Mielke Family Foundation

Purpose

Through education, the Mielke Family Foundation seeks to encourage innovative ideas that elevate and impact individuals in the Appleton and Shawano areas related to health care, the arts and care for the young and aging.

Education is not limited merely to schooling, but more broadly defined as follows:

“Education has to do with discovery – that learning of the culture, the meanings assigned, the rarefied techniques that have come out of life experiences of people. They seem to be just as important for human adaptation as these things that we have singled out in school to teach.”

– Edmund Gordon

The Mielke Family Foundation is one of the most active philanthropic foundations in northeast Wisconsin. It was established in 1963 by Dr. Edward F. Mielke and his wife, Beulah (Bee), together with sisters Ruth and Sarah Mielke. The Mielke Family Foundation existed as a private foundation before becoming a separately governed Supporting Organization within the Community Foundation in 1996. Click here for more information and history on the Mielke Family Foundation.

Please Note:

The Mielke Family Foundation is not accepting grant applications at this time while the Board undergoes strategic planning during 2023. Information about updated grant guidelines will be posted here as it becomes available. This pause does not affect previously awarded grants. For questions, please contact Carolyn Desrosiers, Community Engagement Manager, at 920.702.7625, or email her with any questions.