$300,000 Private Donation Will Fund a Transformational Approach to Helping Children and Families

On October 28, Kaleem Caire, President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison, joined Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, Madison Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad and other community leaders to announce a groundbreaking effort to break the cycle of poverty and improve the educational outcomes of children in South Madison.

The South Madison Promise Zone Initiative will focus on designing a holistic place-based, cradle to career system of education, human service, health and wellness, employment and community-building opportunities to help families move out of poverty and arm them with the knowledge, skills and resources necessary to help their children successfully prepare for college and work.

The Promise Zone is inspired by lessons from the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City, which has gained national acclaim and is being replicated in communities across the nation thanks to a new federal grant program launched last year. However, Caire explains that, “Our goal in Madison is not to mirror the Harlem model, but to do it better and without the need for tremendous private fundraising. All the partners in the Promise Zone have dedicated themselves to considering ways we can get better results by doing things differently, and potentially reprioritizing existing funding streams to support new strategies.”

The journey to launch the Promise Zone started in spring 2010 when more than two dozen local public, private, and non-profit organizations convened to assess the feasibility of applying for a new federal grant program to create a Promise Zone in South Madison. Within six weeks, the coalition had secured more than $300,000 of local in-kind support and submitted a federal grant application to the U.S. Department of Education.

While the Urban League’s proposal was not selected for funding, it scored among the top tier of more than 400 applicants nationwide and was posted on the Department of Education’s website to encourage other public and private funders to invest in the project.  Just as the Urban League was searching for others ways to kick-start the initiative, local philanthropist Mary Burke stepped up and committed $300,000 to move the initiative forward. Burke will also co-chair the initiative along with Madison business leader Ray Allen.

Over the next 12 months, the consortium will undertake an intensive effort to identify the needs of children and families in South Madison, research local best practices and define new effective ways of doing business across government, nonprofit and business sectors to ultimately create an environment that nurtures healthy and successful children.  

During the course of the project, the entire community will be engaged in developing a comprehensive vision for South Madison that everyone will support. The Initiative’s Leadership Team, Planning Team and Innovation Teams will help break down the silos that hamper collaboration and develop a truly integrated service delivery system that produces needed results.

As Caire explained, “Madison has great support resources for children and families, but all of us who support them can do better. As the needs in our community continue to grow, we must also be able to do more and with fewer resources. Our focus has to be on helping our youth and adults transform their own lives and prepare for their future. This is what The South Madison Promise Zone Initiative aims to help us do.”  

For more information on this initiative, please contact Peng Her at pher@ulgm.org  or 608.729.1229.