About Us

Building Tomorrow, Today

The Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin is a nonprofit community corporation created to provide for the long-term needs of our local communities. Through the generosity of our donors, we support programs and organizations that enhance every aspect of life in our area, including education, the arts, health and human services, and the preservation of historical, cultural, and natural resources.

We are one of 770 nonprofit community foundations nationwide and strictly adhere to the stringent National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations.

Mission

The Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin is a nonprofit community corporation, created by and for the people of north central Wisconsin. We exist to enrich life for present and future generations.

Our goals are to:

Responsibly solicit, manage, and distribute philanthropic assets created by charitable gifts and bequests.
Communicate opportunities and benefits of philanthropy to communities served.
Demonstrate leadership and act as a catalyst to design programs and identify issues in collaboration with other foundations, corporations, organizations, and communities.
Engage in creative and sensitive grant making to enrich communities served. Devote special emphasis to education, the arts, health and human services, and the preservation of historical, cultural, and natural resources.

What Does the Community Foundation Do?

Simply put, the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin provides people with a variety of easy, secure, and effective ways to “give back” to their communities. We invest in the long term and bring people and organizations together to facilitate philanthropic giving that is responsive to local needs. In short, we help you build community.

Our professional staff has the expertise to help you:

Explore your giving options
Establish funds in honor or memory of friends and loved ones
Create personalized funds that reflect your values and interests
Contribute to existing funds
Learn more about local organizations and programs that make a difference in areas you care about most
Ensure that the causes you support during your lifetime continue to be supported after your death

In most cases your gifts, which can include cash, stocks, property, bequests, and other assets, qualify for maximum tax advantages under federal law.

The Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin is one of 700 nonprofit community foundations nationwide. Created in 1987 by and for the people of north central Wisconsin, we adhere to the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations, a stringent code of ethics which ensure that our organization operates with the utmost integrity.

Three Special features of Community Foundations

One: personalized service.

We make giving easy and effective, accepting a wide variety of gifts and providing donors a number of charitable options. You can contribute cash, stocks, property, and bequests. You may establish a fund in your name or in the name of a loved one. In most cases, your gift qualifies for maximum tax advantage under federal law.

Two: local expertise.

Our professional staff has an in-depth understanding of the issues, opportunities, and resources that shape our community. They monitor all areas of community needs and can help you learn more about local organizations and programs that make a difference in areas you care about most.

Three: community leadership.

We invest in the long term and bring people and organizations together, convening diverse voices to address local issues and opportunities. Our business is building community.

Ten Reasons People Choose to Give Through the Community Foundation

We are a local organization with deep roots in the community.
Our professional staff has broad expertise regarding community issues and needs.
We provide highly personalized service tailored to each individual’s charitable and financial interests.
Our funds help people invest in the causes they care about most.
We accept a wide variety of assets, and can facilitate even the most complex forms of giving.
We partner with professional advisors to create highly effective approaches to charitable giving.
We offer maximum tax advantages for most gifts under federal law.
We multiply the impact of gift dollars by pooling them with other gifts and grants.
We build endowment funds that benefit the community forever and help create personal legacies.
We are a community leader, convening agencies and coordinating resources to create positive change.

Endowments: Gifts for a Lifetime – and Beyond

Creating a fund through the Community Foundation is a highly effective – and highly personal way to achieve your philanthropic goals. We offer flexible giving options and accept gifts of stocks, bonds, real estate, cash, and other assets. Most charitable gifts qualify for maximum tax advantages under federal law. Once your fund has been established, experienced program staff, community leadership, and professional investment management combine to ensure that your fund is administered thoughtfully and responsibly.

When you create a charitable fund through the Community Foundation, your gift – and earnings from your gift – become a permanent source of community capital. This endowment is used to make grants that meet the needs of the community during your lifetime and beyond. Grants continue to be made in the name of the fund you establish so that your wishes are preserved forever.

In addition to helping families and individuals establish new endowments, we hold existing endowments for nonprofit organizations. This provides them with a constant source of funding to respond to emergency needs, plan for the future, and sustain their charitable activities.

Integrating philanthropy into your financial planning is an excellent way to care for your community, now and in the future – and it is easier than you might think. For more ideas and information, ask your financial advisor, or contact the Community Foundation.

Society of Founders

The Community Foundation is positioned to continue enhancing the vitality and livability of the greater Wausau area—now and forever—due in large part to our Society of Founders. Membership in the Society was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, made possible by supporting the Wausau•Marathon County Fund with cumulative gifts of $10,000 or more between January 22, 1987 and January 22, 2012.

With the support of the individuals, corporations, and foundations listed below as our base, our community treasury has been built to over $5.5 million. Using the earnings generated, we have invested more than $3.75 million back into the community since our inception. We thank these founders for their vision, leadership, and commitment to meeting the needs of Wausau and Marathon County. Their names are inscribed in perpetuity on the Society of Founders wall of honor, proudly displayed in the Foundation’s reception area.

Privacy Statement

The Community Foundation ensures every effort is made to maintain complete confidentiality of donor information. Donor names may appear in our annual report, unless anonymity is requested, and are a matter of public record. Addresses, telephone numbers, contributions, and philanthropic preferences are confidentially maintained within the Foundation offices. Our mailing list is an internal database and will not be shared with outside organizations.

The Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin is committed to honoring the privacy of all those we work with, including our donors, volunteers, visitors to our website, and subscribers to our electronic newsletters.