As the United Way of Greater St. Louis (UWGSL) community campaign comes to an end, we are grateful for everyone who made it special. Last year, our region endured an array of challenges, but each obstacle was met with unwavering support for UWGSL’s efforts to help people. Whether it was a natural disaster, funding cuts, or various economic uncertainties, our community rallied to support our fellow neighbors, and we are all better off because of it.
Fortunately, UWGSL has a group of philanthropists that are among our community’s most generous givers – the de Tocqueville Society.
This group was founded in 1987 based on renowned political philosopher and historian Alexis de Tocqueville’s belief that philanthropy was crucial to American democracy. He saw it as a way to manage civic life, foster community, and create volunteer associations for the common good.
For nearly 40 years, de Tocqueville Society members – or those who contribute $10,000 or more every year – like Tim Figge have embodied these values. Today, Tim leads those efforts as de Tocqueville Society chair (since 2024) and as a de Tocqueville Society member for nearly 10 years.
He has spent most of his adult life contributing to UWGSL. His first job at a local accounting firm encouraged donating and participating in UWGSL’s volunteer events and fundraising initiatives.
One of Tim’s first volunteer experiences with UWGSL was reviewing partner agencies to ensure they met necessary requirements and utilized donated funds. Seeing how our dollars made a difference at the local community level sparked his passion for our mission to help people live their best possible lives.
“It was exciting to see the funds stay and benefit those in need throughout the St. Louis region,” said Tim.
Tim’s support for United Way continued to grow, and once he reached the de Tocqueville giving level, he aimed to get as many people engaged in UWGSL’s philanthropic efforts as he could.
He leads by example through the values he instills at Hussmann Corporation – a local manufacturing company providing refrigeration systems, installation, services, and innovation to food retailers around the world.
Tim has worked at Hussmann for more than 20 years and has served as CEO since 2017. Hussmann’s charitable efforts are guided by “The Hussmann Promise”, a principle focusing on not only providing the best service to their customers, but also creating a better world through supporting community-focused nonprofits like UWGSL.
“One of our philosophies at Hussmann is stewardship of local communities,” said Tim. “We’re a 120-year-old company, and this has been a part of our ethos from the beginning. We’ve always been actively engaged in the community where we live and work, so I wanted to make sure that was brought out further when I arrived at Hussmann.”
Tim said seeing the immense impact de Tocqueville Society members make through generous giving continues to inspire him. Last year, de Tocqueville Society members contributed over $23 million to our community campaign.
To honor the de Tocqueville Society’s commitment to service, UWGSL hosted an Evening of Thanks event last November. This special celebration brought de Tocqueville Society members together to reflect on the impact they’ve made on millions of people throughout the St. Louis region and cultivate ideas for building a better future.
While there is much to celebrate, there is more work to do – more people we can help and more lives we can change. As we move into 2026, Tim encourages an intentional approach to making sure we all do our part in creating a better St. Louis region and helping our neighbors regain stability as more challenges come.
“We all know there are challenging times across the nation and those challenging times sit here locally in St. Louis in multiple ways, so we have to continue to reach more people and help those who are in need,” said Tim. “One of the most exciting things about United Way is just how many lives in St. Louis they touch and how they have steadily expanded their outreach over time. This year, we have a chance to take another step toward ensuring all our neighbors have the opportunity to live here and thrive.”
Take action now:
- Learn more about our de Tocqueville Society.
- Share this story with family and friends.
