Category: General

Thanks to gifts generously donated to the COVID-19 Community Response Fund established by the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region and United Way Fox Cities, four nonprofits were recently awarded grants to assist their efforts as they respond to the unfolding public health emergency. Grants will continue to be awarded on an ongoing basis […]

Maps — used properly — lead us to a desired destination. On Oct. 4, area nonprofit leaders will be taught how to use a matrix map to get their organizations to the financial viability they desire. “Pursuing Nonprofit Sustainability: Using the Matrix Map to Make Strategic Decisions” will begin with registration and continental breakfast  at 8 […]

Barbara Mendyke’s foresight in saving for her retirement is going to benefit 10 of her favorite charities forever. The former Barbara Russell was an Appleton kindergarten teacher. She invested in a tax-sheltered annuity through WEAC, a statewide organization of teachers’ unions, to secure her retirement. But she decided that instead of spending the annuity money […]

Sushi the kitten meows at visitors at Fox Valley Humane Society. The animal rescue, along with many other organizations including COTS and B.A.B.E.S, have received grants from anonymous donors. The Community Foundation’s personalized service provides many opportunities for people to give quietly in ways that help their communities. People, businesses and organizations can choose to […]

A display of local art greets donors, nonprofit partners and community members when they enter the Community Foundation! A wall serves as a rotating art display where local artists are invited to exhibit their work, its prominence elevating the importance of local art in the community. Featured artists rotate every few months. Painter Cristian Andersson’s […]

12 hungry goats are keeping things tidy at an Appleton cemetery, thanks to an anonymous donor’s fund within the Community Foundation. Cemeteries are usually quiet places, where one can reflect. But visitors to St. Mary’s Cemetery in Appleton may hear an occasional munching sound, or even a bleat. The cemetery hired an unusual landscaping crew […]

Twenty-five years ago, Appleton’s strongest advocates for education conceived of a nonprofit that could take in private gifts and use them to support educators’ best ideas as a partner of the tax-supported school establishment, but independent in its decision-making. Recently I read through a list of the very first grants the Appleton Education Foundation (AEF) […]

Hello! My name is Julie Pahnke and I am Appleton Education Foundation’s new Grants and Scholarships Manager. This is a newly created role where I’ll manage and further develop the Appleton Education Foundation’s growing grant and scholarship programs. It is a pleasure to be working with the wonderful, talented and dedicated team members that make […]

Elaine Fetting was known and loved for her homemade candy, her brilliant photography, her classically trained singing voice and for her strong faith. After her death in 2016 at 89, she become known for something else: her unending generosity. Born in Sheboygan in 1927, Elaine Goldmann met and married the love of her life, Earl […]

On February 15, hundreds of people ventured out in a snowstorm to celebrate and experience the grand opening of the Appleton Public Library. The project was 17 years in the making following a 2008 space-needs study. The $40.4 million renovation, which began in 2022, added 7,000 square feet of space, including co-working areas, creation studios, […]

Reimagined for 2020: Octoberfest will look a little different this year, due to COVID-19. By Nikki Voelzke, Octoberfest marketing committee member From the very first Octoberfest in 1981 to today, the Octoberfest mission remains the same – to set a stage for nonprofit organizations to showcase the good work they do in our community and […]

The Nonprofit Leadership Initiative is kicking off its 5th cohort for the Leadership Institute which will run from May 2020 to April 2021. The deadline to apply is January 17. In collaboration with Fox Valley Technical College, the Leadership Institute is a year-long series of seminars led by experts in their particular competencies and enhanced […]