Living the Legacy: Foellinger Family Values Reflected in Our Grantees
At Foellinger Foundation, our work is rooted in the passions and values of the Foellinger family. Oscar and Esther Foellinger instilled in their daughters, Helene and Loretta, a deep commitment to civic involvement and active concern for the well-being of their community. Together, Helene and Esther co-founded Foellinger Foundation in 1958 to ensure those values would live on.
Each family member held unique interests that shaped how they engaged with and contributed to their community—interests that continue to guide us as we support organizations serving Allen County.
Through our Community Interests grants, we honor that legacy by funding nonprofit programs and projects that create measurable community impact. These one-year grants support mission-driven, well-governed organizations led by adaptive leaders and key staff members who promote self-reliance and strengthen our vibrant community.
These four grantees reflect the Foellinger family’s values in ways that are both unique and enduring.
Fort Wayne Museum of Art: Engaging in Creativity
Loretta Foellinger Teeple had a deep love of and appreciation for fine art. She believed in the power of creativity and culture to enrich community life, and she felt strongly that art and culture should be accessible to all.
Loretta and Richard "Dick" Teeple
Today, Fort Wayne Museum of Art (FWMoA) reflects Loretta’s passion through their mission of bringing art and expression to people of all ages. FWMoA is a community hub for creativity, learning, and connection. Through exhibitions, educational programs, and outreach initiatives, FWMoA strives to make art a resource for every stage of life. The museum leverages the power of art to engage and educate broad and diverse audiences throughout the region, with aspirations to be the best nationally accredited art museum of its size.
“This grant category is competitive, and we never take it for granted when we are awarded funds,” said President and CEO Charles Shepard III. “The Community Interests grant allows us to operate at the high professional standards set by the American Alliance of Museums, which recently awarded us accreditation for the third time in our history. Without this grant, we simply can’t meet the demands for excellence that this accreditation signifies, which allows us to give the very best possible visual arts resources that we can.”
Fort Wayne Museum of Art established the Loretta Foellinger Teeple Gallery in 1984 in her honor.
Fort Wayne Trails: Connecting the Community
For Esther Foellinger, time spent outdoors was a source of joy, wellness, and connection. Esther loved flowers and was passionate about gardening and nature. Her connection to the outdoors became a lasting part of her legacy, reflected today in our commitment to supporting grantees who conserve and create natural spaces for the community to enjoy together.
Esther Foellinger
Fort Wayne Trails carries forward Esther’s love of nature and the outdoors by creating safe, welcoming paths that link neighborhoods, parks, and people across Allen County. The nonprofit continues the work of predecessor organizations that began in the 1970s, surpassing one million trail use counts and 153 miles of trails (and counting!).
“With the generous support of Foellinger Foundation, we have strengthened every aspect of our work,” said Executive Director Kent Castleman. “From advocating for new trail development and ordinances and maintaining existing trailheads and hubs, to coordinating programs and engaging the community, funding from the Foundation allows us to remain a strong, effective voice for trails in Allen County. Community Interests grants ensure that we can continue building a safe, accessible, and connected trail network for generations to come.”
Questa Education Foundation: Investing in Success
Oscar Foellinger valued opportunity and the doors that education can open. A firm believer in entrepreneurship, he saw hard work, personal achievement, and the pursuit of higher learning as pathways to a better life. At a time when few women pursued secondary education, he encouraged his daughters to attend college, instilling in them the confidence to break barriers and seize opportunities that education made possible.
Oscar Foellinger
Questa Education Foundation builds on these ideals by helping students pursue higher education while strengthening the local workforce. Questa’s vision is to lead the region with innovative solutions that empower lifelong learners to achieve their educational dreams with financial freedom, ensuring the future and success of northeast Indiana.
“Any nonprofit leader knows how valuable—and how difficult—it is to get unrestricted funding. That’s one of the things that makes Foellinger Foundation grants so valuable,” shared Elizabeth Bushnell, Executive Director at Questa. “The Foundation’s grant resources give us the flexibility to meet needs when and where we see them. Despite impressive growth, we still receive two to three times more applications than we can award. Support from Foellinger Foundation is helping us build on our momentum and continue growing to address that unmet need.”
Stillwater Hospice: Leading With Love
Helene Foellinger’s life was deeply shaped by family. After the tragic deaths of her father and sister, Helene grew especially close to her mother, Esther. The two shared a home, traveled internationally together, and co-founded Foellinger Foundation to give back to the community their family loved. Their enduring bond reflected Helene’s deep compassion and commitment to caring for those closest to her—values that continue to guide the Foundation’s work today.
Esther and Helene Foellinger
Stillwater Hospice carries that same spirit of care into the broader northeast Indiana community. With support from Foellinger Foundation, Stillwater remains true to its mission to provide compassion, comfort, and guidance through life’s journey. Stillwater extends its compassion to families through grief support, counseling, and ongoing guidance—ensuring no one walks through loss alone.
“The operational support we receive through Foellinger Foundation’s Community Interests grants ensures that we can provide care to anyone who needs our services, regardless of their ability to pay,” shared Stillwater Hospice Chief Executive Officer Leslie Friedel. “Each year, we directly serve over 3,000 individuals with our various service lines. Support from Foellinger Foundation makes that possible!”
The Foellinger family’s values live on in the work of our grantees. From creativity and culture to nature, learning, and compassion, each organization we support reflects a piece of the family’s vision for a thriving community. By aligning past passions with present-day impact, we are reminded that building a strong, caring community is both a legacy and an ongoing responsibility. Together with our grantees, we are proud to carry forward the values and work of the Foellinger family—strengthening the community they loved.