Martha-Ellen Tye's Legacy

The Foundation was established in Marshalltown, Iowa in 1976 by Martha-Ellen Tye following the death of her husband, local attorney Joe Tye. Martha-Ellen was a member of a prominent family, whose ancestor founded Fisher Controls in 1880.

From the beginning, the Foundation became the base of Martha-Ellen’s
on-going, very personal approach to philanthropy. Her generosity was available to almost any good cause, and the annual list of recipient organizations and projects reflected this very
broad-based personal philanthropy. Favorite areas of gifting were education, theater, music and libraries.

Shortly before her death in 1998,
Martha-Ellen set a somewhat altered course for the foundation by instructing that it become a professionally managed operation with the major emphasis on helping Marshalltown and the surrounding area continue to grow and prosper.