Marshall Osborn, a longtime Urban League volunteer and former board member, along with his wife Millie, have pledged a $50,000 challenge gift to the Time is Now campaign. If an additional $50,000 can be raised from the community, a permanent display will be created in the lobby showcasing the vital role that these and other committed volunteers have played throughout the League’s history.
Urban League Guild Legacy Campaign. Throughout the last 2+ decades, the Urban League Guild has remained a vibrant and important volunteer arm of the Urban League of Greater Madison. Established under the guidance of 17 men and women, the Guild has worked tirelessly to increase public awareness of the League, to support and volunteer for its programs, particularly our youth education programs, and to raise funds to support these programs. Over the years, the Guild emerged as the leader of what would become the most important public occasion for the Urban League, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast where thousands of student recognition awards and scholarships have been presented over the years. Though many of the Guild members are now reaching into their 70’s and 80’s they can still be found volunteering at most every Urban League activity, including the King Breakfast.
The Time is Now is a multi-faceted project that involves the creation of a modern Urban League Center for Economic Development and the expansion of our economic development programs. It marks the Urban League’s 40th anniversary in Madison by sharpening our focus and modernizing our strategy. It is part of a massive transformation from social services to economic development services – from “civil rights” to “silver rights” as many have coined it.
The project includes expansion and relocation of the Urban League to South Madison in a new building to be shared with the Public Library and other potential partners. It will enhance the Urban League’s three-point strategy - Workforce Development, College Readiness & Career Development, and Equity Development - a strategy designed to catapult the African American community to a legacy of sustainable economic development. Through these and other activities, the Project will generate more than $50 million in economic activity in this emerging neighborhood in just a few short years.
The Urban League has already raised nearly half of the project’s $5 million cost. In addition to a $3.4 million modern facility to house the Urban League’s programs, the campaign will raise $600k to increase our endowment and building reserve fund and $1 million dollars to sustain and expand our programs.