Wachholz donates an additional $2.1M
Funds donated to College Center at FVCC
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KALISPELL — Kalispell businessman Paul Wachholz has donated $2.1 million to Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) to continue his support of the Paul D. Wachholz College Center. Wachholz made a $4 million donation as part of the initial fundraising efforts for the project back in 2018.
“Paul’s outstanding generosity to Flathead Valley Community College has been transformative,” said FVCC President Jane Karas. “His belief in our mission and the power of community colleges to transform lives is evident through his philanthropic support. We thank Paul for leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come.”
Wachholz’ additional gift will help sustain the Wachholz College Center’s operations and future programming. His philanthropic efforts have also extended to a new entrepreneurship center on the FVCC campus, which he donated $4 million to develop. This center will serve as a hub for students and community members to gain business skills to launch their own businesses in the Flathead Valley and beyond.
“Big people share, small people hoard. It takes a bunch of people giving together and giving to a very good cause, and [FVCC] is a great cause. The reason I went to college was because of a community college. To me, community colleges teach people to work with their hands. They also basically help students with the most difficult time of their life - the transition between high school and college when they go out on their own. The community college is extremely successful in bringing that together so that it’s a lot easier transition,” Wachholz said while announcing his $2.1 million gift at the FVCC Foundation’s recent President’s Circle dinner.
Wachholz moved to Kalispell in 1967 and has worked in banking, real estate and beverage distribution. His entrepreneurial spirit began as a newspaper delivery boy and then as a teenaged owner of a landscaping business. His own higher education journey began at Northeastern Junior College, a two-year college in Sterling, Colorado, followed by degrees from the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Colorado.
The Wachholz College Center opened November 2022 and hosts a number of musicians and cultural events. Since opening, over 70,000 people have come through the College Center doors to more than 160 different events.
Recently, the 2024-2025 lineup of concerts and events was announced and includes Clint Black, Don McLean, Sawyer Brown, and Mannheim Steamroller. To learn more about the WCC, visit wccmt.org.
For more information about FVCC and ways to get involved, visit: fvcc.edu.
