The Loop

Maintaining a vibrant and strong community is challenging.  It requires vision, creativity and leadership. It takes people willing to put themselves out there for the good of the community. Our community has been talking about investing in both an exhibition center and a sizable indoor youth sports arena.  Each will require tens of millions of […]

I noticed very shortly after joining the Community Foundation 11 years ago that, for as much of a mystery as it is for a lot of people, its impact is everywhere you turn. When I drive around in the Fox Cities, I see a nonprofit helping the homeless, a basketball court, a bike rack on […]

A good friend and former colleague recently shared a plaque that reads: “Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.”  That may have been a younger generation’s response to a bumper sticker – popular among retirees – that proclaims: “I’m spending my kids’ inheritance!” Donors to the Community Foundation have found many creative […]

A couple months ago I mentioned to a friend that I planned to participate in a “plunge” and she envisioned me doing a polar bear-style leap into an icy lake. Not me—I’m more of a heated pool type—but I was more than willing to do a deep dive into the issue of end-of-life in our […]

Hi everyone! My name is Claire Baker and I am spending this summer as an intern here at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region. I grew up in Appleton and graduated from Appleton East High School in 2013.  I have just completed my freshman year at UW Madison and I love being a […]

You might expect that Stanley Cottrill would receive a lot of attention when he recently gave gifts totaling $2.3 million to nine charities, but he wouldn’t. He is the classic quiet giver that we see in the greater Fox Valley.

The best way to get a neighborhood to grow together, might be for them to grow things together. A project that attempts to help a central Appleton neighborhood work toward a better quality of life – from the dirt up – geared up this week with volunteers from the Fox Cities Kiwanis Club delivering wooden garden […]

Normally, it’s our grant-making that captures the most attention. On Monday, it was the less glamorous investment side of our work that drew the headlines. The Fox Cities Convention and Visitor’s Bureau released an updated economic impact analysis of a proposed Fox Cities Exhibition Center proposed for a site south of the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. At that […]

It was a major announcement. Decorated pro golfer and philanthropist Mary Beth Nienhaus was breaking the seal of secrecy on her donation of Winagamie Golf Course to the Appleton Education Foundation. But there always are stories behind the story.

We are pleased to announce that bank executive and trust officer Bob Ellis has been named our new vice president development and donor services.