Wisconsin Historical Foundation Completes $77M Forward! Campaign Goal, Appoints New Leadership

The Wisconsin Historical Foundation (WHF) is pleased to announce that it has completed its historic Forward! Campaign benefiting the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS), securing gifts and pledges in excess of its $77 million goal, and that it has appointed Diane Nixa and Wes Mosman Block as Co-directors to build upon this historic achievement and lead the Foundation into the future.

The Forward! Campaign
Launched publicly on October 1, 2010, the Forward! Campaign marked the first major public capital campaign in the Society’s history. The Campaign was initiated to enable the Society to transform the way it collects, preserves and shares the stories and priceless evidence of the past for people today and for generations to come. To achieve this, funds raised have been and will continue to be used for four initiatives: (1) transforming Wisconsin’s historic sites, (2) embracing new technology, (3) safeguarding world-class collections and (4) securing the Society’s future by inspiring the broadest community possible to champion history.

In the greater Milwaukee area, the Foundation and campaign were supported in particular by Dr. Ellen Langill, President of the Society’s Board of Curators, and Conrad Goodkind, President-Elect of the WHS Board of Curators.

“The Wisconsin Historical Society is a wonderful cause, and this campaign dramatically enhances our ability to provide visitors with an authentic and engaging experience at our 11 historic sites,” said Langill of Waukesha. “We can now better conserve our nationally renowned library, archives and museum collections, and we are also upgrading our website to keep pace with rapidly changing technology and visitor expectations.”

“The campaign was very successful in fulfilling the society’s long-term funding needs,” said Goodkind of Whitefish Bay. “This monetary support provides an opportunity to tell the society’s story around the state to a wider group of our citizens, and to bring people into the society who had not previously been involved or aware of the work it does.”

Foundation Appointments
In addition to her role as Co-director, Diane Nixa will also serve as Chief Advancement Officer for WHF. She joined the Foundation in October 2010 as Director of Philanthropy. Before joining, Nixa served as Managing Director, Development and Special Events with New York City Ballet. She earned her MBA from the University of California at Davis and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Florida in Literature-Communications.

“I was thrilled to be appointed as Co-director of the Wisconsin Historical Foundation at such an exciting time for the organization. With the Forward! Campaign now complete, it’s been a pleasure to be able to turn our full attention to fulfilling the initiatives outlined by the campaign,” said Nixa. “The history of Wisconsin shapes both our state identity, and all of us as individuals. I am proud to preserve and share that history for generations to come.”

In addition to his role as Co-director, Wes Mosman Block will serve as Chief Operating Officer for WHF. He joined the Foundation in 2006 as Annual Giving Manager. In the intervening years, he has served as Operations Manager and Director of Operations. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from St. Olaf College in Political Science and his MBA (General Management Emphasis) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“This is truly a unique time to have the honor of serving as Co-director of the Wisconsin Historical Foundation,” said Mosman Block. “The completion of the Forward! Campaign illustrates the Society’s ability to evolve during these ever-changing times. I am proud to be a part of this evolution, and find it especially fulfilling knowing that we are helping people more fully appreciate our shared history so they gain greater perspective and meaning in their lives.”

To commemorate the conclusion of this historic campaign, Forward! supporters, Campaign Cabinet members, and key supporters of the Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Historical Foundation assembled to celebrate at the Society’s recently restored Library Reading Room on Oct. 30, 2012. Included outcomes of the campaign highlighted were:

• Photos of two of the new facilities to emerge as a result of the campaign: the Wade House Visitor Center and Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum, and Old World Wisconsin’s new Interpreter Training Facility; and
• A sneak peak of the Society’s new, dramatically improved wisconsinhistory.org web site, featuring more than 3 million historical records.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society was founded in 1846, two years before Wisconsin became the 30th state .The Society helps people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. Through its library, archives, historic sites and museums, historic preservation and local history programs, publications, school services and popular website, it ranks as one of the largest, most active, and most diversified state historical societies in the nation.

About the Wisconsin Historical Foundation
The Wisconsin Historical Foundation is a 501(c)(3) and the official membership, fundraising and gift-receiving organization for the Wisconsin Historical Society.