Don Tietz turns entrepreneurial success into lasting impact across Kossuth County.

In a Kossuth County cornfield during World War II, a six-year-old boy was helping his father pull burrs when his father stopped and shared words that would shape his life.

“He quoted from the Bible,” Don Tietz recalls. “‘Much is given, much will be required.’ And he told me, I’ve been given a lot. That weighed heavy on me.”

Nearly nine decades later, that sense of responsibility still guides Don’s generosity.

Born in 1936 and raised on a 160-acre farm, Don learned early that if you wanted something, you worked for it. By 16, he was a pilot. At 20, he was a police officer. Later, as an entrepreneur and developer, he built homes, businesses, and commercial spaces across Iowa.

“You have to see things that other people don’t see, and you have to have the initiative to make it happen,” he said. “I don’t work for money. I let money work for me.”

Through risk, discipline, and long-term vision, Don built success. But success was never the end goal.

After the death of his son and the retirement of his daughter, he began thinking about what his life’s work would mean beyond him.

 “I suddenly had nothing left except the assets that I accrued,” Don said. “That’s really been the purpose of my existence — to pass through what I’ve acquired and make it serve the purpose of what God put me here for.”

That purpose now lives in multiple places. Through the Donald Tietz Charitable Foundation and the Tietz Entrepreneurial Center at Iowa Lakes Community College, he supports innovation and community growth.

Through the Kossuth County Community Foundation, a local foundation of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, Don established four endowment funds supporting public safety, childcare, education, and community development.

For Don, trust is key to relationships. 

“We have a voice and help determine where the funds should be placed,” Don said. “The Community Foundation team does all of the due diligence.”

The Endow Iowa Tax Credit also allows him to give in ways that are generous and strategic, while maximizing his impact in Kossuth County for generations. “If you can give and receive a tax credit that helps you give more, you’re going in the right direction,” he said.

His giving reflects the values that shaped him and have led him to strengthen his community by investing in the next generation and creating lasting opportunities in the place he calls home.

“I’ve been given a lot and a lot’s expected of me,” Don said. “We’re not here just for our own self-fulfillment.”