LGBT people.

Our Philosophy

Cream City Foundation is a community based foundation focused on funding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) programs and organizations working towards social change in southeastern Wisconsin.

We believe that philanthropy has an immense influence on creating long-lasting social change in our communities - including the elimination of homophobia and gender identity discrimination. We invest with our grantee partners to change attitudes and institutions such that they cease to create the very problems that charity tries to alleviate - we call this structural change philanthropy.

Cream City Foundation also works closely with local and national funders to promote structural change philanthropy and create a giving and philanthropic cooperation to ensure our funding has its maximum impact in our communities.

Part of our strategy also includes building visibility of our local LGBT communities through specific initiatives, such as GayNeighbor.org, in addition to our grant making; provide philanthropic education and giving tools; and expanding the philanthropic tools available for those interested in funding LGBT issues.

Below find a quick visual map of our strategy.