ROOTED IN TRADITION,
GROWING FOR THE FUTURE

To build permanent endowment, helping donors achieve their goals and benefiting the people and communities of Chippewa County now and forever.
 

 
1. Encouraging lifetime and estate gifts for endowment. 
2. Providing professional management of funds for growth and maximum benefits for donors. 
3. Making grants to charitable and other tax-exempt organizations that serve Chippewa County; and 
4. Working collaboratively and creatively with donors, nonprofit organizations, and professional advisors to enhance the quality of life in the County.
 

Chippewa Valley Cultural Association’s Heyde Center for the Arts, restored by the gifts and volunteer hours of many; originally McDonell High School, gift of Alexander B. McDonell in memory of family members.

  
We are a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that has been established to provide  professionally managed services by which individuals, families, and businesses can contribute through lifetime and estate gifts for the betterment of their Chippewa County communities.
 
Donors have the flexibility to direct their gifts toward special projects or areas of interest. They may also direct their gifts to where community needs are greatest, as identified from time to time by the Board of Directors.
 
We are here to support the charitable, religious, and other nonprofit organizations in the county. Our mission is to be complementary to, not competitive with, their efforts.
  

 
Take a look around Chippewa County. You see the marks of many great people from our past: Irvine, McDonell, Rutledge, Allen, Marshall, Mason, Casper . . . , to name just a few. The point is, our area's growth and prosperity have long been enhanced by the gifts of many generous people who have given back to their communities.
 
Our purpose is to continue that vision by encouraging the spirit of giving among the people, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and other organizations of Chippewa County, to the ultimate goal of benefiting all area communities and the people who live in them.
 
We will accomplish this by building permanent charitable capital, making charitable grants, and providing services appropriate to the needs of the areas served. 
 

  
Chippewa County has been blessed for many years by citizens with vision and generosity. Throughout the county there are parks, libraries, educational institutions, and other organizations and agencies that bear the names or the impact of such persons. Many charitable entities exist today in large part thanks to the public-mindedness and giving of countless others whose names may not be as well known but whose investment in their communities have made the quality of life in Chippewa County outstanding. 
 
In 1994, a meeting hosted by the Chippewa Valley Fund Raising Professionals heard a presentation by Paul Verrett, then president of The Saint Paul Foundation, about community foundations. He spoke of the broad benefits of such foundations through providing a way to generate capital that stays in the community forever for charitable purposes and by looking out for the benefit of all of the community. 
 
Not long thereafter, two persons affiliated with St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls began discussing the idea of a community foundation to serve Chippewa County. The hospital's director of resource development, Bert Swanson, gained the support of hospital administrator David Fish, who also recognized the potential for good that a foundation could offer to persons wanting to give back to their communities. The two began meeting individually with area leaders to present the idea, seek ideas and opinions, and test the level of interest in taking a leap of faith by creating a new foundation. 
 
An ad hoc task force was formed to begin a serious exploration intended to lead to a yes-or-no decision regarding the creation of a community foundation. By early 2001, a favorable consensus had emerged. A meeting on February 14 of that year determined the following: geographic scope for grant-making purposes would be all of Chippewa County; a Board of Directors of up to twelve members would be created; board members' terms would be three years, with a limit of two consecutive terms; the fiscal year would be July 1 - June 30; and the initial officers would be Gerald H. Jacobson, chair; Dennis L. Heyde, vice chair; Thomas R. Kell, treasurer; and Bert Swanson, Secretary. Attorney B. James Colbert and CPA Jay Mayer attended that meeting as advisors, as did Melinda Haun, President/CPO of the United Way of Chippewa County. 
 
Also discussed at the February 14, 2001, meeting was the creation of a Founders Society as the vehicle for securing operating funds for the Foundation's early years. A campaign to secure Founders Gifts was launched in the early weeks of the Foundation's existence, with eligibility to run through June 30, 2002, and payment of Founders Gift commitments to be completed by June 30, 2005. The campaign successfully achieved its objectives, obtaining $315,000 in Founders Society commitments, all of which have been fulfilled. 
 
Articles of Incorporation were filed on March 26, 2001. Bylaws were adopted June 26 of that year. Incorporators included Jacqueline Bernier, Dennis Boisvert, Mr. Colbert, Dennis Ferstenou, Mr. Heyde, Mr. Jacobson, Mr. Kell, John Lubs, Gordon Schafer, Mr. Swanson, and William Volker. Eleven of twelve possible positions were filled initially. Messrs. Colbert and Lubs declined a second term and were succeeded on the Board by Heather Hunt and Thomas Drehmel, the latter of whom also declined a second term and was succeeded by Lori Geissler in July 2004. Mr. Schafer's term concluded June 30, 2005; Stephen Meinen and David H. Raihle, Jr. were elected to three-year terms on the Board of Directors beginning July 1, 2005, bringing the Board to its full complement of twelve members for the 2005-2006 fiscal year. 
 
Bylaws were amended June 23, 2004, to change the name of the Foundation to Community Foundation of Chippewa County, Inc. in order to stress the county-wide scope of the Foundation's services to donors, nonprofit and charitable institutions, and communities. 
 
 

 
1. We are a local organization with deep roots in Chippewa County.
 
2. Our professional program staff and Board of Directors have broad expertise regarding issues and needs in Chippewa County.
 
3. We provide highly personalized service tailored to each individual's charitable and financial interests.
 
4. Our funds help people invest in the causes they care about most - right here in the communities of Chippewa County.
 
5. We accept a wide variety of assets, and can facilitate even the most complex forms of giving.
 
6. We partner with professional advisors to create highly effective approaches to charitable giving.
 
7. We offer maximum tax advantages for most gifts under federal law.
 
8. We multiply the impact of gift dollars by pooling them with other gifts and grants.
 
9. We build endowment funds that benefit the county's communities forever and help create personal legacies.
 
10. We are a neutral community leader, convening agencies and coordinating resources to create positive change. 
 

	The Community Foundation of Chippewa County is one of more than 21 community foundations in Wisconsin that operate in compliance with the National Standards for Community Foundations, certified through a rigorous peer review process.

  
The National Standards address six key areas of community foundation operations:
 
1. Mission, Structure and Governance, including standards defining board accountability, compensation, independence, fiduciary responsibility and representation of the community. 
 
2. Resource Development, including parameters for administering funds, disclosures to donors and commitment to building long-term resources for varied community issues and causes. 
 
3. Stewardship and Accountability, covering prudent investment and management of funds, transparent recordkeeping, use of funds for their intended purpose, annual audits and public availability of financial information. 
 
4. Grantmaking and Community Leadership, including standards related to due diligence and community responsiveness. 
 
5. Donor Relations, including guidelines for informing, educating and involving donors in responding to community needs.
 
6. Communications, including openness to public scrutiny and frequent communications about activities and finances.