St. Croix Valley Community Foundation

St. Croix Valley Community Foundation

The St. Croix Valley Community Foundation, established in 1995, serves six counties along the St. Croix River in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Founding board members include Stillwater orthodontist David Brandt and Sarah Andersen of the Andersen Corporation family, anchoring the foundation in local professional and corporate roots. President Heather Logelin oversees an operation designed to aggregate donor contributions into a permanent endowment, using the proceeds for community grantmaking. The foundation deploys capital through a mix of donor-advised funds, scholarship programs, and competitive grant cycles. Its recent activity centers on the Nonprofit Stability Collaborative Fund, a capacity-building grant vehicle that awarded $1.26 million to 46 local nonprofits in its first rounds. While the foundation does not disclose full asset-allocation details, its investment committee is chaired by Dennis Duerst, former President of 3M Investment Management Corp., suggesting a disciplined institutional approach. Geographic focus remains concentrated in the six-county region: St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Burnett in Wisconsin, plus Washington and Chisago in Minnesota. The foundation also operates a network of affiliated community foundations — including the Hudson Community Foundation and Stillwater Area Community Foundation — extending its reach into smaller municipalities. It is a member of the Council on Foundations. In the last 24 months, the foundation’s grantmaking through the Nonprofit Stability Collaborative Fund has become a primary vehicle for strengthening leadership and planning capacity among local organizations, reflecting an operational shift toward long-term organizational health. The foundation’s model is structurally distinct from a typical private foundation: it functions as a permanent pool of community philanthropic assets, where multiple donors contribute to a shared grantmaking entity. This pooling method allows it to aggregate gifts from families, businesses, and individuals, creating a grantmaking base larger than any single donor could sustain. Its corporate DNA includes direct ties to Andersen Corporation, a major local employer, through founding board member Sarah Andersen, creating a tight alignment between regional industry and philanthropic strategy.