Boys & Girls Club Blog

A generous, anonymous donor recently gifted the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh with an astounding $1,000,000 gift during the Club’s December board meeting! The check for the gift was presented by Karlene Grabner and Bill Wyman of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation (OACF) to the Club’s Board President Heather Holly-Pinnow and CEO Marc Dosogne.

Over the last several years Dosogne has worked closely with this anonymous donor to cultivate the relationship and connect them further to the Club’s members and to the mission of the Club. Grabner and OACF also have a strong relationship with the anonymous donor and we appreciate their thoughtful consideration while assisting this donor with making this gift in a way the donor felt would be most meaningful. This is a great example of the good partnership between the two organizations.

The donor determined to use the gift to create a new endowment at the Club that would be used for ongoing building and maintenance upkeep and equipment. What makes both the gift and the creation of the fund particularly special to the Club was the donor’s decision to name the fund in honor of the Club’s longtime CEO, Marc Dosogne.

Dosogne has served as CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh since 2003. During that time, he has been instrumental in shaping the Club into one of the community’s top non-profit agencies. The organization’s Board of Directors is respected as one of the most effective and influential non-profit boards in the area.

Under Dosogne’s leadership, the Club’s relationships have been deeply strengthened and friends of the Club continue to be encouraged to include the Club in their estate plans. Donors have established special initiatives for college scholarships, maintenance programs, mental health, outdoor education and unmet needs. A number of strong supporters have joined the Heritage Club and the Club has more than quadrupled the funds in its endowment accounts.

In 2003, the Boys & Girls Club of the Tri-County Area (formerly a unit Club of the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh) was in great danger of closing. When Dosogne came on board, their advisory board and staff development grew and strengthened the Tri-County Club into a community leader. Under his watch, the Tri-County Club led a successful campaign in 2013 and 2014 to raise funds for a brand new Club and today the Tri-County Club is a thriving, separate organization with over 500 Club members.

In 2005, Dosogne also led the “Opening Doors Campaign” to build a state-of-the-art teen center for the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh.

“I am humbled by the kindness, trust and vision of this very good friend of the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh,” Dosogne said. “Though I would love to thank them publicly, their anonymity is typical of this donor, and their character of deflecting attention from themselves and instead focusing on others. I love this job and our mission. One very big reason is the kids and families we serve. Another big reason is being able to work with individuals and businesses like this donor who want to help young people succeed.”

Endowment funds are permanent charitable funds from which the Club can draw income every year while still maintaining the principal balance in the fund. This provides operational flexibility and stability, allowing the Club to focus on emerging needs. Endowments can be created by any Club donor to provide support forever, for whatever the donor is passionate about at the Club. The possibilities are infinite, from college and career readiness, mentoring and meeting basic needs, to health and wellness, education, character and leadership building and more.

Dosogne explained, “Endowment funds are a great investment because they help ensure that the Club will continue to be here serving the needs of tomorrow’s youth long after we are gone.”