Keller family giving passes $20 million mark

$15 million distributed through Community Foundation;
Family foundation gifts top $5 million

Year-end reports for 2008 show that Keller giving in the community passed the $20 million mark in 2008.

 More than $15.7 million in funds have been distributed through the John J. and Ethel D. Keller Donor Advised Fund at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region over the past 15 years, and since 1991, more than $5.58 million has been gifted by the family’s personal giving arm, now known as the J. J. Keller Foundation, Inc. 

In 2008 alone, $1.08 million was given through the Keller Donor-Advised Fund at the Community Foundation, and $2.5 million was distributed through the J. J. Keller Foundation.  The family recently established another fund at the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation and look forward to having a greater impact on that area in the future.

“It was a truly gratifying year of giving, and one we’re very proud of as a family,” said Robert Keller, president of the J. J. Keller Foundation Board of Directors.  “Passing the $20 million mark came as a surprise to us.  It wasn’t something we set out to do, but I know my parents would be proud of the giving tradition that has been carried on in their memory.  We have made a significant impact on local nonprofits thanks to their vision and philanthropic philosophy.”

The foundation’s mission of providing for basic human needs – food, shelter, clothing and the like – has manifested itself in many ways over the years.  Affordable and available mental health care for children was one of the initiatives Ethel Keller was determined to see implemented locally.  She died as the project took hold, but granddaughter Marne Keller-Krikava helped bring it to fruition in 2008.  “Over the years, there were a number of initiatives that have brought us great satisfaction, and near the top of that list is the opening of the Fox Valley Children’s Mental Health Center.  My grandmother’s early involvement was pivotal, and to see it in operation is very gratifying for the entire Keller family,” Keller-Krikava said.  The center is a collaborative effort between Affinity Health Center, ThedaCare and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.  The impetus behind the massive fundraising effort came from Keller-Krikava and Dave Vander Zanden, president and CEO of School Specialty.  The Kellers contributed $625,000 to the effort.

In other highlights, James Keller, vice president and treasurer of the foundation, pointed to the collaborative effort that resulted in the Basic Needs Giving Partnership.  For the past two years, the J. J. Keller Foundation has matched the grant-making budget of the U. S. Oil Open Fund for Basic Needs – to the tune of $750,000 in 2008.  “Each year this extraordinary program distributes more than $1 million to organizations fighting to resolve the issues of poverty in the area.  We are so proud to be in partnership with the Schmidt family on this outstanding community effort,” he said.  The giving partnership began in the Fox Cities and Green Bay and will expand to Oshkosh in 2009, creating an even more powerful regional effort.  The funds are housed at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.

In recent years, the J. J. Keller Foundation has enjoyed a variety of successful community challenges.  Among the efforts in 2008, the foundation partnered with The Post-Crescent for the annual Stock the Shelves! campaign, which challenged the community to raise funds for nearly 20 local food pantries.  The effort turned out to be the most successful in the history of the program.  The initial Keller challenge of $25,000 was increased to $35,000 when the goal was met early in the campaign.  The community responded and, in the end, more than $70,000 was raised to combat hunger in the Valley. 

In a related initiative, also in 2008, a crisis was averted at St. Joseph Food Program when community citizens and Kimberly-Clark Corporation stepped forward to meet the Keller’s December fundraising challenge.  When the food pantry announced the distribution of milk and produce would be drastically cut because of a financial shortfall, the Kellers took immediate action.  The foundation delivered an initial $25,000 check and then challenged the community to raise another $25,000, which they would match.  In less than 48 hours, more than $100,000 had been raised and, in the end, the program met its year-end $300,000 fundraising goal.

A 2008 year-end challenge to the community to support the Women’s Fund also met with great success.  Keller-Krikava joined forces with Cathie Tierney, president and CEO of Community First Credit Union, to raise funds for the Women’s Financial Literacy Program.  Each of the women offered to match $30,000 in community giving and, in the end, the challenge was exceeded as $40,947 was contributed.

As the foundation looks to the future, “We are poised to assist with the many issues this interesting economic environment has provided to the nonprofit community,” said Mary Harp-Jirschele, executive director.

The Foundation’s Board of Directors includes Robert Keller, president; James Keller, vice president and treasurer; Marion “Mary” Murvine, secretary and director; and Marne Keller-Krikava and Brian Keller, directors. 

The foundation’s primary mission is to provide funding to organizations, projects and programs that will positively impact lives in the greater Fox Valley community.  The focus population is homeless and disadvantaged individuals, the elderly, and children and youth.  Over the years, more than 300 community organizations have been positively impacted as a result.