Racial Justice

In August of  2018 Common Ground  launched an investigation into possible racial profiling practices by the Waukesha Sheriff Department because of the disturbing treatment of Pastors Williams and Patterson as they waited for their roadside assistance to arrive. After getting the runaround from the Sheriff  about  their concerns, the pastors filed a lawsuit. The case is currently making its way through the federal court system and could set an important legal precedent in the fight to end the culture of harassing Black and Brown people. The suit is currently held up in the court system.

It’s About Our Children

We believe all kids deserve a great education. The COVID-19 crisis has not only exposed pre-existing gaps in the system, it has exacerbated them. Common Ground worked to identify and address these inequities for kids and parents. 

Milwaukee School Board Get Out The Vote 2021

Election Day was April 6. We focused on District 4 which includes Sherman Park, Washington High School, Tabernacle Community Baptist Church, & Keefe Avenue School. This was an opportunity to continue to relate to many of the voters we met in our 2020 GOTV campaign.

Get Out the Vote 2020

Common Ground ran an ambitious, 6-month, non-partisan Get Out The Vote campaign for the November 2020 election.  We believe that everyone deserves a voice in our democracy.  Efforts to disenfranchise people and suppress voting, primarily in communities of color, are wrong.  COVID-19 made voting even more challenging.  In response, we organized 727 of our leaders to go door-to-door and make phone calls.  We were able to help 17,817 people vote.  We focused on eligible voters within our member institutions as well as neighborhoods around some of our institutions.  We also partnered with the Milwaukee Election Commission and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Covid Response

When COVID-19 hit, Common Ground staff reached out and listened to how people and institutions were being impacted. We listened for patterns across member institutions and identified opportunities to act together to further the common good and protect the most vulnerable.  

We worked with the Milwaukee Health Department to support 758 COVID patients with daily support phone calls.  We organized 51 healthcare professionals and retirees to do this work.  We pushed the Milwaukee Public Schools to distribute chromebooks and hotspots and begin online learning in the middle of the pandemic.  We also helped our member institutions stabilize and strengthen their finances and membership, including helping them apply for the Payroll Protection Program and helping them reach out to their members.

Milwaukee Rising LLC

Milwaukee Rising acquired, rehabilitated and sold 91 foreclosed properties in the Sherman Park neighborhood. The housing market in this North Side neighborhood surrounding St. Joseph’s Hospital has been restored. Millions of dollars in home equity have been returned to homeowners devastated by the 2009 subprime mortgage crisis and put back on Milwaukee’s property tax rolls.

Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative| Advancing the health of our community

A lot can change in 10 years. What started as a community need has grown to Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative, the health insurance solution for thousands of small businesses, nonprofits, individuals and families throughout eastern Wisconsin. Enrolling their first members in October 2013, CGHC now insures 60,000 individuals in 16 counties throughout eastern Wisconsin and has over 100 employees. We are proud to say that our goal of delivering insurance with honesty, compassion and exemplary service has become a reality. CGHC continues to be committed to changing the health insurance experience through open dialogue, powerful advocacy and the delivery of trusted and understandable information. Congratulations on 10 Years, Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative team!

Watershed

When Milwaukee gets a lot of rain in a short time, our waste water system can be overwhelmed and dump raw sewage into Lake Michigan.  In  order to  reduce the  risk of sewage overflows, Common Ground’s Watershed Team worked with Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) to create an alert system to remind people to use less water during heavy rains. If you’d like to get Water Drop alerts, text WATERDROP to 414-296-4422.

United Parents

Common Ground organized United Parents Cafés in Milwaukee schools to support and strengthen families, help schools engage parents, and develop parents as leaders. Parents also held listening sessions and worked with school leaders to make changes based on what they had heard. Parents also organized to stop a notorious strip club from coming into their neighborhood.

Milwaukee Public Schools Tutoring Reform

Common Ground leaders partnered with MPS and Wisconsin State School Superintendent to reform the after-school tutoring program in MPS. The reformed program has been recognized by the US Department of Education as a model for excellence.

Fair Play: A Campaign to Foster Greatness in Public Places

Every kid deserves a great place to play, a place for their dreams to take root, a place that will encourage them to live healthy lives. Common Ground ran a bold, multi-year campaign to push for youth playgrounds and athletic fields to be included in the package of public dollars that helped fund the Fiserv Forum.

Youth Summer Jobs

Common Ground helped to increase the number of City of Milwaukee summer jobs for youth from 1,700 to 3,000 in 2009.