2023 Impact Report

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Transforming our landscape with strokes of generosity.

How do you paint a better, more beautiful greater Grand Island area? Put a dab of leadership here and a dash of culture there. Sometimes the brush dips in a burgeoning economy and other times more a hue of stability. Along with education, health and civic enrichment, these are the brushstrokes of a vibrant community.

Frame it all with generous giving, and you have a masterpiece — not the kind that gathers dust in a museum but one whose colors grow deeper and brighter despite the ebbs and flows of the marketplace.

Think of the Greater Grand Island Community Foundation as your frame maker. Matching individual passions to community purpose, we provide the framework that makes beautiful things happen while safeguarding community assets. Whether it’s building a new park or painting a mural, the Foundation provides the palette to empower your dreams.

Stewardship creates a painting of progress.
*Preliminary unaudited numbers. Official numbers will be published on gicf.org once they’re available.

Donors

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The Gift of a Legacy

A tribute to the art of thoughtful leadership

This year’s Gift of a Legacy celebrated the late Pamela Hilton Snow, a longtime contributor to Grand Island civic life and Nebraska’s arts and humanities. Pam grew up in Lincoln and earned her undergraduate degree from William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. Back in Lincoln, she enrolled in graduate classes in art and worked at Tyrrell’s Flowers, where she met Marc Snow. They married in 1973 and had two sons, Marcus and John.

Pam and Marc moved to Grand Island and opened Snow’s Floral in 1978. Pam chaired the St. Francis Hospital board and served on the boards of the Grand Island Community Foundation, Stuhr Museum and the chamber of commerce. Pam completed her master’s degree in English at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, served on the board of the Nebraska Humanities Council (now Humanities Nebraska) and as a consultant to the National Endowment for the Humanities. She also was a board member for the Nebraska Foundation for the Humanities and Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

After 26 years, Pam and Marc sold Snow’s Floral and moved to Ashland. She served as executive director of the Nebraska Cultural Endowment and on the boards of the Cooper Foundation, Museum of Nebraska Art, History Nebraska and Public Art Lincoln. She also took graduate-level photography classes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Before her death in 2022, she and Marc traveled frequently to Colorado to visit grandchildren Riley, Jack and Andrew and happily assumed babysitting duties in Omaha for Luella and William.

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Wanitschke

Donor Advised Fund extends art of giving through GO BIG GIVE

When George Wanitschke passed away, his wife, Donna, decided to sell their farmland, but what to do with the excess income posed a problem. A Donor Advised Fund through the Greater Grand Island Community Foundation was the answer.

“My husband always believed in community involvement and donating to your community,” she said. “I could continue George’s legacy of giving to the community. Now I work through GO BIG GIVE, and it is a great way to make my donations and continue to promote what he always wanted to happen in Grand Island.”

Donna used the Wanitschke Family Donor Advised Fund in 2023 to contribute to campaigns such as the Pirnie Inclusive Playground and Grand Island Central Catholic Elementary School. She gives to causes that encourage the development of youth, such as Central Catholic, the AOK Ladies, 1868 Foundation and Stuhr Museum.

“George was such a stickler in promoting young people and helping young people,” she said.

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Fund Holders

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FOI funds brighten giving for 20 years
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Just as an artist can choose from many colors, Field of Interest funds allow donors to select an area of interest to support. Established by our active board in 2003 with initial $5,000 endowments, the GGICF FOI funds have reached a significant milestone, celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2023. These five pioneering funds have since invested $33,902 back into the community, adapting to meet evolving needs.

Today, we are proud to manage 32 FOI funds, which collectively granted $247,549 to the Greater GI Area in 2023. This development reflects our ongoing commitment to addressing the dynamic needs of our community and empowering donors to make a meaningful impact.

Couple’s bequest shines Spotlight on the Arts
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Ralph and Patricia Kelly are remembered as good friends of the Foundation and Grand Island. Ralph provided invaluable leadership, support and insight, and the Foundation’s Arts and Culture Fund was named for the couple in acknowledgment of a $50,000 bequest.

A Grand Island native, Ralph Kelly graduated from Grand Island Senior High and married Patricia Stone on Nov. 24, 1941. He served as a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II and owned Kelly Supply Co. in Grand Island with his brothers, Martin Jr. and Howard Kelly.

The Ralph and Patricia Kelly Arts and Culture Fund benefits visual art, literature, dance, theater and music programs that bind people through shared experience and understanding. The couple’s bequest is permanently endowed with investment income available for grant making.

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Nonprofits

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GO BIG GIVE composes colossal 10th year

Donors in Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick counties painted a masterpiece of generosity for 156 participating nonprofit organizations as GO BIG GIVE marked its 10th anniversary. A monumental $1.6 million was raised in the 24-hour online giving event organized by the Foundation and the Heartland United Way.

A watch party at Prairie Pride Brewing with a signature drink and live music added extra color to the event, which allowed nonprofits to gather donations outside normal fundraising channels. Matching funds and prize money were made available to amplify charitable donations, and our Youth Philanthropy Board was awarded the $10,000 endowment prize.

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    Total Raised
    $9,095,328
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    Total Donations
    37,015
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    Nonprofits Impacted
    216
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    Total Matching Dollars
    $953,241
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Communities

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Foundation brings color of giving to communities
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The Foundation’s work is truly a multimedia project, extending beyond the confines of any two-dimensional space. It not only ventures into all aspects of giving but flows off the page of Grand Island and into the communities surrounding it. Bringing the art of giving to these neighboring communities truly puts the “Greater” in Greater Grand Island Community Foundation.

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Alum’s bequest molded into Loup City Public Schools Fund

A donation in memory of an alumnus who loved woodworking will help Loup City teachers pursue creative projects in their classrooms. Corwin Jones, who graduated from Loup City Public Schools in 1960, earned his bachelor’s from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, master’s from the University of California, Los Angeles and doctorate from the University of Southern California.

Although he made his career in dentistry, Jones never forgot his love for creating beautiful things with wood — or his love for Loup City. Superintendent Dean Tickle said Jones’ son Brian told him, “We were all born in California, and we’ve made our lives here, but we were raised Nebraskan.” Before he passed away, Corwin Jones told his kids he wanted to do something for his old school.

Of $50,000 donated in Jones’ memory, $10,000 paid for equipment for the school’s woodshop. The remaining $40,000 became the genesis for the new Loup City Public Schools Fund, established with the help of the Greater Grand Island Community Foundation. That initial amount will be endowed with interest income funding mini grants for teachers with creative projects. “This is one thing that will have impact for decades,” Tickle said.

Mural project adds vitality to downtown G.I.

A mural project that benefits residents and visitors alike by beautifying Grand Island entered its second phase in 2023. Four new murals were added to the 14 existing ones that transformed the walls of a warehouse at Walnut and South Front streets downtown.

The project began in 2022 with the assistance of the Grand Island Partnership for the Arts Fund, which is managed by the Foundation. The Partnership for the Arts was formed to bring more color to the city, improving its economic vitality.

View a sampling of the mural colors and themes in downtown Grand Island.
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Full steam ahead!

While 2023 saw many improvements making Grand Island more colorful and vibrant, things aren’t slowing down for 2024. The Pirnie Inclusive Playground officially opened in May, offering activities for children of all ages and abilities. EPIC Discovery Center, which launched a fundraising campaign, will provide STEAM learning for children, teens, tweens and families.

In Stolley Park, plans are on track to improve the area around the railway, once the site of Heritage Zoo. Enhancements could include more play features, walking and biking paths, additional seating and beautification.

For its part, the Greater Grand Island Community Foundation will continue to facilitate giving to support projects such as these. Whenever someone has a vision to improve Grand Island’s quality of life, the Foundation will be on board to help turn that passion into purpose!

Turning Passion into Purpose. The Greater Grand Island Community Foundation powers individual legacies to make communities better. Let’s get started.
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1503 W. 2nd Street| Grand Island, NE 68801
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