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  Donors Forum of Wisconsin |
Return to home page Vital Signs provides critical information on impact of economy in metro Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin-A new online, one-stop resource for measuring the economic health of metropolitan Milwaukee is now available. Vital Signs, a new service of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, tracks and provides analysis for unemployment, food stamp usage, foreclosure filings and W-2 payment cases in the four-county area. Vital Signs will also provide information on calls made to 211@Impact for food assistance and shelter in Milwaukee County. “Through our grantmaking process, we are well aware of the continuing, and in some cases the growing need the economic downturn is causing throughout all of metropolitan Milwaukee,” said Foundation president Doug Jansson. “We may all be familiar with the statistics, but don’t understand the impact on our neighbors and communities. Vital Signs can help us understand what the facts and figures mean, as well as provides information about programs that are successfully addressing the issues facing us and ways people can help.” Data is collected and analyzed monthly by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute. The information is then posted on the Foundation’s website on or about the middle of each month. In addition to providing the data in six key areas of economic health, Vital Signs also provides in-depth analysis on one key topic each month through interviews with local experts.
As the data is analyzed, it provides a fresh look with interesting results. For example, in reviewing the FoodShare (formerly food stamps) information, it was determined that one of every seven residents in the four-county area is now using food stamps.
“We fully expect that Vital Signs will become a primary source of information for individuals and organizations who want to understand the human impact of current economic conditions in the greater Milwaukee area,” said Marcus White, the Foundation’s director of community partnerships. “Our convenient online access, easy-to-read charts, and comprehensive analysis create a valuable tool for the community.”
The Foundation is also partnering with WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio, which will provide additional analysis of the findings each month through its on-air and online reporting.
Vital Signs can easily be found on the homepage of the Foundation’s website, which is www.greatermilwaukeefoundation.org, and does not require the user to login to view the information.
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is a family of more than 1,000 individual charitable funds, each created by donors to serve the local charitable causes of their choice. Grants from these funds serve people throughout Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties. Started in 1915, the Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the world.
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Wisconsin Community Foundations Division of the Donors Forum of Wisconsin • contact us 759 N. Milwaukee St. Suite 515 Milwaukee, WI 53202 • 414.270.1978 Toll Free 1.877.783.6786 Fax 414.270.1979 |