Connecting to the Community Grants 

For over a century, the Rotary Club of Milwaukee has been proud to make a difference by connecting people and resources. In 2027, the Club will continue that tradition by investing $30,000 from the RCM Community Trust into “Connecting to the Community” grants, empowering members to support impactful projects across metro Milwaukee.

Eligible non-profits, with support from Rotarians, should submit an application for projects that need programmatic financial support (no operating expenses or capital campaigns). Proposals should align with the goal of providing underserved community members with equitable access to resources that address at least one of Rotary International’s priorities:

promoting peace 

fighting disease

providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene services

supporting education

improving maternal and child health

growing local economies

protecting the environment

  • Rotary Member Endorsement: A minimum of two and maximum of six RCM members must support each application. A RCM member may endorse a maximum of two applications and members of the Connecting to the Community Grants Committee may not endorse grant applications.
  • Applicants: Organizations must be non-political, a 501(c)3 and serve Metro Milwaukee.
  • Past Winners: 2025 and 2026 grantees are not eligible for a 2027 grant.
  • Submission Deadline: End of day on Thursday, February 4, 2027.
  • Awardees: Winning grants will be announced in March.  Grantees must be available to attend a Tuesday Rotary lunch meeting in April, May or June to receive the check.
  • Past Recipients: Historically, our grants have averaged approximately $5,000, and recipients have leveraged their affiliation with the Rotary Club of Milwaukee to create impact and help ideas grow. For a list of past grantees and grant amounts, click here.

Members of the Connecting to the Community Grant Committee will score the applications based on community need, the project's potential impact and its tangible success.  A maximum of $30,000 will be distributed among the winning grant proposals. 

The 2027 Application will be available here on November 10th. 

Many thanks to the Connecting to the Community Grants Committee, co-chaired by Pat Cronin and James Robinson
Celia Benton, Scott Brown, Charlotte Cannon Sain, Eizabeth Cizinsky, Stephanie Dorman, Nemo Edwards, Kathy Ehley, Joanna Fraczek, John Hein, Charlotte John-Gomez, Janine Kolbeck, Avrum Lank, Jody Lowe, Melissa Marschka, Theresa Reagan, Art Serna, Jr., Natraj Shanker, Patrick Sheehy, Levi Stein.

 

 

Past Connecting to the Community Grant winners can be found here.