A big little gift of gratitude

On a sunny Friday morning in Shickley, Tim and Judy Lichti beamed with pride as they showed off the new playground at Westside Park. The equipment – a medley of vibrant greens, cool greys, and deep blues – is a testament to the community's shared belief in (and dedication to) the future. For the Lichtis, it's one more entry in a possibly endless list of reasons they love Shickley, known to residents as the Big Little Town.

Lichti local history runs parallel to the growth of Shickley, a town of 350 in Fillmore County about 40 miles south of York. Around the time the town was established in the late 1800s, Tim's great-grandfather migrated to the area from Colorado and started a family. The Lichti name became regionally known in the 1950s, when Tim's father and uncle started a retail oil and gas company, Lichti Bros Oil. It was a family business all the way down, with Tim's mother helping with bookkeeping and other clerical tasks.

After high school, Tim enrolled at Doane College. There he met Judy, who hailed from Stanton in northeast Nebraska.

"My brother had gone there and married a girl from New Jersey," Judy said with a smile. "So, I thought I would probably go to Doane and marry someone from an exotic location."

If you ask Tim, she did just that. The newlyweds lived in York for a little over a year, then moved to Strang while waiting for housing in Shickley. That's where they raised their four children and built their life. Tim eventually took the reins of Lichti Oil, overseeing the business for 40 years. They sold the company in 2022 but continue the family tradition of community involvement.

Tim's father, Lawrence, was a leader in the Shickley Improvement Committee, a forerunner of the Shickley Community Foundation Fund (SCFF). His mother, Edna, convened and connected people throughout the community, whether through music, scouting, sewing, or conversation. And when SCFF was attempting to meet a challenge grant issued by Geneva State Bank in the early 2000s, the Lichtis hosted a fundraising telethon at their business. The Wilkins Challenge, as it came to be known, was a massive success, raising more than $260,000.

The Shickley Community Foundation Fund, an affiliated fund of Nebraska Community Foundation, has successfully matched two challenge grants in the last 20 years, amounting to more than $1 million. Those challenges have allowed SCFF to build a $2.1 million unrestricted endowment with enough annual payout to make grants toward causes important to the community, such as the schools, early childhood education, the local hospital, leadership programs, and more.

Examining SCFF's many grants awarded over its multiple decades, one discovers a unifying theme. Every grant is an investment in Shickley's greatest asset – its people. Like most communities in the NCF network, Shickley's fund advisory committee (FAC) understands that everything comes back to making their place magnetic – for those already living there and for those who will one day call Shickley home.

Judy became more involved with SCFF in 2012, during the Fund's push to meet a $750,000 challenge grant. As an FAC member, she has a unique understanding of the community's generosity, but she was aware of Shickley's arc toward the greater good before joining the group. At the end of the day, everyone in town has Shickley's best interests at heart.

"Certainly, there are differences," Judy said. "But people are good at setting those things aside and pulling together."

Tim and Judy feel endlessly thankful for everything Shickley has given to them, from business success to outstanding education to deep friendships. The couple are hyper-cognizant of the ways their family has benefited from the community, which is why they decided on a planned gift as one avenue of saying thank you. Their $100,000 gift will go to SCFF's unrestricted endowment, empowering future generations to continue the work of volunteers who came before.

"We were in business for 68 years, and the community's always been good to us," Tim said. "It's a gift of gratitude."

The Lichtis decided to have their attorney contact NCF's Office of Gift Planning to organize the gift. It was all very painless, Judy said. Working with NCF on the gift was a no-doubter after years of collaboration through the affiliated fund.

"It's really been a benefit to Shickley to be affiliated with Nebraska Community Foundation," Tim said. "It's been huge, just with the resources they provide for how to network and fundraise."

Having served on the FAC for multiple years, Judy understands the great responsibility inherent in stewarding others' gifts for the improvement of Shickley. She is honored to feel trusted with those gifts, and she wants future volunteers to feel the same.

"It's a good feeling to know you're trusted, and I want those people in the future to know they're trusted," she said. "We trust them with our gift."

For information on how you can give back to your hometown, contact Nebraska Community Foundation's Office of Planned Giving, 402.323.7330 or [email protected].