The Elliotts: Giving as a family tradition

November 14, 2025

By La Crosse Community Foundation

Giving discussion becomes holiday custom

The Elliott family’s first philanthropic dinner came about organically during a year-end family meal several years ago. During that dinner, the family talked about the prior year and what they had hoped to build upon the next year. This included organizations and programs they wanted to support with money from their fund at La Crosse Area Community Foundation. After that, an annual philanthropic dinner became a tradition. Now, every December, the Elliott family gets together for a family meal and together decides how to divide and distribute the money from their fund.

Modeling generosity across generations

Edward and Anne Elliott come from a long line of philanthropists. Both recall having good family role models, which included parents and grandparents who engaged in church and various civic organizations in their communities. The message was, “Engage in the community where you live and work.”

They mirrored this example of giving back for their own four children. It did not matter if they were living in Kentucky, Illinois, or Wisconsin; they gave hours of time and expertise to various boards. These included local, state, and national medical society boards for Edward, who worked in the medical field, and Anne, who loves the outdoors, served on several conservation boards. Ed also served as a board member of the Decatur Community Foundation, where he and Anne started a donor-advised fund.

Edward and Anne agree giving back to your community is a great habit to start early in life. They noted that connecting with the community through charitable organizations gives you a greater perspective of your community and of the quality of life for everyone who calls it home. Often, giving back starts out with volunteering for causes you love or giving your expertise and time by joining a nonprofit board of directors. As careers build and assets develop, supporting organizations you love with financial gifts is the next step.

A new generation of local commitment

This model of giving back clearly resonated with their son, Andrew. After he and his wife, Michelle, moved to La Crosse for his medical residency in 2013, they fell in love with the Driftless Area. They decided to stay and raise their own family here. Each now serves on various boards in La Crosse and both are involved in church. “We love La Crosse and want to support the activities that make La Crosse a wonderful place to live.”

Why donor-advised funds work for families

Ed and Anne are advocates for starting donor-advised funds through community foundations, which they have done in two other communities where they lived. “Community foundations know best what the local needs are and which organizations are doing the most impactful work. They collaborate with donors to assist in their philanthropic giving, with much of the impact dollars staying right here in the community, benefiting local nonprofits and the individuals they serve.” Ed shared.

Andrew reciprocated his father’s statement by saying, “There are many organizations doing wonderful work that allow the community to be such a great place. These organizations need to be supported so that other people can have the same opportunities that our family does. The foundation makes it easy to do this.”

Inspiring the next generation of givers

Andrew and Michelle plan to uphold the family tradition of giving back to the community by serving as examples for their own young children. Eventually, they may even sit down for a meal together to learn about ways their children would like to invest in their community.