A Legacy of Learning, Leadership, and Lasting Impact
When George Von Tobel first connected with Nevada Community Foundation (NCF), he wasn’t looking for recognition—he was looking to make a difference. With professional stints as a civil engineer, World War II Army veteran, and four-term Nevada legislator, George didn’t just have an eclectic background; he was also a man of moral conviction and personal values that ultimately shaped his deep-rooted passion for philanthropy. George partnered with NCF to become the foundation’s very first donor, establishing the George Von Tobel College Aid Fund with an initial investment of $202,000. Since then, the fund has awarded more than $500,000 to hundreds of students across Clark County, allowing them to continue on in their educational journey while offsetting some of the more significant expenses involved, like tuition, textbooks, and meal plans, among others. “My father thought it was important for these kids to continue on and do something to help elevate their lives,” says Valorie Von Tobel, George’s daughter and current overseer of the George Von Tobel College Aid Fund. “It was important for him to give them something to help them along that path. He was the most generous person you’d ever come into contact with.” George’s legacy of generosity and community investment lives on through his scholarship fund, which NCF continues to manage today.
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A lineage of generosity
Born on May 26, 1918, George was the youngest child of Ed Von Tobel Sr., founder of the Von Tobel Lumber Company, which provided essential building material to cultivate the land now known as Las Vegas. A successful businessman and community advocate, Ed also solidified a reputation for altruism, much like his son. As a thriving business owner in the time of the Great Depression, Ed helped as many as 200 Las Vegas citizens finance their first home, and he donated $1000 to new churches, giving them a chance to get off the ground and provide safe havens for local parishioners. For all his hard work in developing the early foundations of the city, he was honored in 1965 with the opening of the Ed Von Tobel Middle School, providing educational opportunities for students in grades seven through nine.
Inspired by his father’s sense of generosity and good will, George became heavily involved with the school, attending assemblies, supporting programs, and remaining an active presence for both students and staff.
“Out of all his brothers, my dad was the one who was most interested in being a part of the school,” says Valorie. “He took the lead from my grandfather.”
The George Von Tobel legacy
Following in his father’s footsteps, George inherited a steadfast commitment to community, education, and equity. In recognizing the various systemic barriers to higher education among Las Vegas’s most vulnerable children and young adults, he also saw an opportunity to remove a key hurdle: affordability.
So, in 1988, he established the George Von Tobel College Aid Fund as a means to give students not just a scholarship, but a tangible path toward a brighter future, all while honoring his father’s legacy of charity and compassion.
“He never based scholarships strictly on GPA,” says Valorie. “Students could go to trade school or beauty school. They could go to an Ivy League or a state college. It was more important to my dad to give them a start.”
Keeping it in the family
As a nod to his father’s legacy, George designed his namesake fund to give former graduates of the Ed Von Tobel Middle School a chance to extend their educational journey or pursue opportunities for professional development with a $1000 scholarship. In order to be eligible for the award, students would have to write an essay about their time at the Von Tobel school, emphasizing how the experience gave them the necessary tools to thrive, academically speaking. So long as these former students attended four consecutive years at a Clark County district high school and maintained a 2.3 grade point average, they had a chance to win the prize.
Within its first six years of operation, the George Von Tobel College Aid Fund awarded $37,000 in total, helping hundreds of students alleviate some of the major costs associated with higher education. To date, the fund has granted more than a half a million dollars to deserving students.
Partnering with NCF
George opened his namesake fund through Nevada Community Foundation, making an initial investment of $202,000 and becoming one of NCF’s inaugural donors in the process.
“Nevada Community Foundation definitely represented something that clicked with my dad, so it was an easy decision to partner with them,” says Valorie. “And since his fund was really the first to get NCF started, it meant a lot to him. He wasn’t the type of guy who wanted a pat on the back for anything, but he did like to pioneer things he felt were important.”
Not only that, but NCF already had a built-in relationship with the Public Education Foundation (PEF), a non-profit organization focused on meeting critical educational needs for students, families, and educators throughout Clark County’s public school district. Through PEF, students could search a comprehensive database of relevant scholarship opportunities, including the George Von Tobel College Aid Fund.
In 2003, following George’s passing, Valorie took the reins of the fund, liaising with NCF to ensure continued community impact while leveraging PEF’s digital infrastructure to promote the fund and expand visibility to even more students throughout Southern Nevada. Ultimately, this partnership proved the winning formula for the Von Tobel family, as scholarship applications increased to more than 30 submissions per academic year. Now, thanks to NCF, the George Von Tobel College Aid Fund not only has peak visibility; it also stands as a testament to George’s charitable determination.
“Our dad would be so proud,” says Valorie.
Creating lasting impact
The impact of George’s fund goes far beyond dollars—it also highlights the intrinsic values so important to the human experience: perseverance, charity, and a sense of purpose.
“Students’ essays don’t talk about sports victories or popularity,” Valorie notes. “They talk about the teachers who saw them. They talk about the times they decided not to give up. And they talk about wanting to give back someday, too.”
A fund that endures
Thanks to additional contributions from George’s children and its strategic partnership with NCF, the George Von Tobel College Aid Fund is now a permanent, living legacy. With continued support from the Von Tobel family and the stewardship of Nevada Community Foundation, the fund remains a powerful example of how one person’s foresight can ripple across generations.
George Von Tobel believed in building things: businesses, communities, legislation. But perhaps his most enduring legacy lives on in the students he’s helped.
Join the NCF community
Your support can ensure stories like this one continue on and serve as models for community philanthropy. To learn more about starting a scholarship fund or contributing to the George Von Tobel Fund, Reach out to NCF to get started.