Wilma and Mearl Wolt believed that the money they made in Wisconsin Rapids should stay here. So when Wilma passed away in 2002, their will designated $2 million to Incourage to establish the Mearl C. & Wilma Ginzl Wolt Charitable Fund. Wilma worked as an industrial nurse at Preway and Mearl, who passed away in 1979, was human resources manager and canteen manager there. Their bequest was almost all in Stora Enso stock.

It was given to the Foundation as an unrestricted gift to support community grants. Over the past decade, distributions from Wolts’ fund have supported our community’s changing needs, including grants to Workforce Central, Riverview Community Dental Clinic, Very Special Arts, and the Grand Rapids Volunteer Fire Department.

“The Wolts’ fund shows how an endowment fund grows over time and the impact it has on a community,” emphasizes Mary Wirtz, who oversees Donor Services at Incourage. Today, Wolt’s fund is valued at more than $2.2 million. During that same time period, it has made over 230 individual grants totaling more than $630,000.

Mary points out, “People may not be able to give during their lifetime. But we can all give back to the community in a will. It might not be $2 million; it might be $2,000. But these unrestricted gifts are pooled together to create long-term positive change.”