Lisa Guetzko: Working together to build ‘forever’

"Everyone wins when we lift each other up."

Lisa Guetzko moved to Manchester after marrying her husband, Mark, 32 years ago. “Raising our children in a community where most everyone knows and supports one another has been such a wonderful experience,” she says. She has channeled her remarkable love and excitement for her community into positive outcomes for the whole county. 

Lisa joined the Foundation for the Future of Delaware County advisory board in 2018, and in 2020, she was instrumental in setting up a COVID relief fund so residents of Delaware County could support their neighbors. She facilitated new Foundation partnerships that led to students gaining valuable work experience. Inspired by a Foundation meeting, she initiated a connection that led to a Brain Health Retreat Room at West Delaware High School – then became so engaged that she started her own endowment to support the need. 

“I believe that everyone has talent and passion to share in creative ways when given encouragement. Being a part of the Foundation board has given me the opportunity to connect people and their gifts with meaningful projects,” she says. “Everyone wins when we lift each other up.” 

Given her enthusiasm for her community, Lisa didn’t hesitate to join Manchester Vitality, part of the Community Foundation’s Small-town Dreams Initiative that’s helping towns across Eastern Iowa build capacity to address future challenges and opportunities. Manchester was among those selected to leverage a $100,000 challenge grant from an anonymous donor and build a $450,000 endowment that will pay out every year to support community-building efforts. In the process, local leaders gain the skills to organize a successful capital campaign and learn how to understand and respond to local needs. 

Lisa is wrapping up her service to the Foundation board this year to focus on building her endowment for brain health initiatives in Delaware County, and she sees this next chapter as a continuation of her work with Manchester Vitality. “I want my fund to show that we can all care for each other,” she says, echoing the message she’s carried throughout all of her work with the Foundation: “Caring multiplies, and together we can build a better support system in our communities, for each other and with each other.”