2023 Annual Report

"Flowers silently assure us that beauty and solace exist despite loss or injustice. They are the weapons of choice to disarm violence. They add a peaceful voice to anguish; their beauty is a symbol of hope." -Whit McClure

Messages from Our Leaders

Markasa Tucker-Harris Executive Director

Welcome to the African American Roundtable’s 2023 Annual Report! I’m so happy that you have taken time to read our publication. Last year was a year of tremendous growth and impact. We developed a Three-Year Strategic Plan, expanded our staff by two, gave our community $40,000 to improve safety through a self-funded Participatory Budgeting Program and reached millions online through social media posts. It was evident through our hundreds of community interactions that our work is necessary and is changing lives. We will continue to fight for a Milwaukee that our future selves will be proud of!

Dr. Cass Bowers Board President

My favorite part about leading the African American Roundtable’s Board of Directors is the organization’s work towards Black liberation. AART wants our communities to be free and thriving, and that is worth fighting for. I encourage you to get involved with AART and support the organization’s work -- whether through volunteering, becoming a member or donating. Your support will help transform lives. It is my hope that after reading our 2023 Annual Report, you will be keenly aware of where you can fit in. We hope to hear from you soon!

About AART

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MISSION
The African American Roundtable (AART) organizes, nurtures, and transforms Black leaders to build power in service of Black liberation.
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VISION
AART is a joyful, political home for Black people to thrive in liberated, interconnected communities.
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VALUES
Authentic Relationships, Liberation, Love, Organization, Community, Transformation

Our work is rooted in joy, liberation and love. Period. We will always fight shoulder to shoulder with our people.

Our Budget

Note: AART’s 2022 budget surplus rolled over to cover 2022 expenses.

2022 budget surplus: $877,835
Foundations: $420,000
Donors: $13,691
Membership: $1,564
Staff salaries and benefits: $518,181
Leadership development and programs: $358,824
Marketing, branding and outreach: $58,194
Staff professional development and training: $27,950
Office expenses and infrastructure: $124,384
Community giving: $43,685
Other expenses and Miscellaneous fees: $331,935

Notable Highlights

Had a conversation with renowned abolitionist Mariame Kaba for our largest event of the year.
Wrapped up time with fiscal sponsor and moved to national one.
Hung out with fellow Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund grantees at a Milwaukee Bucks game
Completed developing a Three-Year Strategic Plan alongside AART’s Youth Council and Board of Directors
Developed a compensation philosophy
Unveiled our new mission, vision and values
Focused on our health and well-being
Hired a data consultant

By the Numbers

3M

People reached after going viral on X (Twitter)

$40,000

Given to Northwest Side organizations to improve safety

300

Hours in leadership development, training and coaching

150

Community resources added to NW Side Asset Map

30

Black businesses and nonprofits supported

29

Leaders trained and given stipends

A Year in Photos

Program Success

Campaign and Membership

Participatory Budgeting Process

In 2023, we invested $40,000 into a participatory budgeting process to fund community-led projects to improve the quality of life for Milwaukee residents on the Northwest Side, an area that has experienced decades of divestment, lack of leadership, and neglect. This project was led by seven resident/ member leaders, who created the blueprint. Residents proposed, voted on, and now are executing their program ideas. Over 30 groups submitted proposals, and 850 residents on the Northwest Side of Milwaukee voted. We hope to use the momentum from our pilot program to lobby and win participatory budgeting on the city level.

LiberateMKE

We expanded our Leadership Development Cohort from six weeks to eight months with 13 fellows who supported our LiberateMKE campaign. We provided the cohort with 20 hours of training and coaching.

We also went viral on Twitter! People from all over the country, including in NYC, Chicago, San Diego and Atlanta, shared the tweet featuring our billboard, demanding to know how much their cities are spending on police. The tweet reached more than 3 million people, with many saying they want a billboard just like this in their communities.

Base Building and Youth Engagement

Asset Mapping

AART collaborated with UBUNTU Research & Evaluation for nearly a year and a half, as well as five Northwest Side residents, to identify over 150 gems in Milwaukee's Aldermanic Districts 5 and 9. We launched the first installment of a Northwest Side Asset Map with a focus group of resident stakeholders in November 2023 and are excited for a major public launch in April 2024!

Northwest Side Block Party

In August, AART gathered with over 75 of our neighbors at Thoreau Elementary School for an afternoon of fun and fellowship, featuring a DJ, 12 wonderful vendors, a Northwest Side Story Slam hosted by our comrades at Ex Fabula, a youth soap box hosted by our Youth Council, activities for young people and families, giveaways from AART and vendors, great food and warm weather. The kids dance contest was the highlight of day!

Youth Engagement

AART gave a stipend to youth leader Sierra Lyle to begin developing the vision for Youth Hang Outs, which will launch in 2024. Sierra sought out opportunities for us to be in existing spaces with young people (ages 13-24), dreamed of spaces our organization could host, and began developing relationships with community members engaging with youth! Also, Sierra and our Youth Council revisited its goals and participated in team building during our first ever Youth Council End-of-Year Retreat!

Volunteer Engagement

AART's Volunteer Program engaged with at least 22 community members in volunteer roles across AART events. Many of these volunteers served on more than one occasion and even moved up into memberships!

AART’s Liberation Roadmap

At AART's Liberation Roadmap: A Celebration of Programs, we gathered with 70 attendees plus five contracted vendors and their teams to acknowledge the community building, leadership development and joy AART has poured into Milwaukee. We received 13 membership sponsorships during the event, and seven attendees claimed those sponsored memberships!

Programs & Logistics

Canvassing in MKE

AART’s newly-formed canvasser team spent time going into neighborhoods and talking with residents in Aldermanic Districts 5 and 9. We chatted with them about our youth engagement work, LiberateMKE campaign and the city budget. We discussed our Participatory Budgeting Process and how we invested $40,000 into four organizations on the Northwest Side to improve safety in our communities. We also talked to them about our Asset Map launching in 2024. Overall, we had some great conversations, and although we only canvassed a short amount of time, we spoke to more than 30 residents who would like to stay updated and connected with AART’s work and programs. In 2024, we’re growing our canvass efforts.

Communications and Digital

3M- Reached on X after viral tweet
13,500- Pageviews on aartmke.org
8,573- Followers across social media platforms
20- Statewide and local media hits
5- People agreed to share their story to further our work
2- Influencers engaged to support AART’s work
2- Communications/ digital trainings held to support AART’s base

Board of Directors and Infrastructure

Leadership

Hosted our first virtual donor briefing and yielded 25 donors and attendees and raised over $700.

Consulted Black woman-owned business Ascend People LLC to develop a compensation philosophy to support our values. The African American Roundtable is committed to the continuous work of building a healthy, inclusive, and liberated work environment where each staff member is supported and equipped to advance our mission and values, and this commitment is embedded in our compensation philosophy.

Hired Maleisha Reedy (Program and Logistics Associate) to support programs and Tiffany Weddle (Lead Canvasser) to support base building on the Northwest Side.

Continued on with a fund development consultant Well Endowed Philanthropy to implement our strategic fundraising plan/goals, including training staff and board to help us reach our full financial potential.

Rolled out our Three-Year Strategic Plan to donors first and then the broader community.

AART moved to a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit fiscal sponsor Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE). SEE provides administrative, bookkeeping, nonprofit management, and human resources support. Fiscal sponsorship is an efficient way to function with the benefits of a 501(c)(3) for a small fee.