Milwaukee is filled with great people, rich culture and history, making it a beautiful city to live in. However, Milwaukee is also known as one of the most segregated cities in the country. This current crisis is linked back to the practice of redlining in the 1930s. Redlining is defined as the discriminatory action of denying minority populations access to equal loan and housing opportunities. Many families of color were turned away from thousands of opportunities of owning a home, despite their financial situation.
It wasn’t until the Civils Rights Act of 1964 and Fair Housing Act, that passed in 1968, when discrimination in housing was against the law. Unfortunately, as many years pass, cities across the U.S. like Milwaukee are still suffering from the impact of redlining and having affordable homes.
Milwaukee’s homeownership rate has been low and declining disproportionately among Black and Latino populations. To understand the scale of Milwaukee’s housing needs, city staff analyzed that approximately 32,000 additional rental units and 32,000 homeownership opportunities were needed over 30 years.
April marks a time of recognizing National Homeownership month and we take the opportunity to showcase the work of the Community Development Alliance (CDA). Since its inception, CDA has focused its work on achieving quality, affordable housing for every Milwaukeean.
With the immense effort of planning and funding housing projects throughout Milwaukee, CDA showcased the long-awaited project through its NEXT GENeration Homes tour on April 11. The tour took participants to three model homes across Milwaukee in the Midtown, Silver City and Thurston Woods neighborhoods. At each model home, attendees heard directly from the builder – VIA CDC, Habitat for Humanity and Lush Homes – about the construction of the home, key features, and more.
Want to learn more about racial equity on housing? Find information here.
Earth Day Celebrations
Cultivate
In honor of Garden month and Earth day coming soon, we invite you to join Embassy Center MKE for the CULTIVATE Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 20 at 10:00 am.
This special event is more than just a celebration; it’s a movement dedicated to empowering our youth through the CULTIVATE program, which focuses on youth entrepreneurship in urban agriculture. It’s an opportunity for us to come together and support the incredible journey these young individuals are taking to harness their talents, gifts, and passions for a sustainable future.
The day includes guided tours beginning at 10:30 am, offering an insightful look into the world of urban agriculture and hydroponic technology. Guests will be treated to food samplings throughout the day.
Please RSVP to faithe@
Park Cleanups
In partnership of Rooted & Rising, Neighborhood Improvement District, and Big Clean MKE, they are organizing Washington Park cleanups all summer long! Starting April 22, you can join community members and participate in showing love to our neighborhoods.
Find more information here.
Can’t make it to the first clean up? Here are other dates:
- May 5: 3 pm-5 pm at Bethune Academy
- June 6: 11 am-1 pm at 40th & Vliet St.
- July 5: 11 am-1 pm at Washington Park Playground
- July 13: 11 am-1 pm at 44th & Lisbon Ave
- August 6: 11 am-1 pm at 35th Lisbon Ave
- September 6: 3 pm- 5 pm at 31st & Galena St.
PR Tip: Measuring Results
In the PR industry, everyone measures results or success differently. This may be securing a national media outlet for a client, increasing community and customer engagement, or creating a successful marketing campaign. Although these are all great and a part of PR, these impressions may not be the answer to success.
From PRSA, they provide some insights to measure results other than impressions.
- Define your client(s)
The meaning of “client” is anyone who matters to you. In conversations, discovering opportunities to demonstrate the value of public relations beyond the communications team, is rethinking the definition of clients as a question instead of an assumption. Your immediate clients will be easy to identify, but you may need to dig more to discover who to impress.
- Determine what your client wants out of their metrics
Clients face different challenges and opportunities, but it’s rarely about social media impressions. Instead, clients are wanting to find new ways to build global consumer brands, news media, and investors to understand the bigger picture. The need of understanding why clients want to use public relations is to help solve these challenges.
- Ensure sure your plan addresses your client’s challenges, and then measure it
There are many metrics and ways to display important information to help clients, but think critically about how PR addresses these business challenges and how to go about this need. Whether the work is straightforward or more difficult, remember to think creatively and narrow the focus to what really matters.
- Sell it in
Educate your clients about other metrics to consider, like tonality and share of voice. Be transparent about metrics that will be more challenging to capture and explain proxies that could be used instead.
- Celebrate your measurements
In celebration of what worked, some clients may want to understand what didn’t work and why. Taking the time to think creatively about dialogues around that information and how to improve recommendations for next time.
What’s your secret to measuring results? Let Athena know on social media.
In the News
CIBC Grants ThriveOn King $45.5 million
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) made a $45.5 million commitment to the ThriveOn King project, located in the Historic King Drive district to provide affordable housing and office space for key businesses. Read more here.
Sam Belton awarded Lifetime Achievement Award
Radio Milwaukee’s premier fundraising event, Vinyl Comes Alive, is returning after a hiatus and it includes a new piece: their first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. The award has been presented to Pastor Sam Belton, legendary jazz drummer and owner of Sam’s Place Jazz Cafe.
Join us for a night of celebration and jazz music from the past, present, and future on Thursday, April 18 at 7:00 pm at Turner Hall Ballroom. Read here.