A former Menasha man is leaving behind the largest single gift in the history of the U.S. Venture Open.
David Thiede was 70 when he died in November of 2017. His estate donated $925,000 at yesterday’s event.
Greg Vandenberg of the U.S. Venture Foundation says Thiede took part in the Open in the past, and he was passionate about fighting poverty.
The Schmidt family owns U.S. Venture, and started the event three decades ago. Vandenberg says several years ago, family members started dreaming that people might begin leaving money toward their overall effort. He calls it “really remarkable” that it came true.
The single-day fundraiser brought in more than $5.2 million yesterday. That’s about $1 million more than last year’s record.
