Deep Local Roots. A Community Fund Built for Somerset.
The Somerset Community Foundation has been growing generosity close to home since 1999. 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 Somerset.
Our volunteer advisory board guides the Somerset Forever 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 Somerset—today and for generations to come.
Give Where You Live. Grow What You Love.
The Somerset Forever Fund is a long-term, permanent community endowment that fuels local grants, local partnerships, and local impact.
Gifts to the Somerset Forever Fund stay in Somerset—supporting 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.
How Local Generosity Shows Up
Grants from the Somerset Forever Fund have supported:
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Somerset Community Food Pantry
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Grace Place
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The School Backpack Program
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Somerset School District
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Somerset Senior Center
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Somerset Champions Council
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Village and Towns of Somerset
Local Grants that Strengthen Somerset
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 will be posted here when available.
Somerset 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 Somerset thrive.
Impact Spotlight: Life-changing Housing Support
A Somerset Forever Fund grant to Grace Place helped turn moments of crisis into pathways toward stability. By investing in safe shelter and comprehensive support services, the grant helps Grace Place ensure families and individuals experiencing homelessness have access to case management, life-skills development, and housing navigation.
This funding does more than provide temporary relief—it creates opportunity, restores dignity, and strengthens the entire Somerset community by helping neighbors move confidently toward permanent housing.
Led by Local Volunteers Who Know & Love This Community
Affiliate advisory board members are trusted local leaders who guide grantmaking from the Somerset Forever Fund, build donor connections, and help ensure philanthropy reflects local needs and aspirations.
Somerset Community Foundation Board of Directors:
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Paul Wenzel, Chair
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Mary Berklund
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Kym Dunleap
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Erin Hoff
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Christi L. Kazle
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E.J. L'Allier
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Diane Slimak, Secretary
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Jonathan Timm
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Scott Wells
Role of the Board:
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Recommend grants that strengthen Somerset
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Champion local philanthropy and share impact stories
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Cultivate donor relationships rooted in trust
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Share community insight that guides both local and regional strategy
Help Grow the Future of Somerset
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:
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Give to the Somerset Forever Fund
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Start a donor-advised fund to support Somerset
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Leave a legacy gift that benefits your hometown
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Join the Somerset Community Foundation board
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Share stories of impact from the Somerset Community Foundation
