Doug & Carla Salmon Foundation

Doug & Carla Salmon Foundation

The Doug & Carla Salmon Foundation was established in 2002 by the Salmon family in Appleton, Wisconsin. Doug Salmon, who died in November 2017, built his career in the medical field alongside his wife Carla, who continues to serve as President and Trustee. The foundation is structured as a giving vehicle administered through the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, a setup that centralizes administrative functions while preserving the family's grantmaking discretion. Grantmaking concentrates on two lanes: scholarships for local undergraduates and capital support for Fox Valley nonprofits. The scholarship program — run in partnership with the Fox Valley Technical College Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Foundation — prioritizes students in nursing, education, business, and medical technology who demonstrate financial need. The second lane directs funds toward qualifying charitable organizations engaged in capital campaigns and administrative endowments in the Fox Valley region. The foundation does not disclose its corpus, and no public portfolio holdings are available. The operating team consists of family members and an executive director. Carla Salmon serves as President and Trustee, while Dan Salmon holds a Director role and Becky Gilbert acts as Vice President and Director. Theresa Braatz serves as Executive Director, providing non-family operational continuity. Beyond grantmaking, the Salmons are lifetime members of the Fox Valley Area chapter of Wild Ones and donors to the John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club. No recent structural changes, vehicle launches, or leadership transitions have been announced. Structurally, the foundation operates as a donor-advised fund-style entity under the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region rather than as a standalone private foundation. This architecture outsources compliance and investment management to the community foundation while allowing the Salmon family to recommend grants aligned with their geographic and programmatic focus. For an institutional allocator, the foundation is a philanthropic grantmaker, not an investment partner — there is no direct co-investment program, no external fund commitments, and no disclosed investment staff.