David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund

NEWS RELEASE:
Community Foundation receives $100 million estate gift

Rita and David Nelson in 1986

KAUKAUNA, Wis, (May 1, 2018) — An estate gift of more than $100 million arranged by former media executive David L. Nelson and his wife, Rita, to the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region will generate millions of dollars in grants annually to benefit causes important to the couple and their family, primarily in the Fox Cities and Green Bay­ areas in northeast Wisconsin.

The couple lived in De Pere, Wis. David (see bio) was born in Kaukauna, Wis., and Rita (see bio) in Janesville, Wis., and both lived in Wisconsin nearly their entire lives. He helped manage the companies that published newspapers in Appleton and Green Bay before investing in radio stations and other businesses. She became a teacher after raising the couple’s three sons. They were married for 73 years and died within five months of each other – Rita on Feb. 16, 2017, at age 93 and David on July 18, 2017, at age 96.

“This is the most generous gift ever for our region, and it is a game-changer,” said Curt Detjen, Community Foundation President and CEO. “It will be a catalyst for addressing community needs today, but also for investing in exciting opportunities for future generations.”

At more than $100 million, the gift is among the largest in Wisconsin’s history and large enough to have ranked among the top 20 gifts nationally reported by the Chronicle of Philanthropy in 2017. The bequest is by far the largest gift to the Community Foundation in its 32-year history, surpassing an estate gift of $16 million in 2004 from Donald and Violet Himebaugh of Appleton, Wis.

The Nelson gift established the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, a permanent, donor-advised endowment that will award grants to charitable organizations reflecting the charitable interests of David and Rita Nelson and their family.

The Community Foundation will support an advisory committee comprised of people who know the Nelson family to award grants from the fund.

Detjen made the announcement during a news conference on Tuesday, May 1, at the 181-year-old Grignon Mansion, a national and state historic site in Kaukauna, that David’s father fought to preserve when he was Kaukauna’s mayor in the early 1940s.

What will benefit from the fund?

The David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund will benefit the couple’s interests, including:

• Parks, recreation and waterways
• Education
• Health care
• Community services and community centers;
• Historic preservation, including lighthouses, museums and historical societies

Other areas of family interest may be considered, as recommended by the fund’s advisory committee.

The first grants, totaling $3.5 million, have been awarded from the fund and were approved by the advisory committee and the Community Foundation. Eight grant recipients were announced during the news conference.  Additional grants will be awarded annually beginning in the summer of 2019, and will be determined by the fund’s advisory committee working closely with the Community Foundation staff. There will be no application process.

Detjen said the $100 million-plus fund is expected to award $4.5 million in grants per year by 2021, based on the Foundation’s endowment formula that up to 4.5 percent of a fund’s balance be distributed as grants each year to assure the fund’s giving capacity and permanence.

“This gift to the Community Foundation provides us and our area with a tremendous opportunity that we enthusiastically embrace,” Detjen said. “We are humbled and incredibly grateful for the trust that the Nelsons have placed with us to ensure that the family’s legacy will be part of creating the exciting chapters ahead for this region.”

“This is a breathtaking gift the Nelsons have given to help shape the future of the community,” said Community First Credit Union President Catherine Tierney, who chairs the Community Foundation Board of Directors.

Who were David and Rita Nelson?

David and Rita Nelson family

Younger son Richard Nelson described his father as “very much a large personality.” Known to his boating buddies as “the Admiral,” he was generous with his friends, Richard said, but kept his charitable interests largely to himself. History and boating were clearly passions for him.

Thomas Nelson said his parents didn’t live extravagantly. His father never flew first-class, didn’t wear designer clothes and stayed at Super 8 motels. He said they were always known to have a lot of money, but acquaintances “will be shocked by the amount of money.”

Charity was never a big topic of conversation when he was growing up. However, his mother volunteered for years translating reading materials into Braille and working at St. Vincent Hospital and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. After raising the three boys, Rita returned to school at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, graduating with a teaching degree in 1974. She taught for 18 years in the De Pere School District.

Thomas said his father’s main pleasure was “Davey’s Locker,” a 41-foot, custom-made cabin cruiser. “That was his big escape. He went to Door County nearly every weekend.”

Tough but fair in business

David Nelson was described as a tough, honest businessman.

“He was firm but fair. If you did your job, you didn’t have any problem with Dave,” said M. Keith Jones of Chippewa Falls, Wis., his business partner in 10 radio stations. “He was a guy who would take charge.”

Jones said the initial list of grants would please his old partner because he liked anything involving history or the water.

David’s brother, retired Calumet County Judge Hugh Nelson, said even he didn’t know the extent of his brother’s wealth, though he always was attentive to saving.

“Even as a kid, if he got a dollar, he’d save 90 cents of it,” Hugh Nelson said. “He was strictly honest. I don’t think he ever kept a dime that he didn’t earn. There was no flimflamming.”

Why the Community Foundation?

The Nelsons connected with the Appleton-based Community Foundation through one of their advisors, attorney Derek N. McDermott of Burnett, McDermott, Jahn, King & DesRochers, LLP, in Chilton, Wis. McDermott said he has a high level of trust in this Community Foundation based on experience with the staff and having served three years on its volunteer Board of Directors.

McDermott said David Nelson had the intention to leave money to charity and was particularly interested when McDermott explained how creating a donor-advised fund within a community foundation provides the opportunity for creating a lasting legacy.

Grants making a difference

2022:  Generous Gift Provides Another $6.24 million to Northeast Wisconsin Nonprofit Organizations

2021: Nelson fund distributes extra $1 million when need is high  

2020: Community Foundation Announces nearly $2.4 Million in Grants

2019: Community Foundation Announces $3.8 Million in Grants

Latest News:

Among the generous grants (see links above to all grants awarded), check out these featured stories:

Nelson Crossing creates new link between Little Chute and Kaukauna
The long-awaited Nelson Family Heritage Crossing is officially open! The crossing is a 1,100-foot bicycle and pedestrian bridge between Heesakker Park in the Village of Little Chute and a new rail trail connection to Downtown Kaukauna.

More Links to Explore:

• View media coverage of Nelsons’ gift
• Who were David and Rita Nelson?
• Nelson Fund grant will complete range light restoration
• $650,000 grant will help “Loop the Locks”