The Loop

When Mary Grist passed away in 2020 at the age of 91, her family knew they wanted to continue her passion for giving. More than two decades ago, Mary and her late husband Jim Grist established an endowment fund, the Jim and Mary Grist Family Fund within the Community Foundation. Last year their five children […]

Today we discuss the Fox Valley’s changing workforce and some new initiatives in the works to make sure we’re building and retaining a thriving and diverse workforce. There are lots of job openings, but we’re learning that not everyone who wants to work is able to access the jobs we know are open right now. […]

A recent report from Northwestern University, “The State of Local News 2022,” painted an alarming picture of the loss of local journalism in communities across the United States, calling it a “crisis for our democracy and our society.” The annual study noted the country lost more than a quarter of its 2,500 newspapers since 2005 […]

During this past summer, NEW Hmong Professionals and CrossCourt Conversations launched the first Hmong youth volleyball camp in our area. While the Hmong have been living in the Fox Cities for over 45 years, there has never been an organized camp that provided training on the key skills involved in playing volleyball. The need for […]

Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to ensure that everyone has a decent, safe place to live. Fox Cities Habitat’s Rock the Block program helps us fulfill that mission by providing low-income residents the opportunity to fix up their homes while adding safety features, reducing hazards and increasing pride in their home within the community. These […]

The Gray Muzzle Organization of Northeast Wisconsin was created in 2019 as a grant-based organization providing resources and opportunities for senior dogs through grant funding to nonprofit rescues and humane societies. It quickly became clear that there was also an enormous need for community-based programs. Gray Muzzle began supporting food pantries for senior dogs as […]

By Tim Neuville, Waupaca Area Community Foundation     Every now and then your community may be fortunate enough to welcome a person who changes the face of your town. Waupaca had exactly that happen to it when, about 20 years ago, Jack Rhodes and his wonderful wife Glenda chose Waupaca.   He was retiring as Dean […]

The sale of a cheese factory and the generosity of its late owner will provide $100,000 for a new addition at the Weyauwega Library. The grant is spread out over three years with $50,000 to be awarded in 2023 and $25,000 in 2024 and 2025. The grant for the library is part of $210,000 awarded […]

The Kudaka Family Hispanic Scholarship Fund was established in 2012 at the Community Foundation to support Casa Hispana’s Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to Hispanic/ Latino students in our communities pursuing a post-secondary education.    Originally established by UMOS (United Migrant Opportunity Services), and now a core program of Casa Hispana, this quiet scholarship program […]

If you’ve ever adopted an animal, gone to a free concert, given blood, or given a financial donation, chances are you were engaging with a nonprofit. Nonprofits do amazing work, and just as important as the work you can see is the work done behind the scenes. Every nonprofit has a board of directors, which […]