Lunda Charitable Fund

Lunda Charitable Fund

The Lunda Charitable Fund was established in 1988 by Milton Lunda, who founded Lunda Construction Company, a major Midwest heavy civil contractor specializing in bridge and infrastructure projects. After Milton's death in 2008, his son Larry Lunda — former CEO of the construction firm — assumed leadership of the foundation as President, with family member Marlee Slifka serving as Vice President and former construction executive Richard Slifka as Trustee. The wealth originates entirely from the family's operating business, which was eventually sold, creating a single-source endowment now dedicated to charitable distribution across western Wisconsin communities including Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Black River Falls. The fund manages roughly $68 million in assets with a distinctive strategy centered almost entirely on private equity secondaries. Rather than committing to blind-pool primary funds, Lunda Charitable Fund acquires matured LP interests in established vehicles — confirmed positions include Glouston Private Equity Opportunities VII, Kayne Anderson Real Estate Partners VI, and NGP Natural Resources XII LP, giving the fund exposure to real estate, energy, and diversified private equity across North America. The secondaries focus shortens the J-curve and creates periodic liquidity events, which the fund channels directly into grantmaking. No direct co-investments or operating-company holdings appear in its known portfolio, making this a pure fund-of-funds secondaries program. The foundation operates from a single office on Waters Edge Road in Black River Falls and maintains a lean governance structure with no disclosed external staff beyond the principal trustees. A notable adjacent vehicle is the Tiger Investment Club, a student-led program at Black River Falls High School funded by the Lunda family that introduces local students to public-market investing through hands-on portfolio management — extending the family's capital-allocation philosophy to community education. In 2024, the fund continued its pattern of secondary acquisitions while maintaining its primary community facility, the Lunda Community Center, as both a grant recipient and a mixed-use civic asset. This fund differs structurally from most endowed foundations by running a single-strategy, secondaries-only investment program with no in-house deal team — likely relying on advisor relationships or GP introductions to source LP-stake purchases. The construction-family roots and rural Wisconsin geography create a sourcing disadvantage for traditional institutional relationships, but the foundation's willingness to buy smaller secondary stakes that larger buyers ignore may serve as a genuine differentiator in deal access. Succession remains a question: with the founding generation aging and no publicly identified next-layer investment staff, the long-term governance of the $68 million program is unresolved.