Lianna Bishop, Executive Director of the Zilber Family Foundation

×

Expand

Photo by Tom Jenz

Lianna Bishop, Executive Director of the Zilber Family Foundation

Lianna Bishop, Executive Director of the Zilber Family Foundation

In the early 20th century, Joe Zilber lived on 10th and Meinecke above a grocery store owned by his Jewish parents who had emigrated from Russia to Milwaukee in 1898. In 1941, working two jobs, Zilber graduated first in his class at Marquette University Law School. Then, he took a job as a broker with George Bockl’s real estate company. By 1949, he had founded his own company, Towne Realty. In the 1950s and beyond, Towne Realty built thousands of houses in Milwaukee and later constructed college dorms, office buildings and hotels. Towne Realty is now part of the family-owned Zilber Ltd., with over 600 employees.

When Zilber was a student at Marquette, he met his wife, Vera. They were married for 61 years. After huge success in the realty business, the Zilbers made a pact to give away their fortune to help rebuild disadvantaged Milwaukee neighborhoods and restore hope to those residents.

In 1961, they established the Zilber Family Foundation, which became a private, independent grant making institution dedicated to enhancing the well-being of mainly Milwaukee individuals, families, and neighborhoods. The foundation has funded college scholarships, contributed to a new law school at Marquette University, and created a Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. It also has continued to help disadvantaged neighborhoods and residents.

Vera Zilber died in 2003, and Joe Zilber died at 92 in 2010

In 2008, Tthe Zilber Family Foundation launched the 10-year, $50 million Zilber Neighborhood Initiative, ’s largest gift, a $50 million donation, established the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative, to collaborate with local organizations to improve the quality of life in several Milwaukee neighborhoods. One of those neighborhoods is Lindsay Heights, where Zilber grew up.

Which brings me to the present day and the recently appointed executive director of the Zilber Family Foundation, Lianna Bishop, 39. I met her on the 8th floor at the downtown Zilber offices. I found her refreshing, idealistic and eager to talk about the Foundation’s work.

What is your background, your parents, neighborhoods, schools, and what were you like as a girl and young woman?

I grew up in Brookfield, graduated from Brookfield Central High School. My grandfather came over here from Italy, one of 10 children, and the only child to migrate to America. He built my childhood home. My dad worked in management consulting. My mom stayed home and cared for my sister and me and was very active in the community. 

Did you have a certain interest in high school?

I liked English and Social Science, and math, and I was in a lot of clubs. I was committed to community service. 

How did you decide to go to Marquette for college?

I wanted to attend a college that supported the holistic person, the Jesuit philosophy. Marquette is dedicated to social justice and developing leadership in service to others. I double-majored in Justice & Peace Studies and Spanish, and I had a kind of minor in Italian. My ancestors came from Italy and it was important to me to learn the language.

What was your first job after Marquette?

I served in AmeriCorps, the national service for volunteerism. In 2008, I moved to Missoula, Montana and worked at Montana Food Corps where I learned about sustainable food systems. It connects local farmers and producers to schools and universities. I came back to Wisconsin and worked for a year as a farm hand to learn the value of sustainable farming. Later, I did a program abroad in Slow Food in Chile in a Hazelnut Cooperative. Back in Milwaukee, I had a job at the Center for Resilient Cities and worked on sustainable community development and supported the work of the Milwaukee Food Council. That experience helped launch me into the nonprofit foundation sector.

So how did you move through the nonprofit foundation arena? 

I received a full ride scholarship for grad school through the Trinity Fellows Program at Marquette University which is funded by from the Burke Foundation. Fellows participate in a 21-month work/study program while earning a master’s degree. I was placed at the Urban Ecology Center (UEC) and worked in marketing and development. I was witnessing the power of philanthropy and generosity. After six years at the UEC, I worked for the Dohmen Company Foundation before moving onto the Zilber Family Foundation where I’ve held various jobs until I became executive director in February. 

According to ProPublica, total net assets of the Zilber Foundation were over $373 million in 2024. What is the Foundation mission?

We are a private independent, grant-making institution. Our mission is to increase access to social and economic opportunity.

What are your responsibilities as executive director of the Zilber Foundation?

My role is to lead the organization by overseeing operations, managing resources, and strategically driving our mission forward. I also act as a connector between our board, staff and stakeholders to build partnerships and foster collaboration.

As I understand it, the Zilber Family Foundation is a majority owner of Zilber Ltd, a real estate company. If the Foundation is managing a real estate company, how do you qualify as a nonprofit?

We have a unique structure. We don’t run the real estate company. We own the non-voting shares of Zilber, Ltd. They distribute an annual dividend to the Foundation. Unlike many other nonprofits, we do not accept public donations.

Let’s say my own nonprofit applies for and receives a monetary grant from the Zilber Family Foundation. Do I have to report back to you on how that money is spent? In other words, are there conditions attached to the grant?

There are conditions. Much of our funding is multi-year, unrestricted financial support, but we do ask our partners how they use those funds.  

As an example, the city block leaders do a lot of work in their neighborhoods for free. It’s all voluntary. They rarely get grants, but if I were to form a nonprofit and you give me a $10,000 grant, what is to stop me from using most of that money for my salary and staff?

We have terms connected to a grant, expected outcomes. In your case, it might be resident engagement. But how that money is exactly spent is up to the discretion of the organization. As part of our reporting procedure, we ask them to tell us how the money was spent.

The Zilber Family Foundation partners with about 80 nonprofit organizations.

Yes, roughly, but at any one time, we have about 120 active grants.

From what I’ve researched, you award over $13 million in grants annually.

It can vary year to year. For fiscal year 2025, our projected grant budget is approximately $19 million. However, this amount represents the funds paid out in that year, not the total value of the grants awarded. Many of our grants are multi-year commitments. A grant may be awarded in a particular year and is paid out over several years. For example, in 2023, we awarded a $20 million grant to the UWM College of Public Health, which will be distributed over a 10-year period.

And who keeps track of the details of your grants, the fiscal responsibilities?

We have a team of five full time and two part-time staff who build relationships with grantee partners, and also develop and report on grants.   

As I understand, over $55 million of total grants have been paid since 2020 to mission-aligned nonprofit organizations in Zilber Family Foundation priority communities. What are those priority communities?

Historically, we’ve focused our revitalization efforts on three neighborhoods, Lindsay Heights, where our founder, Joe Zilber, grew up, Clarke Square and Layton Boulevard West. The Foundation worked with residents and community leaders to develop and fund quality of life plans. Currently, we emphasize housing and economic development. We also fund on Oahu in Hawaii. Joe Zilber did work in Hawaii and lived there toward the end of his life.

Let’s take the three neighborhoods you are assisting with grants. What is the grant money spent on in those communities?

We are focused on support for low- and moderate- income families to access financial resources to meet basic needs and support their families. One pathway is through safe and affordable housing. Another is through and access to cash and capital. For example, we may work with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), to provide access to capital. The CDFI institutions provide the funds to other organizations who directly help the residents and local organizations with loans and grants. Habitat for Humanity is an example of an organization we support in providing pathways to homeownership. We cannot fund individuals directly.

Kind of a three-tier operation?

Yes. 

Zilber has funded The Bridge Project, which provides unconditional cash for three years to 122 eligible low-income, pregnant women in Milwaukee. From what I understand, the cash can be spent on anything—food, formula, rent, childcare, diapers—whatever the parent decides, no strings attached. So there is no oversight on how an individual spends those funds? What is the theory behind this?

This no-strings-attached approach values the concept of dignity and trust for the individual recipients to know what is best in how they spend their money. 

How do you decide which pregnant women receive the unconditional cash?

The selection process was based on the eligibility of the mother and zip codes, and then there was a lottery operated by The Bridge Project, the nonprofit which we funded. The Bridge Project is based in New York. Milwaukee was their first expansion outside New York. They have no staff in Milwaukee.

So then how did a young mother apply for the money?

She applied online through an application form. 

You have given a large amount of money to the Cathedral Center to spend on hundreds of women, families, and children seeking emergency shelter and permanent housing programs. In 2023, the Cathedral Center provided 18,089 shelter nights, for instance.

We have four distinct program areas: One, economic stability: safe and affordable housing and access to cash and capital. Two, Basic needs: of which Cathedral Center is an example of a grantee. Three: capacity building and sector support, such as organizational leadership and coaching development. Four, Joseph and Vera Zilber legacy partners who have special importance to our founders. 

What about the Cathedral Center?

Cathedral Center is an example of a grantee that we work with in the Basic Needs portfolio. We think it is important to support basic human needs, which the Cathedral Center provides.

The Cathedral Center. is an emergency shelter for women and families who are homeless or experiencing a housing crisis, offering emergency shelter, case management, and workforce development services to 32 single women and eight families per day.

If my nonprofit wants to receive a grant from Zilber, what is the process?

Our open grant portfolio is the economic stability program in the geographical areas we discussed. If you are working on affordable housing in one of those areas, you would contact us through our website. That will connect with one of our program officers, who will determine if you have a fit and send you an application. Once we make a recommendation, we take your proposal to our board of directors for approval.

What is the future direction of the Zilber Foundation?

We will continue to focus on what it means to support economic stability and the need for housing. We strive to be a trusted partner and collaborator for our grantees. 

What is the biggest problem for you and other large grantors and grant makers?

It’s the power dynamic between the grantors and the grantees. We do our best to develop trust-based relationships and be transparent. The nonprofits we fund are dependent on philanthropic contributions, especially if their federal funding is reduced. 

The Zilber Foundation does not accept public donations and is self-funded through its endowment. To apply for a grant, contact the website   zilberfamilyfoundation.org