By Julie Drechsler
An important milestone will take place on Thursday, Oct. 24 when the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation celebrates 25+ years of service to the community.
In 1998, a group of local business and community leaders came together, concerned about widening funding gaps for local schools and nonprofits. After many conversations, the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation was established with the key mission of securing a strong and vibrant neighborhood for future generations.
Founding members included many high-profile community members, including Andy Boss, former Sunrise Bank president, who served as the first chair of the foundation.
Other Board members serving during the inaugural years were Grant Abbott, Lis Christenson, Kent Eklund, Roxy Freese, Joan Hershbell, Anders Himmelstrup, Jerry Jenkins, Gerald McKay, Phil Shively, Ellen Watters, Steve Wellington and Ann Wynia.
What incredible foresight these local community leaders had. So many local community groups, businesses and nonprofits have benefited from their dedication and commitment to providing coordinated leadership and extra funding over the last 25 years.
I’m sure they would be thrilled at the impact the foundation has made in education, the environment, economic development, arts and culture, aging in place and community development.”
The work of the foundation is not always easily identified. It is often in the background, supporting and promoting the work of the local nonprofits and community groups. Its main role is to convene, catalyze and steward, responding to identified local needs and bringing partners together to support an even larger impact for the residents of St. Anthony Park.
Providing grants has also been a large focus throughout the years. The first grant was awarded in 1999, and to date over $1.1 million in grants has been provided to local community groups and nonprofits. This is a major achievement considering the size of both the foundation and the Saint Anthony Park community.
The Saint Anthony Park Foundation is unique, being the only “neighborhood” community foundation in the state.
Although the grants are relatively small, they can make a big impact. Rebecca Froehlich, from Minnesota Urban Debate League, comments on the benefits of receiving one of the grants, “Saint Anthony Park Community Foundation helps us fulfill our mission in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood and beyond!”
The St. Anthony Park Area Seniors organization is also happy to receive support from the foundation. “The financial support from the SAP Community Foundation has allowed us to continue offering service and activities to seniors living in our neighborhood,” states Program Director Katharine Tondra.
Grants are provided through annual distributions from the endowed funds that are managed by the St. Paul Minnesota Foundation. Two of the funds are named after founders Andy Boss and Gerald McKay. An additional fund was established last year to honor Michael Brasel, who was tragically killed in May of 2023.
Community members, past board members, donors, grant recipients and local business owners are encouraged to join in the celebrations.
Twenty-five years is an important milestone for the foundation; we want to celebrate, honor and recognize the impact of the foundation, past board members who provided valuable leadership and kick off the next 25 years of service. We really want to encourage everyone who has contributed to or been touched by the foundation to join in the celebrations, join in recognizing past leaders and help us secure the next 25 years!
The community event will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, at Urban Growler. It will include food, live music, recognition of supporters and a raffle to raise additional funds for the foundation. Prizes have generously been donated by local businesses, with top prizes being a $1,000 gift card from Tim and Tom’s Speedy Mart and a $500 gift card from the Carter Ave Frame Shop. For more information on attending the event or purchasing raffle tickets, contact the foundation, [email protected].
Julie Drechsler is executive director of the St. Anthony Park Foundation.