Unsolicited letters of support are important indicators of UWM’s performance in its community partnerships.

Comments from a few such letters are excerpted below³:

• “On behalf of the board and staff of Housing Resources, Inc., I would like to thank you for facilitating our strategic planning sessions. With your assistance we were able to revise our mission and vision and create clear goals that will strengthen our organization. Although we have a great board and staff, some guidance was needed to reflect on past achievements and forward progress. You made our task of strategic planning seem effortless.” Housing Resources
• “UW–Milwaukee was a superb host providing an excellent facility for the hearing and friendly environment to discuss the important public policy issue.” State of Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
• “Thank you for all your help and assistance in organizing the Grassroots Leadership meeting on November 7, 2001. With your help and participation, the meeting was a success. As you know, this is the beginning. But with both our organizations and the support of the residents, we will prevail.” Layton Blvd. West Neighbors
• “I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and assistance regarding the data information you provided for the mobile medical unit and the other neighborhood economic development initiatives we discussed. Your help is very much appreciated. I will keep you updated on the progress of these initiatives, and again thank you for your support of our vision for making Milwaukee a better place for all who reside in this great city.” Capital Christian Center
• “Thanks for lending your time and talent to our recent 2003 Nonprofits and Technology Conference….In our conference evaluations, the participants particularly valued the information and resources provided by you and other presenters.” Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

Indicators of the usefulness of engagement activities involving UWM and the greater Milwaukee metropolitan area are the large (and ever increasing) number of partnerships, contracts, associations, affiliations, and collaborations. Another indicator is the long-term nature of many of the formal partnerships, many of which involve community partners investing their own valuable resources in these ongoing, multi-year endeavors. Community agencies and leaders continue to provide space, dollars, and other support resources every year to maintain these collaborative partnerships. For example, local foundations have invested over $2 million to support the Nonprofit Management initiatives at UWM; community agencies dedicate resources every year to maintain the UWM Academic Community Nursing Centers on location; local government, foundations, and businesses invest in the Center for Workforce Development at UWM; in addition to other campuses, community agencies such as the Private Industry Council and the Metropolitan Association of Commerce contribute to maintaining the Milwaukee Partnership Academy; Marquette University, Aurora Healthcare, and Rogers Memorial Hospital pay annual dues to maintain membership in the Center for Addiction and Behavioral Health Research at UWM. In addition, these community partners and leaders regularly provide strong, positive letters of support to funding agencies related to existing and proposed collaborative endeavors.

An additional indirect form of evidence as to the value to the community of UWM volunteer, service learning, and internship programs lies in the fact that many community programs and agencies have renewed their relationships over many semesters. The following graph relates to the number of agencies participating in the Institute for Service Learning.