A Message from Our President & CEO: Why Our Nonprofits Need Us Right Now

Message from Curt Detjen, President & CEO of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region

Curt Detjen, President & CEO

The Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region strengthens our community for current and future generations by helping people make a difference in the lives of all. We do this by connecting individual gifts to nonprofits through grants, and by learning and sharing knowledge to raise awareness of community needs.  

One way we learn about community needs is from our dedicated nonprofit partners. Their insights help us learn and understand, providing opportunities for people to give to make an impact on community issues such as housing, mental health, childcare, food insecurity, trail development, and many more.  

We are hearing about concerning trends from our nonprofit partners, with many of them providing services to record numbers of clients. This is made more challenging by the changing funding landscape. Factors include:   

• • • • End of COVID-era funding for nonprofits and clients they serve: The planned sunsetting of State and Federal funds that supported local nonprofits leaves a funding gap, to address record demands for service. Clients are seeking more help from nonprofits after supports were removed. 

• • • • Rising costs: Inflation impacts individuals and organizations alike.  

• • • • Declining contributions: Nationally, we continue to see a drop in individual giving and volunteerism, making it harder for nonprofits to meet growing demand. Giving USA 2024 Report Insights 

This year, the uncertain economic outlook, canceled or reduced Federal funding, and the prospect of future reductions are creating additional challenges to meet the needs of our neighbors. To put this into perspective, 2021 data from the Urban Institute shows that nonprofits serving Outagamie, Winnebago, Calumet, Waupaca, and Shawano counties received a combined total of over $140 million in government grants. While we do not have more current data, the prospective changes to government supports for individuals and nonprofit programs will have impacts our community will need to respond to. 

Our Fox Valley Region is fortunate to have skilled, dedicated, hardworking local nonprofit organizations – we are inspired by them daily – and they need our generosity and support. You can help ensure that our local nonprofits have the means to serve by providing vital services in our community. Please consider how you can support them now, including, but not limited to, the examples provided below:    

• • • Give now, and more generously if you can, to your favorite nonprofit organizations.  

• • • Make a gift to our Community Vision Fund, Nonprofit Leadership Initiative, affiliate community funds in Brillion, Chilton, Clintonville, Shawano, and Waupaca, or one of our supporting organization partners – Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region or Appleton Education Foundation. 

Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra’s Music For Everyone program

Paying close attention to community needs, our team is here to help you with making grants to organizations you appreciate, establishing a fund to benefit the community you care about now and into the future, and answering questions about the current funding landscape.  

 We are committed to doing our part to meet community needs. You can trust us to keep you informed of the challenges and successes we are hearing from our nonprofit partners and what we can do together – because together, we flourish. We are a community foundation for all.