The Jodie Mueller Family Fund started as a seedling fund and grew into a donor advised endowment. Jodie was a strong, giving, independent woman who raised her first son on her own for nine years. After the unimaginable happened and she died of breast cancer at 49, her husband, Trent, knew just how to honor her memory.

With his family's guidance, Trent established the fund to benefit single mothers in Chippewa County.

"What I want to do is help single mothers who are trying to do more, trying to make their lives better for them and their kids by being active. That's what she did," said Trent, Jodie's husband of 16 years.

Jodie, a motorcycle enthusiast who worked as Markquart Motors' finance manager, passed away on November 20, 2012. This fund is now endowed with Trent and the couple's sons Derek and Tucker serving as fund advisors.

"I'm hoping that both the boys stay involved with it," said Trent of Chippewa Falls. "It's a good way to remember her, and it means a lot to me."

A donor advised endowment fund is a way to keep a family involved in charitable giving as ongoing recommendations are provided by fund advisors, allowing them to recommend grants to nonprofits each year and honor their loved ones by doing so.