When Dave and Marge Hamacher were making their foray into philanthropy, they were encouraged by their accountant at the time to consider the Greater Milwaukee Foundation as a resource. The Madison natives had lived in the Milwaukee area for 20-plus years at that point and were looking to invest more in the place they called home but needed assistance.
“For me to manage my own foundation among the other things I was doing didn’t make a whole lot of sense,” said Dave, who had run a successful pharmacy consulting company, Hamacher and Associates, for 20 years before selling and retiring in 2000. “We wanted somebody local. The Foundation had the pulse of what was going on in Milwaukee. It understood where the needs were.”
Now, as they enter the next chapter of their philanthropic journey — considering what happens to their fund once they pass — they have once again leaned on the Foundation for help. In 2023, 32 years after starting their donor advised fund, they added the Foundation as a beneficiary in their will. They also named their four children as successor advisers to their legacy fund, the David P. and Marjorie L. Hamacher Family Fund.
“I’ve never doubted our early decisions to involve the Foundation,” said Dave, 81. “The administration has been good, the investments have been excellent, and we’ve been able to do what we’ve wanted to do in giving.”
The Hamachers met in high school and dated while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dave graduated from the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy and soon began working at Stein Drug, which grew to become a 19-store regional pharmacy chain that was later sold to Walgreens in 1979. Dave was a partner and executive vice president.
The couple, who settled in Elm Grove, have long been involved in the community, especially in their Catholic church, where they served as cantors and readers, led Bible studies and worked the Lenten Friday night fish fry. But they pointed to Dave’s business partner, Marty Stein, as an inspiration for further community involvement.
“Marty was involved in so many charities and so many things, so he kind of helped us get directed,” said Marge, 78, who worked in public relations, special events and human resources over the years at Hamacher and Associates.
While they spend a portion of the year in Bonita Springs, Florida, the couple feels compelled to direct their philanthropic dollars to support organizations in the Milwaukee area, where they believe there is a greater need.
“Every time we ‘ve asked for the Foundation’s help, they’ve been there,” Dave said.
The Hamachers’ fund has grown six-fold over the decades. It has supported nonprofits such as Hunger Task Force; St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care, where Dave once served on the Board and two grandchildren attended child care; and Children’s Wisconsin, where their second oldest child was treated for a heart condition at six weeks old.
The Foundation has exposed them to organizations doing good work in their areas of interest — food security, early childhood education and mental health. It has invited the couple on site visits to local nonprofits, such as Malaika Early Learning Center, and made them aware of urgent funding needs, such as when an area community meal program was in dire need of a new dishwasher to keep up with the 400 meals it serves daily.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for any family, couple or individual to be able to utilize in giving in Milwaukee,” Dave said.