About Us
"To empower youth to have crisis-free lives, strong families and excellent education."
The Mead Family Foundation partners with local tax-exempt organizations that effectively address community needs. Its program priorities derive from the active involvement of family board members in their own communities. It seeks to empower youth to have crisis-free lives, strong families and excellent education. It seeks visionary leaders — staff and volunteers — who develop innovative projects producing significant results.
The Mead Family Foundation was formed by Jaylee Mead and the late Gilbert Mead in September 1989, a year after the death of Gil's father, Stanton W. Mead, a Wisconsin industrialist. The elder Mead headed the family-controlled Consolidated Papers, Inc., in Wisconsin Rapids for many years.
Many initial grants were to performing arts groups in the Washington area. This interest stemmed from Gil and Jaylee's involvement since 1970 in an employee theater group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., where both were employed as research scientists. Jaylee produced many of the shows and performed onstage, and Gil was often the musical director.
In December 1989 Gil's four children were invited to join the Board, and the focus was expanded to encompass several of their interests. Originally board members, serving without compensation, assisted grant seekers in preparing meaningful proposals, participated in the evaluation of proposals, and conducted follow-up site visits to grantees. Since 1996, paid staff have aided the growing foundation in achieving its mission. The Board meets biannually to review proposals. About $1,000,000 is awarded annually; assets are around $20,000,000.
A valuable spin-off of the Foundation is the learning experience from shared philanthropy, increased family closeness and the potential for similar opportunities for the next generation.
| Board of Directors |
Staff |
Betsy Mead
President, Treasurer |
Holli Rivera
Executive Director |
Diana Mead
Vice President, Corporate Secretary |
Betsy Erickson
Grants Administrator |
Jaylee Mead
Vice President |
Lora Sullivan
Associate |
| Marilyn Mead |
Stan Mead
Special Advisor |
