Leader Staff
The Shawano Area Community Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a look back at its achievements and a look ahead at new objectives.
From modest beginnings in 1990, the foundation has blossomed into a broad-based charitable network that supports dozens of civic organizations every year.
Still, officials in the foundation have a sense that many people in and around Shawano are unaware of the group’s activities.
“We’re probably the best kept secret in town,” said Todd Raether, chairman of the foundation’s board of directors.
To commemorate its 25th anniversary, the foundation is unveiling a new look and planning a yearlong celebration of events and initiatives to elevate its profile.
Gordon Holten, a consultant who works closely with the foundation, said he has been impressed over the years by how many people in the Shawano area have contributed funds to build the group’s portfolio, broadening its impact on important local issues.
“I’m touched by their generosity and their concern for the community,” Holten said.
A small group of civic leaders created the foundation in 1990 with a simple idea: pool together donated funds and use the money for community improvement. The initial goal was finding 100 people willing to contribute $1,000 each to create a $100,000 fund.
Ron Malueg, a business owner who was one of the founders, recalls encountering much skepticism as he and others worked to promote the idea. But enough people eventually bought into the concept that donations began to accumulate.
Looking back 25 years, Malueg said the organization has overcome early obstacles and built an impressive record of achievement.
“It is everything that we had hoped for,” he said.
Based in Shawano, the group has nearly $5 million in donations that are invested, generating more than $300,000 a year in interest and other income. As a foundation, the group keeps its endowment intact and uses only earned income to fund its charitable grants and programs.
Donors can either support the foundation’s overall mission with unrestricted gifts, or they can designate a contribution to benefit a specific cause or issue of their choosing.
The foundation has more than 70 different funds earmarked to address issues such as education, mental health, youth programs, domestic violence and others.
Grants totalling nearly $200,000 were distributed last year to a long list of organizations, including Wolf River Habitat for Humanity, Shawano Pathways, the Shawano County Historical Society, the Shawano County Arts Council, New Tribes Mission, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, and Safe Haven domestic abuse center.
The foundation is affiliated with the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, an Appleton-based network that provides infrastructure support and technical service.
To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Shawano foundation has adopted a new logo and is planning many activities over the 12-month period that began July 1, the start of its fiscal year.
Details of the celebration are still in the works, but Raether hopes to mark the occasion doing what the foundation has done since 1990 — impacting the community in a positive way.
“We’re looking at making a big splash,” he said.