Dear Members of the Board of the Netherland-America Foundation,

I’m saddened to inform you that after a brief illness, our former Board member of more than twenty years and longtime NAF volunteer Ottho Heldring passed away on Thursday, July 19th.

Ottho had a storied NAF history.

The first time I met Ottho was in the early 2000s. I was the newly appointed Treasurer of the NAF, and we needed someone to succeed me as Chair of the NAF’s Audit Committee. Ottho stepped forward, as he would do so often later on, when called upon as a NAF volunteer. Ottho and I quickly developed a rapport that we have continued ever since. This was no doubt cemented by our frequent, informal meetings at my EY offices, where I would provide Ottho with NAF financial updates, and Ottho would respond with probing (and often less probing) questions. All of this was accompanied by hot chocolate (it was still during working hours, mind you), at his specific request and irrespective of the season. Reliable as he was, he would continue in his role as AC Chair for a full decade, from 2004 to 2014. Ottho was also a member of the NAF’s investment committee for five years, as well as a member of the Fundraising Committee and Ambassadors’ Awards Dinner Organizing Committee.

More recently, Ottho took an interest in the NAF’s history and legacy. He meticulously recorded NAF historical data in a detailed spreadsheet. It keeps track of which NAF Executive Director joined when, the tenure of Board members, the composition of the Executive Committee, and the contributions made by the many NAF volunteers, among other details. Part of this was driven by his firm belief that NAF volunteers should be appropriately recognized for their contributions. Ottho was the driving force behind the successful September 2024 NAF “Heritage Luncheon”, where we honored two former NAF Chairs for their contributions to the NAF. Importantly, Ottho subsequently helped me create a NAF “Legacy Circle”, meticulously wordsmithing relevant agreements and painstakingly explaining the subtle differences between heritage, legacy, charity, and philanthropy. This new Legacy Circle is for individuals who have confirmed their intention to include the NAF in their will and leave a specified amount to the NAF. Since its inception earlier this year, and thanks to Ottho’s efforts, we now have five founding members of this Legacy Circle who have pledged significant amounts to the NAF.

Additionally, this year, Ottho was one of the three founders of the NAF’s Cultural Fund. These founders’ significant financial contributions to the new Cultural Fund will put the NAF’s culture pillar on a more solid financial footing. It provides donors with the opportunity to direct their contributions toward specific cultural genres (e.g., classical music) and to allow formal recognition of their support.

Not only did Ottho help shape the future of the NAF with the recent creation of the Legacy Circle and Cultural Fund, but he was also an important counsellor to the NAF’s staff and me. Always positive and supportive, he closely followed all NAF-related developments and never hesitated to share his advice with us, whether solicited or unsolicited, on topics such as strategy for approaching donors, Board or volunteer-related matters, or the layout of the Annual Review.

With such an extensive NAF history, it’s easy to forget that Ottho had a full and interesting life outside of the NAF. Ottho studied economics at Erasmus University (Rotterdam), then earned an MBA at Columbia Business School (New York). He was at Chase Manhattan Bank from 1972 to 1998, where he held positions in Corporate and International Lending (including three years in Germany), Treasury, and Global Trading. In 1998, he became head of Counterparty Risk Management at American Express Bank. From 2001 to July 2022, he represented Lek Securities Corp. During most of 2015-19, he traveled extensively throughout the U.S., South Africa, Canada, and the U.K., and reported on his experiences on his Facebook account. Ottho had previously been married to Gretchen Schnee and had two sons and a daughter. One of his sons, along with Ottho’s daughter-in-law, had lovingly taken Ottho in over the past couple of months.

The NAF has lost an exemplary Board member and volunteer, and those of you who knew him well will undoubtedly join me in saying that we have personally lost a dear friend.

Jurjan Wouda Kuipers

Chair, Netherland-America Foundation

July 21, 2025