The Green Bay Packers Foundation has awarded $300,000 in impact grants to two Milwaukee organizations: Fellowship Open and Milwaukee Health Care Partnership.

Each grant is a $150,000 matching grant, requiring the recipient to raise an additional $150,000 in order to secure the donation.

Since 2006, the Packers Foundation has donated 551 grants of different amounts to 287 organizations in Milwaukee and the surrounding counties, totaling more than $1.5 million. However, the impact grants presented today are the most significant grant amounts donated by the Packers Foundation to groups in the Milwaukee area, and the first impact grants to be awarded to organizations outside of Brown County since the Packers began awarding such grants in 2013.

Fellowship Open will direct their grant toward MKE Fellows, which will help build the capacity and long-term sustainability of the program by establishing three critical positions – executive director, internship coordinator and student mentor coordinator. These positions will exponentially strengthen MKE Fellows' organizational infrastructure, providing the increased capacity necessary to serve young men and profoundly impact Wisconsin's black community.

With the addition of these positions, MKE Fellows anticipates serving at least 200 academically talented African-American young men annually by 2021.

Milwaukee Health Care Partnership will direct their grant toward the development and implementation of the Housing is Health program to secure sustainable housing and provide care navigation for homeless and precariously housed patients cared for in Milwaukee's high traffic/high need emergency departments.

The Housing is Health project is a two-year demonstration project that will provide for Milwaukee County Housing Division navigators who will partner with ER care coordination staff to identify, assess, coach and place homeless patients in supportive housing. This navigation will also link patients with ongoing social, mental health and substance use resources, with the goal of achieving long-term housing stability. The grant will additionally help underwrite more than $100,000 in housing subsidies, such as rent, utilities and furniture.

"The Packers Foundation and the Packers are proud to award grants to two exceptional Milwaukee organizations," said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. "Milwaukee has supported the Packers since the very early years of the franchise, and it is crucial for us to give back to the Milwaukee community. We look forward to seeing the Fellowship Open and the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership continue their transformational work in the community, helping those who need and deserve it most."

MKE Fellows is a powerful initiative offering support to academically talented African-American young men in Wisconsin to ensure that they graduate from college prepared for career success. The organization's core pillars include internship and job experiences, mentorship, career and professional development, scholarship opportunities and civic engagement. Learn more at https://www.mkefellows.com/.

Established in 2007, the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership is a public/private consortium dedicated to improving health care for low-income, underserved populations in Milwaukee County, with the aim of improving health outcomes, reducing disparities and lowering the total cost of care. Learn more at https://mkehcp.org/.

Including this year's impact grants, the Packers Foundation has awarded $4.55 million in significant impact grants since 2013, and has distributed more than $11.68 million for charitable purposes since it was established in 1986. Including impact grants and the annual grant cycle, the Foundation awarded 234 grants in 2018, totaling $1.8 million.

A component of the Green Bay Packers Give Back program, the grants, combined with other Green Bay Packers charity endeavors, contribute to a comprehensive Packers charity impact that was in excess of $8 million in the past year. The Green Bay Packers Foundation Trustees include Jerry Ganoni (chairperson), Marcia Anderson, Tom Cardella, Valerie Daniels-Carter, Ricardo Diaz, Susan Finco, DJ Long, Jr., Larry McCarren, Mike Weller and Hon. John Zakowski.