Throughout its history, the Herzfeld Foundation has supported organizations and initiatives that promote educational quality in Milwaukee and expand access to educational opportunities for all Milwaukee children, with a particular focus on high quality early childhood education (ECE).
Research tells us that important brain development occurs during children's early years of life. Because this is such a critical time to prepare children for school, the Herzfeld Foundation supports programs and initiatives that provide young children with high-quality early learning experiences.
We also support initiatives to improve K-12 educational outcomes in the city of Milwaukee, including public policy, research, and advocacy efforts to address longstanding racial achievement gaps, academic underperformance, and insufficient arts and music education capacity at all Milwaukee schools.
Finally, we include arts education under our education portfolio and have long supported initiatives that offer Milwaukee children from preschool through high school to arts-based educational opportunities that expand thinking, nurture creativity, enhance self-awareness, and fortify an appreciation of arts and artists. We are particularly interested in supporting initiatives that bring arts experiences directly to schools, early learning environments, neighborhood centers, and informal settings such as parks, community events, and libraries.
Our Current Areas of Focus
Grants to ensure access to high quality ECE
We prioritize support for proposals from licensed, nonprofit Milwaukee ECE providers that will help them improve the quality of their educational services, expand their classroom capacity or hours of operation, build organizational capacity, or enhance financial stability and sustainability. We also welcome proposals that allow ECE providers to implement or scale up new business-related strategies or undertake physical improvements to facilities that will enhance their capacity, safety, functionality, and attractiveness.
Grants to support collaboration
We encourage proposals that involve collaboration between two or more ECE providers or between an ECE provider or providers and one or more community-based organizations or educational nonprofits to offer new early learning opportunities or improve organizational efficiency and sustainability. Providers may apply for more than one grant if a second grant involves a collaboration with at least one additional entity.
Grants to expand the reach of arts-related education
Our grantmaking is intended to help strengthen the capacity and build the sustainability of organizations that demonstrate dedication and past success in providing arts education to youth up to age 18 in the city of Milwaukee, as well as to encourage innovative arts education projects and programs in Milwaukee. We also welcome collaborative efforts between arts education organizations and general education or community-based organizations.
Grant Considerations
We are particularly interested in supporting organizations that have a track record of success, serve children in economically disadvantaged or historically marginalized communities, and seek to use our support to expand capacity and enhance long-term organizational stability.
We especially welcome grant applications to support new ECE initiatives that demonstrate collaboration to solve mutual challenges (such as teacher recruitment and retention) or innovative new approaches to early learning.
How To Apply
In mid-April, we completed a solicitation for applications for certain arts and culture and arts education categories, and in mid-July, we completed a solicitation for applications to support early childhood education organizations and initiatives. The application processes for these categories are now closed until 2026.
Other Program Areas We Support
Arts & Culture
The Herzfeld Foundation recognizes that arts & culture are vital to the well-being of a community. A vibrant arts & culture community is one that offers diverse cultural experiences to everyone.
Civic Improvements
On a limited basis and by invitation only, the Herzfeld Foundation considers grant requests for civic improvements initiatives that address important societal or public policy challenges in Milwaukee.