You once thought you could change the world. Now you can.
You don’t have to be a millionaire to leave a lasting legacy on the causes you care about. Reflecting on your values and beliefs, we can design your giving to align with your personal goals. What causes are most important to you? Do you have a passion for one area of need, or are your interests many and varied? How would you like to be remembered for your charitable giving?
At its heart, the Foundation exists to serve as a permanent source of charitable dollars for the benefit of all who live, work, and play in this wonderful place we call home. These dollars come from people like you, who have a giving heart and a love for our community. We all want our community to thrive, and we want to be your partner. Together, we can help our community flourish.
The Winona Community Foundation can help you find the best way to have the greatest impact on the causes you care about. The Foundation provides an array of options that can help you achieve your goals. Let’s work together to design your perfect plan.
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Donors Like You: Winona Legacy Stories
Whether you’re exploring the concept, or ready to take the plunge — getting to hear first-hand experience from Winona legacy givers may give you the inside perspective you’ve been looking for. With thoughtful planning, each of these individuals were able to benefit their loved ones and the causes they cared about all at the same time.
A Suprise Gift From a Person Known for her Giving Heart. Ramona L. Jezewski gives back way beyond her lifetime.
Ramona L. (Ladewig) Jezewski grew up on her family farm in Stockton where they raised cows for milk and beef. In 1958, her family started a fish farm known as the Stockton Trout Farm. Ramona had a waitressing career at Wally’s Restaurant in Fountain City, Wisconsin, where she met many Winonans including her first husband, Henry Jezewski. After Henry died, she married another Winonan and a Wally’s patron, Bud English. Together Bud and Ramona lived near West Lake Park and in retirement, they enjoyed traveling internationally and domestically, always appreciating the people they met along the way.
Ramona knew that the Foundation meets the needs of the ever-changing community in a lasting way. As Bud shared, “she knew the Foundation isn’t a place where you donate once and then it’s gone.” She gave no instruction with her gift, nor did we expect the gift, so the Board of Directors took the responsibility of stewarding this gift seriously. After learning she had a strong love for animals, the Board decided to create a quasi-endowment and each year give the first $5,000 to the Winona Area Humane Society, while using any additional earnings for the competitive Community Grant program. The Community Grant program flexes to meet immediate program and project needs for local non-profits. The Board felt this would honor the reason why she gave to the Foundation in the first place.
Ramona will forever be known for her hardworking values, her giving heart, and love for family and animals. And now with the Ramona L. Jezewski English Fund, she will not be forgotten and her giving heart will live on.
Donna Helble Continues to be a Community Leader Through Her Gift.
Education and children’s literature were Donna Helble’s passions. In 1973, she moved to Winona to take a position at Goodview elementary where she taught grades one through four in the Program for Learning in Accordance with Needs. In 1988, she began her career at Winona State University as a professor of education. She chaired the popular community-wide “reading in the Mall” event for 25 years that promoted children’s literacy in Winona and the surrounding communities. She was known for her professional and civic contributions, serving on several boards and committees and receiving many awards and accolades.
As part of her will, Donna made a specific gift to the Winona Community Foundation with the direction to establish a special interest fund for promoting literacy of youth in Winona. Donna is no longer with us, but her passion for education and literacy will live on through her generous gift.
Lyndon and Jennie Pierce’s passion was for education. Twenty-two years later, kindergarteners are given the support they need to achieve reading success.
Lyndon and Jennie lived a humble and planful life that benefited our community years after their passing. Lyndon Pierce was a World War II vet, trucker and electrician. His wife, Jennie, taught in a rural Winona County school and then became a bookkeeper. Twenty-two years after they both passed, W-K Elementary School kindergarteners benefited from a generous gift from their estate that was given to the Winona Community Foundation.
Looking to honor the Pierce’s passion for education, the Winona Community Foundation Board of Directors chose to request grant proposals from the education community. As a result, it awarded Washington-Kosciusko Elementary School a three-year grant to pilot a program that would ensure all kindergartners are at reading level by the end of the school year.
Lyndon and Jennie took the small step of adding charity to their estate plan and through the direction of the Winona Community Board of Directors, the funds reached the Winona education community in an organized and effective way. Their legacy will live on in the lives of those kindergartners who received the additional support they needed to achieve reading success.
Elaine Luksa had a passion for volunteer… and today, she continues to give.
Whenever organizations like the Winona County Historical Society and the Catholic Schools Foundation receive a gift, they are thankful they have been remembered. But when Winonan Elaine Luksa left them each a gift after her death in 2009, their thankfulness was followed by surprise at the size of the gift. Elaine led a quiet and simple life that included work, volunteering her time at the Historical Society and following her passion of travel. She visited all 48 contiguous states and many other countries.
Elaine’s bequests will have a long-term positive effect, leaving a legacy that will help the Winona County Historical Society and the Catholic Schools Foundation meet their goals for years to come.
