Foundation Information

The mission of the St. Croix Valley Community Foundation is to advance the quality of life in the St. Croix Valley of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Foundation aims to accomplish this mission by:

• Encouraging long-term charitable giving in the region.
• Making purposeful grants to the non-profit organizations that serve the Valley.
• Working creatively as both a servant and leader on behalf of the community of communities that defines the region.
  

What is a Community Foundation?
The Foundation is a charitable vehicle that helps individuals, families, businesses, private foundations and others accomplish their charitable giving objectives. It manages donors' financial gifts according to their wishes and distributes investment proceeds through grants to support local communities and regional issues. Grants may support the arts, health, religious, environment, civic, education and human service causes.

Where is the St. Croix Valley Community Foundation Located?
The foundation is located at 516 Second Street, Suite 214, (Opera House), Hudson, WI

How and When did the Foundation Start?
In 1995 a group of area residents founded the SCVCF to provide a convenient and reliable means for people who care about this beautiful region to contribute to its long-term welfare and livability.

How Large is the Foundation?
Within the Foundation there are more than 174 individual charitable funds established according to donors' wishes to serve a particular purpose in the region. Their total value is more than $15 million.

What Region does the Foundation Serve?
[View Map]
Chisago and Washington Counties in Minnesota and Polk, St. Croix and Pierce Counties in Wisconsin

2007-2008 Officers

Gretchen Stein - Chair
Karen Hansen - Vice Chair
Steven Wilcox - Secretary
Chris Galvin - Treasurer
Peter Kilde - Past Chair

2007-2008 Board of Directors

Charles Arnason, Marine on St. Croix, MN
Ann Brookman, Lake Elmo, MN
William Campbell, River Falls, WI
Patty Draxler, Amery, WI
Shannon Hooley Enright, Stillwater, MN
Chris Galvin, Woodbury, MN
Jim Gillespie, Hudson, WI
Karen Hansen, Stillwater, MN
Martha Harding, Taylors Falls, MN
Nate Jackson, River Falls, WI
Michael Johnson, Stillwater, MN
Erv Neff, Stillwater, MN
David Palmer, Stillwater, MN
Gretchen Stein, Osceola, MN
Kathy Tunheim, Stillwater, MN
Mark Vanasse, Houlton, WI
David Wettergren, Stillwater, MN
Steve Wilcox, Hudson, WI

Foundation Staff

Jane Hetland Stevenson - President
Margie Miller - Director of Administration
Jill Shannon - Director of Community Partnerships
Sally Hermann - Administrative Assistant
Mary Paul - Accountant (Contract)

Former Board Members

Sarah Andersen
John Baird
Lurline Baker-Kent
Jim Bradshaw
David Brandt
John Coughlin
Kathleen Doar
Lou Fuller (deceased)
Molly Galewyrick
C.R. Hackworthy
Jim Hankes
George Hauser
Rod Hofland
Lawrence Horsch
Orville Johnson
Peter Kilde
Rita Lawson
Dan Lien
Marilyn McCarty
Dan McGuiness
JC Pfeiffer
Tom Scheuerman (deceased)
Lawrence Severson
Lynn Shafer
Heidi Smith Erspamer
Jack Tunheim
Dan Willius

Foundation History & Purpose

Founded in 1995, the SCVCF was formed by a group of area residents to provide a convenient and reliable means for people who care about this beautiful region to contribute to its long-term welfare and livability. Governed by a group of informed local citizens, the Foundation operates in Washington and Chisago counties in Minnesota and Polk, St. Croix and Pierce counties in Wisconsin.

The Community Foundation offers donors a variety of options for establishing tax-exempt charitable funds. It also has its own unrestricted endowment to which donors can contribute, the proceeds from which will be granted to worthy charities and nonprofit organizations in the Valley.

The Community Foundation makes it easy for nearly everyone to become a philanthropist. For example, you can establish an individual- or family-endowment fund and designate the charities you would like to receive the interest earnings from your fund. Or you can contribute to one of the Foundation's field of interest funds -- including endowments for education, arts, environment, civic affairs and emergency human needs in the region -- and let the Foundation's advisors and Board of Directors decide which non profit organizations will be granted the earnings from the funds.

A Leader and a Servant

The Foundation is here to be both leader and servant -- leading in efforts to identify the needs and challenges facing the region and working with residents to bring about solutions, and serving by providing donors with trustworthy and convenient means to give to the charities and organizations they care about.

Non profit groups in the St. Croix Valley are encouraged to establish agency endowments with the Foundation. Such endowments provide organizations with long-term financial security. And the groups benefit from the Foundation's professional administration and investment management of their funds, as well as the Foundation's help in promoting the endowments throughout the region.

The founders of the St. Croix Valley Community Foundation envisioned that as support for it grows among the community of communities that comprises the St. Croix Valley, the Foundation will emerge as a significant force for positive change in advancing the quality of life in the region.