It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of our friend and colleague, Alison Helland, on Wednesday, September 2. Alison has been a valued member of the Madison Community Foundation family since 2021, and this loss is felt deeply across our organization. We hold family, friends, and community colleagues in our hearts during this incredibly difficult time.
Alison joined Madison Community Foundation in 2021 as Director of Donor and Advisor Engagement, later serving as Director of Research, Advocacy & Advisor Engagement. In these roles, she worked closely with donors, attorneys, accountants and financial planners to help individuals and families translate their charitable goals into lasting impact across Greater Madison. She brought to this work the precision and insight of a career built at the intersection of law and philanthropy, developing advisor-focused resources that strengthened MCF’s relationships with the professional community for years to come. Most recently, Alison was leading the research and analysis of MCF’s Community Impact grantmaking efforts – seeking the spaces where community need, foundation resources and collaborative momentum exist in Greater Madison. Alison also provided a keen eye and ability to analyze and translate the impact of local, regional, and national policies on philanthropy and the nonprofit community of Greater Madison.
Before coming to MCF, Alison built a distinguished career as an attorney, most recently as a Partner at Boardman & Clark LLP, where she practiced corporate and tax law. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2005 and her Master of Laws in Taxation from Northwestern University School of Law in 2006, later earning her Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® designation in 2023 to deepen her expertise in the field she’d come to love. She was a Fellow of both the American Bar Foundation and the Wisconsin Law Foundation, and she served as President of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Tax Section Board of Directors. Alison served on the boards of Downtown Madison, Inc., the Wisconsin Law Foundation, State Bar of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, and was a past board member of the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Dane County. Her excellence was recognized repeatedly over the years, including as one of InBusiness Magazine’s 40 Under 40, in the Wisconsin Law Journal’s Women in the Law, and as one of Brava Magazine’s 2019 Women to Watch.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Alison was known for her wry humor, diligence, her generosity with her knowledge, and the ease with which she built trust — whether with a donor navigating a complex estate plan, an advisor working through a technical question, or a colleague seeking her counsel. She approached her work, and the people in it, with care and genuine attention. When a task needed to get done, Alison’s rigor and acuity were impressive and infectious. She could quickly sift through a maze of information and identify the heart of an issue. She was voracious in her research while being disciplined about providing a report or memo that was clear and concise. A visit to Alison’s office was never dull, often involving a mix of curious questions, sharp insights and a hilarious stream of puckish quips about TV shows and current events.
Outside of work, Alison found joy in traveling, spending time with friends and volunteering with the local nonprofits she cared about most. Alison loved going to comedy shows and dining with friends and colleagues at new and interesting restaurants wherever she happened to be. We all knew that family was very important to Alison and spending time at home or on the road with her parents and her brother was a high priority.
The Greater Madison community, including MCF, was lucky to have this remarkable human in our midst for the time she was with us. Alison leaves behind a legacy of trust built with colleagues, donors and advisors across our community, and a body of work that will continue to shape how people in Greater Madison give and the impact MCF will make for years to come. Alison never knew a stranger, she made so many people feel like she was your friend. Her thoughtfulness, expertise and humor will be deeply missed by all of us at MCF. Alison was a light in our lives, a bright star whose memory will forever continue to shine.
Alison’s funeral is scheduled for Friday, September 18 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, 401 S. Owen Drive (corner of Mineral Point). There will be a visitation prior to the funeral from 9:30 to 11:00.
