The Violet and Ruben Laack Memorial Fund Grant is administered by the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region. This foundation is committed to improving the well-being of its local communities through philanthropy and strategic grantmaking. The Laack Memorial Fund was created in 2014 in memory of Violet and Ruben Laack to provide support for educational and cultural initiatives in the Chilton area, with a specific focus on library, speech, forensics, and theater programs.
This grant opportunity supports eligible programs in the communities of Brillion, Chilton, Hilbert, Kiel, New Holstein, and Stockbridge. Funding rotates annually among the four programmatic focus areas—library, speech, forensics, and theater—to ensure balanced support across these sectors over time. For the 2025 funding cycle, the area of focus is theater programs. This targeted approach helps direct resources toward specific needs in each funding year.
Applicants must represent organizations that are public charities as defined by the IRS under sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3). Grants may also be awarded to government units, including Native American tribal governments, for public purposes. However, the Foundation typically does not fund private non-operating foundations.
The application cycle for the 2025 Laack Memorial Fund Grant opens on May 1 and closes on May 31, 2025. Applications must be submitted within this timeframe. There is no indication of a pre-application requirement or letter of intent deadline, and the application portal is accessed through the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region’s website.
Interested applicants or those with questions are encouraged to contact David Weiss, Director of Donor Services, via email at dweiss@cffoxvalley.org or by phone at 920-702-7615. Additional support is available through the Foundation's office, located at 4455 W. Lawrence St, Appleton, WI 54914. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 11:30am and noon to 4:00pm.
