The Milwaukee-based Alliance for Children and Families has tapped former Public Allies Vice President David McKinney to lead its new Center for Engagement and Neighborhood Building, which was established this year after the merger between the Alliance and the United Neighborhood Centers of America (UNCA).
Ian Bautista, who was CEO of UNCA for eight years and worked with the Alliance to prepare the center, is leaving the Alliance in April.
McKinney was the vice president of strategy and development at Milwaukee-based Public Allies, a national organization founded in 1992 that trains young leaders and links them with local non-profit groups in their areas.
During McKinney’s 14 years with Public Allies, the organization expanded its presence from 10 cities to 23.
The center will serve as the hub for all Alliance civic engagement work, including its Neighborhood Revitalization projects and publication of its Families in Society Journal.
The Alliance announced in October that UNCA’s membership would join the ranks of the Alliance, bringing the member total of the Alliance to about 500.
2014 will serve as a “test drive” phase for UNCA’s 150 member organizations, most of which are community centers or settlement houses. They join the Alliance at the current UNCA membership rate, which ranges from $500 to $1,500 based on annual budget, but the membership dues will tick up in 2015, and could rise to the Alliance’s standard range of $1,500 up to $20,000.
Dues collected from the former UNCA members will finance the center.