Category: Donors’ Stories of Giving

By Bob Ellis – VP Development and Donor Services With run of moderate temperatures we experienced last month, the year-end giving season has come on us even quicker than usual. Having cleaned out the garden, raked the leaves and prepared the snow blower, we need to turn our attention to that last flurry of charitable giving […]

Gold Cross Ambulance Service, Inc. is the primary provider of emergency 911 response to a population of 280,000 within the Fox Valley. The nonprofit organization is owned equally by the four area hospitals; Ascension NE Wisconsin – St. Elizabeth Campus – Appleton, ThedaCare Regional Medical Center–Appleton, ThedaCare Regional Medical Center–Neenah and Ascension NE Wisconsin – […]

The $40,000 match pledged by 21 Community Foundation donors more than did its job, helping to stimulate $96,220 in contributions on Friday, Dec. 21, for a total of $136,920 given to Salvation Army Fox Cities to help those in need. The $40,000 commitment in the was the largest match offer the  Fox Cities Salvation Army received […]

A new Fox Locks Visitor Center will be built next year along Lawe Street in Appleton, giving visitors a hands-on opportunity to learn about the history of the Fox River’s 17 lock systems.  By Jeremy Cords, CEO, Fox River Navigation System Authority We are thrilled to have received a $300,000 lead gift from the David […]

Area children and the community are two important things to Les and Dar Stumpf of Kaukauna. Together, they have created a youth arts grant program in support of young people in the Fox Cities area who are interested in music, drama, dance and visual arts. “We wanted to give young people the chance to use […]

A new charitable fund dedicated to improving supporting early childhood needs in the Fox Valley has been established within the Community Foundation to mark the end of Dr. John Mielke’s 26 years on the Appleton Area School District’s Board of Education and to honor his service and that of Sally Mielke, his wife, to many causes […]

Little Chute 1st grader Kyle Walker receives a computer, thanks to the Corey & Kristy Stumpf Tech for Kids Fund within the Community Foundation. The fund was established in 2012 to provide technology assistance to children (early childhood – grade 12) who have severe cognitive and/or developmental disabilities with a demonstrated financial need. By Jill […]

Two cities are benefitting from two Geenen families through two community foundations. They are just the family for us to model as what National Philanthropy Day is about. Nov. 15 is National Philanthropy Day, as first declared by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. The Association of Fundraising Professionals describes the day as a celebration of philanthropy […]

Appleton native Leah Witthuhn is a 2016 Celebrating Volunteers recipient of a Youth Scholarship Award. Music lessons and instruments can be expensive, and many local students might not get the chance to learn and perform if not for Appleton East High School grad Leah Witthuhn. With the help of her parents and many community mentors, […]

The six children of John and Ann Gillen grew up watching their parents not only sharing their time and talents with the community, but also consistently sticking up for the underdog. “If it was a friend of ours who was in a tough spot, they were always willing to help,” says daughter Lisa Murphy. “If […]

By Rob Underhill The idea of setting up a Community Foundation trust came from a family conversation one night. We had been giving to various charities over time and we had reached a point where we wanted to bring our only son Cameron into the conversation and give him the experience of how great it […]

When John Steiner decided with his siblings to create scholarships at two area high schools, his group wasn’t a whole lot smaller than the graduating classes. John Steiner comes from a family with 16 children – all but two still surviving. To take on a project with his family means covering an age range of […]