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Before a career that generated millions of dollars for community organizations in Milwaukee, Linda Mellowes’ first fundraising job was earning money for college. She left small-town Arkansas for Washington, D.C., where she lived with her aunt and uncle and worked on Capitol Hill to save for her education. After earning a biology and chemistry degree and working as a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, she married John Mellowes. The couple settled in Milwaukee, where she quickly became a force in the city’s nonprofit and philanthropic life.
When the couple were raising their two young sons, they lived next door to the Quadraccis in Shorewood. Linda and Betty shared a years-long friendship – and a passion for investing in the community they both loved. Along with chairing the board at University School of Milwaukee, Mellowes started volunteering with the United Way, soliciting door-to-door donations. She eventually became the first woman to chair the organization’s board.
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Since then, Mellowes has led seven local boards and helped raise funds to sustain and grow a number of local health care, education and women’s causes. While Mellowes describes herself as shy, she says asking for donations isn’t a challenge for her – and she doesn’t view “no” as a final answer. “I’ve always believed it was worth sharing the stories I wanted to share with potential donors,” she says.
Mellowes leads by example when it comes to giving. In 2022, the Melloweses donated $10 million to the Medical College of Wisconsin to support genetic research that helps diagnose and treat diseases, and Mellowes has also overseen millions in gifts by the Charter Manufacturing Co. Foundation, the charitable arm of her husband’s company.
Looking back on her philanthropic career, Mellowes says she especially values the relationships she’s built and the opportunity to see Milwaukee evolve – in ways her leadership has surely supported.
