The David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region (Nelson Family Fund) awarded grants totaling $2.09 million, providing nonprofits and local municipalities with a much-needed financial boost.
The Nelsons, who lived in De Pere, made provisions during their lifetimes for a planned gift to benefit the region. After they passed, the Nelsons left more than $100 million from their estate to create the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund.
This year’s support included awards to the following projects:
• Achieve Brown County, $150,000 Reading for the Future Initiative
• Ampact, $20,000 for Wisconsin Reading Corps — Evidence Based Tutoring
• Apricity, $250,000 for their capital campaign
• Baird Creek Preservation Foundation, Inc., $50,000 for the JJ/Eaton Road Wetland
Habitat Restoration phase 2
• Bellin College, $156,000 to launch the Healthcare Academy Scholarship Program
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley, $200,000 to Boys & Girls Club of the Fox Valley for
their new Neenah location
• City of De Pere, $100,000 for the Wilson Park redevelopment
• City of Neenah, $50,000 to support Kimberly Point Lighthouse preservation and ADA
improvement project
• Chippewa Valley Museum, $13,650 for the History Heroes Children’s Exhibit
• Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, $50,000 to support the Viewpoint Speaker Series
• Friends of the Appleton Fire Department, Inc., $15,000 to Revive Old Engine 5
• Hands On Deck, $15,000 for capital equipment
• Heckrodt Wetland Reserve, $49,000 to support the Trail Extension & Tale Trail project
• Sister Bay Historical Society, $50,000 for the Sister Bay Waterfront Museum
• Sturgeon Bay Historical Society Foundation, $150,000 to support the Door County
Granary — Get to the Top Campaign Phase III
• The Einstein Project, Inc., $50,000 to support science instructional professional learning
• Veterans 1st of NEW, Inc., $500,000 to support Cottage Court Community Center
An additional 18 nonprofit organizations received a total of $190,000. Since the fund was created eight years ago, it has provided over $29 million in grants.
