Derrick Cainion spent 20 years helping people understand each other as a sign language interpreter. Then COVID-19 hit, his son turned three, and a vacant lot on Milwaukee's north side sat waiting.

This week on Rising Forward, Derrick walks us through what he built at 35th and Vliet — ART Intersection MKE — a living outdoor gallery where art, sustainability and community healing don't just coexist. They're the same thing.

We talk about the night a street shut down for art instead of sirens. The mural of his mother watching over the neighborhood. A bio-swale that literally holds water for a community that's been drained. Solar panels that keep the lights on when the city goes dark. And international artists from Tunisia, Dubai and the UK — all landing on one lot in Washington Park.

Derrick also gets into what it took to raise nearly a million dollars without being independently wealthy — and what funders actually responded to.

If you've ever driven past a vacant lot and wondered what it could be — this episode is the answer.

Credits:

Shannon Sims, host

Bryce Richards, graphic designer/ grip

Brianna Sitkowski, producer

Junction Box Production, Dwight Cannon, audio editor/videographer

LionArts Media, Laura Dyan Kezma, audio/video editor

William Howell, photographer/ assistant editor

Mic’d & Ready Media

There's money in Wisconsin right now looking for the right people to fund. Most social entrepreneurs don't know how to find it — or how to be ready when it finds them.

In this episode, Shannon Sims sits down with Tony Shields, CEO of Wisconsin Philanthropy Network, and Nina Johnson, senior vice president at U.S. Bank, to break down exactly how mission-driven businesses get funded. They cover the full capital stack — from CRA investment and community development financial institutions to grant funding and impact investing. They talk about what separates the entrepreneurs who get funded from the ones who get delayed. And they share what the funder relationship actually looks like once you're in.

This is the episode for the social entrepreneur who has the idea, believes in the mission, and is ready to stop waiting.

What you'll hear:

• Why passion and preparation are not the same thing.
• How to stack CRA investment, foundation grants and CDFIs on a single project.
• What trust-based philanthropy looks like in practice and why it matters.
• Why Milwaukee is a destination city right now, and what that means for you.
• The one thing most entrepreneurs get wrong when they walk into a funder meeting.

Credits:

Shannon Sims, host

Bryce Richards, graphic designer/ grip

Brianna Sitkowski, producer

Junction Box Production, Dwight Cannon, audio editor/videographer

LionArts Media, Laura Dyan Kezma, audio/video editor

William Howell, photographer/ assistant editor

Mic’d & Ready Media

Women are breaking barriers and rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship often in systems that weren’t built for them.

Stephanie Melnick has been practicing law in Milwaukee for over 30 years.

But in 2017, she realized her clients needed more than legal advice. They needed each other.

So she founded She Stands Tall — a community for women entrepreneurs.

Stephanie has highlighted dozens of women entrepreneurs and created events that teach marketing, brand protection, financial literacy and inspire the next generation of women leaders.

In this episode of Rising Forward stories of change she shares what she’s learned about women building together instead of going it alone—and how that collective momentum is moving Wisconsin forward.

Credits:

Shannon Sims, host

Bryce Richards, graphic designer/ grip

Brianna Sitkowski, producer

Junction Box Production, Dwight Cannon, audio editor/videographer

LionArts Media, Laura Dyan Kezma, audio/video editor

William Howell, photographer/ assistant editor

Mic’d & Ready Media