BizNews FEATURE Frank Cumberbatch, Amy Lovell and Michael Lovell discussed the goals of Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee at BizTimes Media’s Nonprofit Excellence Awards.
SWIM Hub on city’s near west side planned to amplify small nonprofits’ impact By Lauren Anderson, staff writer FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS, TRUE Skool, a nonprofit organization based in downtown Milwaukee, has provided in-school and after-school programs, using hip-hop culture, public art projects, music and other tools to engage with students. The small, community-based organization doesn’t benefit from the backing of a large family foundation or dedicated major funder; instead, like many other nonprofits of its size, it leans on individual grants and earned revenue to sustain its operations. “We are a small organization,” said Fidel Verdin, co-director of TRUE Skool. “We’re not an institutional organization. And, quite frankly, we’re not ran and led by white people. We have a movement that is focused with a laser beam on using the most phenomenal and influential culture on the planet today – hip-hop – to make a positive collective impact 12 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 26, 2020
on our society. Some people may resonate with that. … Some people may not.” TRUE Skool is the kind of organization that does important on-the-ground work but can be overlooked by funders, according to the organizers of Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee (SWIM). SWIM, an initiative aimed at increasing awareness of trauma and supporting trauma-informed work in the community, is now laying the groundwork to develop a collaborative hub for nine nonprofits, including TRUE Skool, on the city’s near west side to provide access to legal, accounting, grant writing and other services. The 11,000-square-foot building is planned to include space for the organizations to host events for donors, community gatherings, and trauma and resilience trainings, while also providing wellness services to address the
second-hand trauma experienced by service workers. “The idea is to ‘heal the healer’ so they can pour out and help the community,” said Amy Lovell, a co-founder of REDgen and a member of SWIM’s steering committee. “… There are a lot of nonprofit centers out there, but there aren’t many that are doing the self-care piece.” SWIM has worked with Milwaukee developer Juli Kaufmann to identify a location for the development, but has not yet disclosed the site. The goal is to help small organizations – including those working in fields such as mental health and wellness, foster care support and anti-trafficking work – scale and increase their impact in Milwaukee, Lovell said. “It’s about giving these community leaders who are working tirelessly, to give them the space they deserve,” Lovell said. “If you
have a small nonprofit – and I say this from starting one – you don’t have the budget to hold a fundraising event or to hold a training. … So, if we build this space, now what they have is a space that is equitable. They have this space for all the work they’re doing.” “These are very passionate people, people who put their lives at risk every single day,” added Frank Cumberbatch, vice president of engagement for Bader Philanthropies and a member of SWIM’s steering committee. “And this statement might be controversial, but they seem to be a group of folks that nobody seems to care about. But we recognize their importance to the city and to the community, so we will provide those resources like space and knowledge for them to develop.” Spearheaded by Amy Lovell and her husband, Marquette University president Michael Lovell, SWIM launched in 2018 as a coalition of local nonprofit leaders, public officials, academics, social workers, health care professionals and other stakeholders to address the issue of generational trauma in Milwaukee. For the past two years, the group, which recently received its nonprofit status, has worked to bring attention to research that indicates trauma – a term used to describe a high-stress psychological response to an adverse experience – is a root cause of disparity in many cities, including Milwaukee. The group partnered in the fall of 2018 with Milwaukee-based nonprofit SaintA to host a conference on trauma at Fiserv Forum, an event that drew 1,500 attendees, leading national trauma experts and a personal video message from Oprah Winfrey. Since then, SWIM has worked with consultant NATAL, an organization that provides treatment and support to victims of trauma
