Diller (pop. 260) doesn’t back down from a challenge.
“It’s not a case of, well, I don’t know if we can do that,” said longtime resident Bob Wellsandt. “It’s more like, well, I don’t know why we can’t do it.”
That’s the attitude that leads to a community building, a post office renovation, a fitness center, and a new Serviceship Camp that’s inspiring youth to get involved. It’s a mindset that inspires entrepreneurs to innovate, historians to transform an old bank into a museum, and more than 30 community members to join the volunteer fire and rescue department.
Among those fire and rescue volunteers is Diane Wellsandt, who was recently honored for her more than 30 years of service as an EMT. She’s also a member of the Diller Community Foundation Fund advisory committee. Bob, who retired from the village maintenance department a few years ago, still holds a water operator license and continues to assist with various town projects. The Wellsandts certainly have both feet fully in the community.
They’ve been civically minded since moving to Diller four decades ago. After meeting in Lincoln and falling for each other, they married and lived in Bob’s hometown of Talmage for 17 years. Bob had been farming with his father for much of his life. After his dad’s death, he continued the operation for a few more years, but the farm never fully recovered after the 80s crisis. Bob and Diane sold the farm in 1987. A job offer to manage a grain elevator and feed operation brought the Wellsandts to Diller. They bought a house in 1993 that they still call home.
The couple could have moved away after the feed company sold out to a local co-op, but they couldn’t leave the place they had so quickly come to adore.
“We love the people,” Diane said. “It’s such a vibrant town.”
The Diller Community Foundation Fund has played a part in that vibrancy. Since its establishment in 1999, DCFF has reinvested nearly $1 million in Diller. Grants from DCFF have benefited local schools, the fire and rescue department, the community building, park improvements, and so much more. In 2022, volunteers launched the Diller Youth Serviceship Camp. Through the camp, volunteers intend to foster a sense of community awareness and service in elementary school students. They also hope to elevate youth voices by letting them know their opinions are valued.
Key to all of this grantmaking is DCFF’s unrestricted endowment. Much like a retirement account, an unrestricted endowment generates investment income for your community year after year. It isn’t designated for any specific use or project, making it a source of funding for whatever dreams a community can imagine. Because the principal remains untouched, it grows with every gift – and so does the annual payout.
Growing a community’s unrestricted endowment is a priority for many affiliated funds in the Nebraska Community Foundation network. More than $100 billion in Nebraska wealth is expected to transfer from older generations to their heirs in the 2020s. With much of that wealth going to taxes or to out-of-state relatives, securing even a fraction of the total can mean major growth for Nebraska communities. Even five percent of $100 billion is still $5 billion, after all.
In Jefferson County, 5% of the transfer of wealth amounts to $29 million. A portion of that placed in DCFF’s unrestricted endowment would be significant chunk of money to fuel the community’s dreams. That’s why the Wellsandts decided to make a planned gift last year through a beneficiary designation on an investment account.
“Our Fund has been discussing a legacy campaign for a long time,” Diane said. “We wanted to do our part.”
Diane and Bob have long been involved in their community. Though they call themselves “imports,” they are as important to the fabric of Diller as every other longtime resident.
Their planned gift allows them to continue supporting their community of choice in perpetuity, Diane said. “Just knowing that it’s going to go to a good place and be able to help the town keep going on projects and everything else makes us feel good.”
If you would like to find out more about planned giving for yourself or for your community, visit our website at nebcommfound.giftlegacy.com or contact Nebraska Community Foundation at tmekelburg@nebcommfound.org, 402.323.7343.
