50th Anniversary Fundraising

We believe that all children deserve a strong start to life.

At Next Door we combine high quality early childhood education and family engagement to prepare young children for success in school. This approach provides critical support during a child’s most important developmental years – the first five years – building a solid academic and social emotional foundation to build on.

Children growing up in poverty are at risk for entering kindergarten up to 18 months behind children from more affluent families – creating an achievement gap that is difficult to overcome.

Through home- and center-based programs, Next Door serves more than 1,700 children and their families every year, through three locations and 11 partnership sites in Milwaukee’s central city. Using a two-generation approach, we support strong parent-child relationships, family well-being, and ongoing learning and development for both parents and children.

To fully support this work in the coming years we are launching an $11 million fundraising campaign with community gifts raised in support of:

Enhancing our early childhood education programs including:

• High quality teaching practices
• Art education
• Books for Kids literacy program
• Mental health programs
• Family engagement
• Staff development
• Specialized training on brain development and trauma-informed care
• Expansion of our University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee partner-led student assessments of all center-based students

Updating our 29th Street learning environment including:

• Transforming two indoor and three outdoor play areas into age-appropriate, themed spaces to support the gross motor development of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
• Creating a Community Café to increase parents’ connections with each other and our Family Services team.
• Redesigning our Books for Kids Library to increase children’s engagement and improve experiences for volunteers who read with children each year.
• Bringing natural light into the entire environment by removing cement blocks and creating windows throughout the corridors.
• Incorporating playful color themes throughout the entire campus through paint and flooring.
• Updating the facade to reflect Next Door’s branding and core values.

For a full description of our programs and plans CLICK HERE.