Planting ideas and nurturing growth Shaun Floerke, President & CEO
It’s been an active, challenging and amazing year. Through it all, the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, along with our partners and generous donors, has helped our region grow stronger, healthier and in more innovative ways. The year after two years of the pandemic has been one of cultivating growth and enhancement, all in the name of community. So, Cultivating Community is an appropriate title for our annual report. We’re also pleased to present the stories of the foundation in a new electronic form this year. We’re eager for your feedback—and for your continued support and involvement in the year ahead.
260 Grants awarded
$2.5M Granted
$383,395 Scholarships awarded
235 Students supported by scholarships
Planting ideas and nurturing growth Shaun Floerke, DSACF President & CEO
It’s been an active, challenging and amazing year. Through it all, the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, along with our partners and generous donors, has helped our region grow stronger, healthier and in more innovative ways. The year after two years of the pandemic has been one of cultivating growth and enhancement, all in the name of community. So, Cultivating Community is an appropriate title for our annual report. We’re also pleased to present the stories of the foundation in a new electronic form this year. We’re eager for your feedback—and for your continued support and involvement in the year ahead.
Apostle Islands-Chequamegon Bay Area Community Fund
The Apostle Islands-Chequamegon Bay Area Community Fund supports nonprofits in Bayfield and Ashland Counties of northwest Wisconsin. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life in our communities, forever.
Apostle Islands funds provide resources to Red Cliff, Bayfield and the Apostle Islands, including Madeline Island. Chequamegon Bay funds cover work in Washburn, Ashland and Bad River. The Apostle Islands fund started in 2000. The Chequamegon Bay fund started in 2011. They merged governance in 2019 but have separate grant responsibilities and committees covering the two portions of their region.
Thanks to a grant from AICB, transportation was provided for members of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and students from the Ashland School District to the Big Top Chautauqua in 2022.
Big Top Chautauqua
Members of Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and students from the Ashland School District attended Anishinaabe Dibaajimowin: An Ojibwe Story. One Ashland School District student said, “This was the best show I’ve ever seen!” Ashland High School teacher Phillip Brede told the Ashland Daily Press, “My class came to life through storytelling, and it opened the door to beautiful conversations about personal identity and what it means to be a human,” Brede wrote. “It was a true honor to attend and see the power art, culture and language can have on our community and children.”
Apostle Islands-Chequamegon Bay Area Community Fund
The Apostle Islands-Chequamegon Bay Area Community Fund supports nonprofits in Bayfield and Ashland Counties of northwest Wisconsin. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life in our communities, forever.
Apostle Islands funds provide resources to Red Cliff, Bayfield and the Apostle Islands, including Madeline Island. Chequamegon Bay funds cover work in Washburn, Ashland and Bad River. The Apostle Islands fund started in 2000. The Chequamegon Bay fund started in 2011. They merged governance in 2019 but have separate grant responsibilities and committees covering the two portions of their region.
Thanks to a grant from AICB, transportation was provided for members of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and students from the Ashland School District to the Big Top Chautauqua in 2022.
Big Top Chautauqua
Members of Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and students from the Ashland School District attended Anishinaabe Dibaajimowin: An Ojibwe Story. One Ashland School District student said, “This was the best show I’ve ever seen!” Ashland High School teacher Phillip Brede told the Ashland Daily Press, “My class came to life through storytelling, and it opened the door to beautiful conversations about personal identity and what it means to be a human,” Brede wrote. “It was a true honor to attend and see the power art, culture and language can have on our community and children.”
Cook County Community Fund
The Cook County Community Fund has enhanced the quality of life in Cook County since 2003 by attracting charitable gifts, making philanthropic grants and providing community leadership. The fund is honored to work with local nonprofits to address the region’s needs, including education, arts, health and human services.
Great lunch
This project reduces food insecurity in Cook County by providing healthy, nutritious meals to all students at the Great Expectations School, regardless of affordability. Great Expectations School is a free public charter school that serves children from kindergarten to eighth grade. The grant supports children’s health by providing organic, nutrient-dense meals.
Cook County Community Fund
The Cook County Community Fund has enhanced the quality of life in Cook County since 2003 by attracting charitable gifts, making philanthropic grants and providing community leadership. The fund is honored to work with local nonprofits to address the region’s needs, including education, arts, health and human services.
Great lunch
This project reduces food insecurity in Cook County by providing healthy, nutritious meals to all students at the Great Expectations School, regardless of affordability. Great Expectations School is a free public charter school that serves children from kindergarten to eighth grade. The grant supports children’s health by providing organic, nutrient-dense meals.
Eveleth Community Foundation Fund
The Eveleth Community Foundation Fund provides a resource for residents to collectively give back and better the community.
The fund began in 2008, serving as a resource for the Eveleth area. Through its advisory board of community leaders, the fund attracts and administers a growing endowment for the area’s future. It identifies and effectively responds to changing community needs through strategic grant-making and provides financial stewardship as well as community leadership.
In 2021 it distributed grants totaling $11,000 to four deserving nonprofits. With these awards, the fund has granted $77,000 to 54 recipients since 2011. In 2021, it also awarded scholarships totaling $3,250 to three exceptional Eveleth-Gilbert High School graduates.
Hippodrome centennial
On Jan. 1, 2022, the Hipp celebrated the 100th anniversary of its first hockey game,which saw the Eveleth Reds defeat the Duluth Hornets, 10-6, before a packed house. Dubbed the “Madison Square Garden of the North,” the building has hosted a century of community events. The Eveleth Community Foundation Fund filled Eveleth Auditorium with featured memorabilia from the Hipp, including trophies, jerseys and photos. The night featured food, fellowship and guest speakers, who shared stories and memories of the beloved Hipp.
The Eveleth Community Foundation Fund provides a resource for residents to collectively give back and better the community.
The fund began in 2008, serving as a resource for the Eveleth area. Through its advisory board of community leaders, the fund attracts and administers a growing endowment for the area’s future. It identifies and effectively responds to changing community needs through strategic grant-making and provides financial stewardship as well as community leadership.
In 2021 it distributed grants totaling $11,000 to four deserving nonprofits. With these awards, the fund has granted $77,000 to 54 recipients since 2011. In 2021, it also awarded scholarships totaling $3,250 to three exceptional Eveleth-Gilbert High School graduates.
Hippodrome centennial
On Jan. 1, 2022, the Hipp celebrated the 100th anniversary of its first hockey game,which saw the Eveleth Reds defeat the Duluth Hornets, 10-6, before a packed house. Dubbed the “Madison Square Garden of the North,” the building has hosted a century of community events. The Eveleth Community Foundation Fund filled Eveleth Auditorium with featured memorabilia from the Hipp, including trophies, jerseys and photos. The night featured food, fellowship and guest speakers, who shared stories and memories of the beloved Hipp.
Two Harbors Area Fund
Two Harbors is home to the first affiliate fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, a reflection of local residents’ care and commitment to their city and surrounding region.
The fund seeks to enhance the quality of life for residents of Two Harbors and the surrounding area. The fund serves as a resource and catalyst for giving, attracts and administers a growing endowment, provides a flexible vehicle for donors and responds to existing and emerging community needs through grantmaking.
Community partners
Finding creative solutions that improve the quality of life for elders is the goal of Community Partners in Two Harbors. Now, with the help of a grant from the Two Harbors Area Fund, the organization can offer more support, allowing seniors to thrive while continuing to live at home.
Two Harbors Area Fund
Two Harbors is home to the first affiliate fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, a reflection of local residents’ care and commitment to their city and surrounding region.
The fund seeks to enhance the quality of life for residents of Two Harbors and the surrounding area. The fund serves as a resource and catalyst for giving, attracts and administers a growing endowment, provides a flexible vehicle for donors and responds to existing and emerging community needs through grantmaking.
Community partners
Finding creative solutions that improve the quality of life for elders is the goal of Community Partners in Two Harbors. Now, with the help of a grant from the Two Harbors Area Fund, the organization can offer more support, allowing seniors to thrive while continuing to live at home.
Recovery and community help people in Ely live healthier lives. Northern Lights Clubhouse is a safe, welcoming place to connect with resources, recovery, mental health and training. The collaborative received grant funding from the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and is recognized in the 2022 Touchstone Celebration.
A safe and welcoming place for hope
Recovery and community help people in Ely live healthier lives. Northern Lights Clubhouse is a safe, welcoming place to connect with resources, recovery, mental health and training. The collaborative received grant funding from the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and is recognized in the 2022 Touchstone Celebration.
2021 financials Audited numbers, November 2022
Fund trends
Arts Fund for Youth
Community Partners Fund
Cornell Family Scholarship Fund
Darlene Brown – Thorson Family Fund
Host Family Fund for Environmental and Community Stewardship
James J. Hubert Memorial Scholarship Fund
James Robert (Demo) Mayasich Fund
Momentum Fund
Northwoods Educational Opportunities Fund
Northwoods Opportunity Fund
Patricia and Anthony DiLuna Scholarship Fund
Thomas Strewler Dyslexia Fund
Unity Fund
New Fund Count | 17
Donor Advised Fund
Northwoods Opportunity Fund
Host Family Fund for Environmental and Community Stewardship
Darlene Brown-Thorson Family Fund
James Robert (Demo) Mayasich Fund
Momentum Fund
Designated
Unity Matching Fund
Thomas Strewler Dyslexia Fund
Field of Interest
Arts Fund for Youth
Unity Fund
Operating
Operating Foundant Conversion
Organizational Endowed
Community Partners Endowment Fund
Community Partners Endowment Fund Agency
Scholarships
Northwoods Educational Opportunities Fund
James J. Hubert Memorial Scholarship Fund
Patricia and Anthony DiLuna Scholarship Fund
Cornell Family Scholarship Fund
Unrestricted
Child Tax Credit
Financials 2021
Financially audited numbers, November 2022
Arts Fund for Youth
Community Partners Fund
Cornell Family Scholarship Fund
Darlene Brown – Thorson Family Fund
Host Family Fund for Environmental and Community Stewardship
James J. Hubert Memorial Scholarship Fund
James Robert (Demo) Mayasich Fund
Momentum Fund
Northwoods Educational Opportunities Fund
Northwoods Opportunity Fund
Patricia and Anthony DiLuna Scholarship Fund
Thomas Strewler Dyslexia Fund
Unity Fund
17 COVID-19 response grants awarded in 2021:
COVID-19 Northeast Minnesota Response Fund
COVID-19 Northwest Wisconsin Response Fund
Chequama-Care COVID-19 Response Fund
Two Harbors COVID-19 Response Fund
COVID-19 Knight Foundation Response Fund
$35,000
$67,417
$12,500
$5,000
$10,000
Total $129,917
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Youth outreach by the nonprofit Men As Peacemakers brings connection and confidence through Make Equal Genders Awesome. The Make Equal Genders Awesome team visits Duluth schools and works with kids in person. Sarah Curtiss, executive director of Men As Peacemakers, says the effort breaks stereotypes and prevents harm before it starts.
This upstream work is funded in part by the Community Opportunity Fundof the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. The work was honored in the 2022 Touchstone Celebration.
Instilling confidence and stopping stereotypes before they start
Youth outreach by the nonprofit Men As Peacemakers brings connection and confidence through Make Equal Genders Awesome. The Make Equal Genders Awesome team visits Duluth schools and works with kids in person. Sarah Curtiss, executive director of Men As Peacemakers, says the effort breaks stereotypes and prevents harm before it starts.
This upstream work is funded in part by the Community Opportunity Fundof the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. The work was honored in the 2022 Touchstone Celebration.
Values, history and identity guide the leadership structure of successful native nations. The Grand Portage Tribal Council and others gained new skills and expanded their capacity to chart the future in 2022 through workshops led by the Native Governance Center.
The workshops were supported in part by a grant from the Community Opportunity Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. The work was honored at the 2022 Touchstone Celebration.
Growing capacity for self-governance based on indigenous values
Values, history and identity guide the leadership structure of successful native nations. The Grand Portage Tribal Council and others gained new skills and expanded their capacity to chart the future in 2022 through workshops led by the Native Governance Center.
The workshops were supported in part by a grant from the Community Opportunity Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. The work was honored at the 2022 Touchstone Celebration.
Small businesses are growing in northeasten Minnesota through consulting and coaching from the Entrepreneur Fund. Through the fund’s Stride program, black and brown entrepreneurs launched and grew food trucks and restaurants in the region, featuring vegan, Japanese, barbecue and soul food.
The Stride Program is supported in part by the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. The program was recognized in the 2022 Touchstone Celebration.
Delicious dreams
Small businesses are growing in northeasten Minnesota through consulting and coaching from the Entrepreneur Fund. Through the fund’s Stride program, black and brown entrepreneurs launched and grew food trucks and restaurants in the region, featuring vegan, Japanese, barbecue and soul food.
The Stride Program is supported in part by the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. The program was recognized in the 2022 Touchstone Celebration.
