The new free publication Appleton Monthly features Community Foundation President and CEO Curt Detjen in its December edition, giving him an opportunity to discuss what the Foundation does and why it works so well in this community.

From the $5,000 check from Walter L. Rugland that acted as seed money 30 years ago, to the donors to the 1,400 charitable funds we have today, Curt said, the same value persists here.

“The old fashioned value of wanting to leave a place better than you found it is every bit as alive in our region now as it was in 1986,” he said in the interview by Appleton Monthly editor Jackie Peters.

Our growth to $297 million in assets and the ability to award $19 million in grants to 1,032 charitable organizations last fiscal year, he said, “is a measure of the ongoing generosity of this community.”

The article points out the many kinds of gifts the Community Foundation can accept to benefit a donor’s favoite causes — from stocks or bonds to land, fine art and collectibles. It points out that this is not a millionaires-only club, with the ability to start a future fund for $1,000 or a endowment fund for $10,000. The unique aspect of giving through the Foundation, Curt said, is that donors’ support of charities can continue long after they’ve died through their endowment fund.

It even gives a plug for The Loop.

Appleton Monthly is an independent publication distributed at various businesses.