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This 15th annual Carnival Milwaukee fundraiser was truly special! On Friday, March 3rd, nearly 280 guests and friends joined us at the Historic Pritzlaff as we gathered in-person for the first time since 2020.
We celebrated Milwaukee’s diversity through food, music, culture, and fellowship. De La Buena, Salsabrositas, and Samba Da Vida brought the music, dance and vibrant beats, 20 local restaurants and caterers wowed our guests with a diverse menu for our food tasting, and guests enjoyed an interactive photo booth and top-notch raffle.
We also celebrated the life of Bill Johnson, our Executive Director from 2006-2015, who created this seminal event. Bill dreamed of creating a space for people from different walks of life to come together and enjoy all the beauty and diversity our community has to offer – in short, a party with a purpose. We honored him with a a Second Line tribute and other special touches like a “Bill’s Favorites” basket in our raffle.
Look for a full recap in April, including photos, video and an updated list of Carnival Milwaukee Food Tasting vendors.
Carnival Milwaukee is a fundraiser for the Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin (UEDA) and celebrates Milwaukee’s diversity through food, music, and dance while supporting the local businesses, individuals and organizations that contribute to the economic and cultural vitality of our city.
Not able to join us this year?
Consider making a contribution to support UEDA!
Your support will not only provide direct investment into local businesses, but will also help fund UEDA’s work in sustainable homeownership and affordable housing, financial empowerment, small business growth, workforce mobility, and community investment.
Congratulations to our 2023 Awardee!
Every year we present a Bridge Builder Award to recognize a community member or partner for their efforts to honor diversity and connect people and places through the expression of culture in food, art, music, and space.
On Tuesday, February 21st during our virtual Fat Tuesday event we recognized Riverworks Development Corporation for their commitment to connecting neighborhoods and residents through creative place-making, economic activity with small, diverse businesses, and cultural community events in Harambee and Riverwest.
Their key projects and activities include the development and management of the Beerline Trail, 53212 Marketplace, creative corridor activity, and an array of community events utilizing these newly created spaces. Learn more about them at www.riverworksmke.org.
We also announced that this award will now be known as the Bill Johnson Bridge Builder Award, in honor of UEDA’s former Executive Director, who created the Carnival Milwaukee event in 2009. Bill was one of the most well-known “bridge builders” in our community and we could think of no better way to celebrate his life.
Stay tuned for more updates on what you’ll find at this year’s Carnival Milwaukee event on Friday, March 3rd!
Follow UEDA on Facebook or check out www.CarnivalMilwaukee.com
THANK YOU TO OUR 2023 SPONSORS!
On Thursday, November 3, 2022 UEDA celebrated 25 years of supporting individuals and groups in the community and economic development sector at our Annual Community Gathering with nearly 60 of our closest friends, members and partners.
We enjoyed food and beverages from Turning Tables MKE and attendees received a special gift acknowledging the ways we seek to connect and support our members.
UEDA’s Executive Director, Kristi Luzar, shared recent updates with the network and reminisced about UEDA through the years via these UEDA Highlights, a snapshot of the projects and programs we’ve been involved in over the years.
Lastly, we recognized the following individuals for their commitment to UEDA and their community, who exemplify our values of collaboration, capacity and connection.
Outstanding Community Partner
Brian Peters, Independence First
Extraordinary Volunteer
Maria Prioletta, City of Milwaukee Department of City Development
Check out a full recap / slideshow here.
Thank you to those who joined us! It was a classic UEDA event of connection and fellowship.
On September 29th we celebrated and shared the accomplishments of Bank On Greater Milwaukee with nearly 50 attendees. A big THANK YOU to our funders and supporters! We also recognized our 2022 Bank On Champions for their efforts to support safe and accessible banking. Over the past 3 years, we’ve achieved the following:
- Promoted 14 Bank On Certified Accounts. In 2019 there were 6 – our efforts have more than doubled the number of certified accounts in our market!
- Completed an update of our annual “Your Smart Money” resource guide, including new content and a redesign. It features information on specific financial topics and in 2022 we’ve distributed nearly 6,000 guides in English & Spanish. It is also posted on the BOGM website Resources page.
- Helped implement 6+ banking access program integrations and have produced & widely shared 23+ items of educational content, including guides, blogs posts, and videos.
- Increased our coalition from 26 to 52 members, which includes 27 community-based organizations, 17 financial institutions, 3 government partners, and 5 network partners. Members have contributed 900+ volunteers hours to BOGM!
- Educated and informed over 550 individuals on banking access issues through 10+ coalition meetings and roundtables.
- Launched the Bank On Greater Milwaukee Advocacy Map, a tool to help us identify areas of need compared to banking access points (branches, other financial services) – read more about it here.
- Assisted coalition members and community partners to secure other CFE Fund resources to launch new services that strengthen financial stability for people and families such as the City of Milwaukee Financial Navigator program and REAL Banking initiative.
Check out slides from the event which includes more accomplishments over the past three years and watch a congratulatory message from Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson HERE.
Pictured above, left to right:
Conor Williams (Community Connector), Migdalia Ervin (Innovation), Adam Procell (Community Connector), Wisconsin Bankers Association, Heather MacKinnon (Community Partner), Wisconsin Bankers Association, Rose Oswald Poels (Community Partner), Pastor Raymond Monk (Community Connector), Jaime De Jesus, Sr. (Community Connector), Dan Krohn (Leadership & Activity)
Read more about our Champions HERE.
Our Fall 2022 sessions will feature credit access programs, business improvement districts and community investment tools.
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Through the years, UEDA has transformed to fit the needs of our growing community and member base. We have grown into our role as a third-party intermediary, and have evolved with a focus on our members and our three c’s: collaboration, capacity building and connections.
UEDA’s membership network has over 300 individuals from more than 95 nonprofits, businesses and government agencies that represent the arts, disability, housing, small business, philanthropic, financial, corporate, local food, entertainment, and governmental sectors. Together, we work to invest in and support initiatives that strengthen Wisconsin communities and urban neighborhoods.
