Viola Ausherman
Viola Ausherman was a retired primary teacher. She taught in Rothsay, Granite Falls, Detroit Lakes and Atwater before joining the elementary staff in Willmar, where she taught primary grades for 15 years. Teachers make a difference in communities every day. But few leave a legacy like Viola Ausherman.
Her initial gift was $400,000 that helped launch the Willmar Area Community Foundation in 1998. She described her donation as “just a little help”
The Foundation served as the spark that ignited a new giving vehicle in the community that allows donors like Viola to leave a local legacy. Today, the Willmar Area Community Foundation has more than $6.5 million in a variety of funds.
Viola was also a founding member of the Humane Society of Kandiyohi County and provided significant support for more than 30 years. She served as the lead donor for the capital campaign for Willmar’s Hawk Creek Shelter that was built in 2009.
She also supported the veterinary technology program at Ridgewater College and provided the seed money to establish a local spay-neuter fund for low-income pet owners.
“Vi was modest, but she believed in giving back in big ways,” said Steve Joul, president of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation. “She was particularly passionate about animals and was instrumental in starting the Humane Society of Kandiyohi County.”
Unfortunately, Viola Ausherman passed away at the age of 96 on November 27 2011, at Glen Oaks Care Center in New London. Her fund at the Willmar Area Community Foundation has distributed more than $200,000 in grants since its inception and will continue to support Vi’s charities for many years to come.
Dorothy Timm Meili
Dorothy Timm Meili was a retired music teacher, her goal was to simply inspire others and help when she could. Dorothy led a philanthropic life, planning as she journeyed through each chapter in her story. Her financial advisor encouraged Dorothy to make two charitable gift annuity plans that allowed her to support her favourite charities, while also having a steady income during her retirement years.
Dorothy said when she made her planned gifts, “I hope my gift will inspire other people to inquire about the benefits of a charitable gift annuity.” Having the opportunity to give back to her favourite causes only fueled Dorothy’s philanthropic desires.
Dorothy had degrees in both piano and music therapy. She taught music in various communities and states. Dorothy grew up on her parent’s farm south of Wood Lake where she attended school, took piano lessons and played the piano at every kind of event in the community and church. She graduated from MacPhail College in Minneapolis studying piano, organ and violin. Music continued to inspire Dorothy as she began studying music therapy at Florida State University in the 1960s, while also helping to initiate the music therapy program at Faribault State Hospital in Minnesota, working there as a Registered Music Therapist.
In 1977, Dorothy opened and ran a music studio in Faribault, Minnesota until she retired in 1998. In 2001, ten years after her husband’s death, Dorothy moved to Willmar and enjoyed the “healthy music and art climate” here.
Dorothy’s number one interest was music. She was truly inspired by the work of the music teachers and students in the Willmar area, enjoying many programs and appreciating every moment. Dorothy decided to open a new chapter in her story by creating the Dorothy Timm Meili Scholarship Fund at the Willmar Area Community Foundation to help high school seniors pursuing a post-secondary degree in Music Education, Music Performance, or Music Therapy. Dorothy said, “I hope I can be a small part of helping someone fulfil their dream of making a living with music like I have, it’s been a wonderful life full of music!”
While Dorothy was able to live out her passions during her lifetime, she will also carry out a legacy for years to come. As she left her whole heart and soul to the charities and causes that mattered to her most. Dorothy Timm Meili left a permanently endowed estate gift of $250,000 to the Willmar Area Community Foundation and several other transformational gifts to local charities.
Mark and Ann Thelen
Mark and Ann are the retired, former owners of Thelen Advertising in St. Cloud. Their years of work in the community gave them lifelong relationships and friends, but also taught them about the gravity of the area’s needs. The stories of these needs motivated the Thelens to take organised action by partnering with the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.
While recording polka bands in the 1970s, Mark and Ann Thelen couldn’t have imagined the future success that awaited them and the strong desire to give back to the community that came along with it.
The couple discovered that working with the Foundation was easy, efficient and rewarding. The Thelens were able to establish a program of giving that was more strategic and had more of an impact than they were making before.
The Foundation works closely with the Thelens’ tax advisor to ensure that the logistics of giving go smoothly. “The linkage among professionals in this community is exceptional, and it’s a delight to do business in this community,” noted Mark.
The Thelen Fund makes grants to organisations that are helping individuals and families meet basic needs, so the recipients can focus on living a fuller, richer life. Grantees include Catholic Charities, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Salvation Army and Anne Marie’s Alliance, among others.
Ann Thelen said “Helping someone out at a crucial point in their life truly builds better citizens and better communities.”
