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Chisago Lakes Area Community Foundation

Your hometown community fund, stewarded by neighbors who care.

Deep Local Roots. A Community Fund Built for the Chisago Lakes Area.

The Lower St. Croix Valley Community Foundation has been growing generosity close to home since 1994. As one of the St. Croix Valley Foundation’s local community affiliates, we are locally led, hometown-focused, and deeply connected to the needs and opportunities of the communities of Shafer, Center City, Lindstrom, Taylors Falls, and Chisago City.


Our volunteer advisory board guides the Chisago Lakes Area Community Fund —the permanent community endowment created to invest in what matters most right here. With local insight and the regional strength of the St. Croix Valley Foundation behind us, we help generosity grow into lasting impact for the Chisago Lakes area—today and for generations to come.

Give Where You Live. Grow What You Love.

The Chisago Lakes Area Community Fund is a long-term, permanent community endowment that fuels local grants, local partnerships, and local impact.


Gifts to the Chisago Lakes Area Community Fund stay in the communities within the boundary of Chisago Lakes School District #2144 to support priorities identified by the people who know this community best. And because we’re part of the St. Croix Valley Foundation, donors can choose to give locally or Valley-wide or both with confidence that every gift is wisely managed and built to last.

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How Local Generosity Shows Up

Grants from the Chisago Lakes Area Community Fund have helped:

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  • Improve the Swedish Immigrant Trail across the Chisago Lakes Area

  • Develop a riverwalk gathering space in Taylors Falls

  • Support our school district by funding the purchase of playground communication boards

  • Award several other grants

Local Grants that Strengthen the Chisago Lakes Area

Each year, we award grants to local nonprofits —supporting programs that reflect our community’s values, priorities, and vision for the future.


Our grant cycle typically opens in June, with decisions sent in the fall. Guidelines and application links are posted here when available.


Chisago Lakes area nonprofits may also be eligible for regional grant opportunities offered through the St. Croix Valley Foundation, including the Vibrant Communities Mental Health Grants, which bring affiliates together with the Foundation to support mental health and wellbeing across our six-county region.


Our locally-led, regionally supported grant programs are designed to strengthen community life—and help the Chisago Lakes area thrive.

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Impact Spotlight: A Community Endowment Grown Together

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What happens when a community invests in itself? The Chisago Lakes Area Community Fund offers a powerful answer: more than $500,000 raised, over $160,000 granted, and meaningful support for youth mental health, early literacy, local festivals, food shelves, and more.

 

Built by neighbors and guided by volunteers, this permanent endowment continues to grow with a bold new $1 million goal. Discover how local generosity is creating lasting impact for generations to come.

Led by Local Volunteers Who Know & Love This Community

Affiliate advisory board members are trusted local leaders who guide grantmaking from the Chisago Lakes Area Community Fund, build donor connections, and help ensure philanthropy reflects local needs and aspirations.

Role of the Board:

  • Recommend grants that strengthen the Chisago Lakes Area

  • Champion local philanthropy and share impact stories

  • Cultivate donor relationships rooted in trust

  • Share community insight that guides both local and regional strategy
     

Chisago Lakes Area Community Foundation Board of Directors:

  • Kathy Kirvida, Chair

  • Erik G. Anderson

  • Brian Dietz

  • Chris DuBose

  • Ann Gillach

  • Deb Julik-Heine

  • Jerilyn Mattson

  • LouAnn Mattson

  • Johanna O’Malley

  • Tanya Paine

  • Noel Stensrud           

  • Joe Thimm​

Help Grow the Future of the Chisago Lakes Area

Whether you give, volunteer, or help spread the word, you’re part of something bigger—a community growing good, one gift at a time.


Ways to Get Involved:

  • Give to the Chisago Lakes Area Community Fund

  • Start a donor-advised fund to support the Chisago Lakes area

  • Leave a legacy gift that benefits your hometown

  • Join the Chisago Lakes Area Community Foundation board

  • Share stories of impact from the Chisago Lakes Area Community Foundation

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