MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Bucks Foundation on Thursday, Feb. 17, will distribute grants to five local-area nonprofit organizations, furthering its commitment to bettering the Wisconsin Community.

According to a news release, aligning to the Bucks Foundation’s five pillars of health and wellness, economic and individual empowerment, education, civic engagement and criminal justice and law reform, funding this cycle will support nonprofit partners with high school and prison voting initiatives, resources for individuals impacted by gun violence and youth education summer programs challenging students to design a more equitable future.

“The Bucks Foundation is proud to bring funding and visibility to these great organizations and the people behind them working tirelessly to build equity in our community,” said Milwaukee Bucks Foundation Executive Director Arvind Gopalratnam. “As we continue to grow our impact across the state in the ways of funding, engagement and advocacy, we are excited to work with these partners, as well as many others, to build a strong community.”

The grantees are:

• 414LIFE, which is receiving a grant to help with organizational support to continue their work providing resources and support to Milwaukee County families impacted by gun violence.
  • “Violence happens unexpectedly, creating a rapid loss of resources, and for many who did not have many resources to begin with, trauma can catapult someone into homelessness, food insecurity, and continued lack of safety. Having emergency funds quickly available to attempt to prevent continued loss for violence survivors is vital in the continuum of prevention,” said Terri deRoon-Cassini, Director, Comprehensive Injury Center, MCW.
• MKE Black provides a directory for Black-owned businesses in the greater Milwaukee area, offering the businesses access to resources, networks and capital. The Bucks Foundation is supporting operational efforts for MKE Black to continue their work supporting Milwaukee Black-owned businesses.
  • "With the support of the Bucks Foundations, MKE Black can continue to support the growing network of Black-owned businesses in Milwaukee and build on the thriving Black culture for our city,” said MKE Black Executive Director Rick Banks.
• Milwaukee Succeeds, an organization that works to advance educational inequity in Milwaukee, is receiving funding to help execute plans from their “Design Your Future” program. This six-week summer program allows 50+ young people in Milwaukee to create their own plans to improve local high schools for black male students.
  • "The Design Your Future Fellowship was about shifting power to youth and believing in their ability to come up with solutions to the issues they face. The grant from the Bucks Foundation shows the youth in our city that their ideas are valid and worth investing in," said Clintel Hasan, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Milwaukee Succeeds.
• League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County is a nonpartisan organization that works to encourage informed and active participation in government, as well as influence public policy through education and advocacy. Support from the Bucks Foundation will go toward its High School Voter Education and Registration Project.
  • “The support of the Bucks Foundation will help us reach a new generation of citizens to encourage them to exercise their right to vote. People who begin voting when they're young are more likely to become committed, lifelong voters and to become civically engaged with their government -- and that makes democracy work better for everyone,” said Peggy Creer, President, League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County.
• ACLU Wisconsin works to defend the civil liberties and civil rights of all Wisconsin residents. The Bucks Foundation is providing a grant and in-kind support of promotional materials to the ACLU Wisconsin for its Jail Voting Program.
  • "We are deeply grateful to the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation for supporting our 2022 Jail Voting Campaign. Many eligible voters in our state are disenfranchised each election purely because they are in jail, and this partnership enables us to continue fighting for a democracy in which everyone--including voters in jail--have equal access to the ballot," said Maxine Webb, Director of Development & Strategic Operations, ACLU Wisconsin

All five organizations will be recognized at Thursday night’s Bucks game.