Cream City Foundation was originally spun-off from the Cream City Business Association, a Milwaukee based association of LGBTQ+ business owners formed to promote LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship and business support for LGBTQ+ communities. Initially begun with $500 in seed money, Cream City Foundation has grown to provide over $1.5 million in grant dollars to many organizations and projects that are working to improve the quality of life for LGBTQ+ people.
Cream City Foundation
Mobilizing philanthropic resources by harnessing the pride, passion, and commitment of LGBTQ+
since 1982.
Cream City Foundation mobilizes philanthropic resources by harnessing the pride, passion, and commitment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies to advance the human rights and respond to the human needs of LGBTQ+ people in Southeastern Wisconsin.
About Cream City Foundation
The Foundation began in 1982 with only $500 in seed money and has granted more than $1.5 million to life-affirming, life-sustaining and life-celebrating programs for the LGBTQ+ communities of southeastern Wisconsin.
The Foundation’s work addresses the economic, health, safety and equity needs that prevent our LGBTQ+ communities from achieving full inclusion and acceptance.
Our work is not single-issue driven. It focuses on creating whole lives where the economic, health, safety and equity needs of our LGBTQ+ communities are met and individuals can flourish.
Cream City Foundation has developed three elevated priorities that will guide our fundraising and grant-making efforts. These priorities guide our proactive convening work to shine a light on the most critical issues that need to be addressed in our communities. The three elevated priorities are Equity, Health and Prosperity.
Our Mission
Cream City Foundation mobilizes philanthropic resources by harnessing the pride, passion, and commitment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies to advance the human rights and respond to the human needs of LGBTQ+ people in Southeastern Wisconsin.
Cream City Foundation mobilizes philanthropic resources to:
- raise money from individuals, corporations, and organizations who provide the Foundation with a diverse investment portfolio of general funds, donor and corporate advised funds, and the building blocks of an endowment;
- fund direct service and advocacy organizations to ensure meaningful change for the LGBT community, as well as encouraging vibrant arts, culture and athletic programs, and
- convene strategic collaborations and partnerships to identify effective solutions for the LGBT community.
Our Vision
Cream City Foundation serves as the leader in mobilizing philanthropic resources, fostering strategic collaboration, effecting positive change and the advancement of the quality, dignity, and health of LGBTQ+ people in Southeastern Wisconsin.
We are a 501(c)3 Tax Exempt Organization
Board of Directors
Samuel Hall, Jr.
Chair
Crivello Carlson, SC
DJ Quam
Vice Chair; Chair, Grantmaking
GE Healthcare
Christopher Tsukichi
Treasurer
Community Leader
Robin Mallon
Secretary
Harley-Davidson
Angela Harden, JD
Chair, Scholarships
Husch Blackwell
Samantha Mitchell
Chair, Convening
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Peter Burgelis
Member
US Bank
Mona Garcia
Member
Community Leader
Michelle Gran, JD
Member
Marquette University
Nick Johnson
Member
Foley & Lardner
Louis Williams
Member
Community Leader
Cream City Foundation Staff
Gary Balcerzak
President & CEO
Gary Balcerzak is the President & CEO of Cream City Foundation. He comes to CCF after almost twenty years with Advocate Aurora Health where he was the Vice President of Operations for Aurora Sinai Medical Center. He was responsible for ensuring that Milwaukee’s only downtown community hospital remained viable and met the needs of our diverse community. While at Aurora Sinai Medical Center, he worked to obtain designation from the Human Rights Campaign as the first Aurora hospital with a 100% rating in the Healthcare Equity Index.
Additionally, Gary is an adjunct professor at UW-Milwaukee in the Master of Healthcare Administration program where he teaches and mentors future healthcare leaders. His focus is on process improvement, helping hospitals and clinics improve the quality, safety, and cost of health care. He was recently honored by the UWM College of Health Sciences with their Community Partnership Award.
Gary holds an undergraduate degree in Organizational Communication and a master’s degree in Educational Psychology, Rehabilitation Counseling. He has a master’s certificate in Mediation and Negotiation, all from UW-Milwaukee.
Being born and raised in Milwaukee, Gary has been active in the community, most recently devoting nine years as a Board member and Treasurer of Walker’s Point Youth & Family Center. He has volunteered as a solicitor for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee. With his husband Tom, they are strong supporters of LGBTQ+ Community in Milwaukee.
Jay Messar
Development & Program Assistant
Jay Messar is the Development & Program Assistant at Cream City Foundation. He has spent most of his professional career in the world of sports writing and collegiate athletic communications, with stops at various schools across Wisconsin and New Hampshire. He managed several communicative aspects within those Athletics roles, including online drafting and publishing, website design and social media upkeep, and record-keeping and archiving.
Jay joins CCF with experience in the nonprofit sector as Executive Director of a statewide coaching association, and coaches two varsity high school sports. He is very active in the local sports scene and is a member of various leagues and associations around the city.
Jay earned his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a second major in French. Currently, he is pursuing a Post-Bac/Masters degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and he was a Cream City Foundation scholarship winner for the 2018-19 academic year.
Brett R. Blomme, JD
Past President & CEO
Brett Blomme is the Past-President & CEO of Cream City Foundation.
The History