What is the history of the Central Lakes Foundation?

In 1995, Brainerd Technical College, Staples Technical College, and Brainerd Community College merged to become Central Lakes College, one of the first co-located colleges in Minnesota. Each school operated a separate 501(c)3 foundation. Each college operated its own foundation.  Funds from each foundation were combined to create a new foundation called the Central Lakes College Foundation.

The CLC Foundation was formed to solicit, receive, and administer gifts, grants, bequests, and donations. It provides a tax-exempt vehicle for people to donate to the college, and thereby provide educational opportunities for CLC students.

The CLC Foundation office is housed at the Central Lakes College campus in Brainerd, but because of its 501(c)3 status, a volunteer board of directors governs it. The board makes all the financial decisions with regard to managing and accepting donations. (For a current listing of CLC Foundation Board Members, please refer to the "How the Foundation is Governed" section of this web site.)

CLC Foundation Vision Statement
The Foundation's vision is to be a major force in providing opportunities for students to improve their lives through higher education, employment, personal living, and better quality of life.

CLC Foundation Mission Statement
To raise money and manage funds, with major focus on student scholarships.

CLC Foundation Purposes
1. Market the CLC Foundation to diverse populations.
2. Raise and administer funds for distribution of student scholarships.
3. Raise funds for special projects as approved by the Board of Directors.
4. Manage funds for efficiency and effectiveness.

CLC Foundation Values
Core Value Statement:
We believe education changes lives. We grow together through a partnership with Central Lakes College and the community.


Specific Value Statements:

Honesty and Integrity: We value fairness and equity in our practices and decision-making. Promises made are promises kept.

Responsible Custodians: We value being principled custodians of our vision, mission, finances, and intent of our donors.

Opportunistic Fundraising: We value collaborative work with our partners to raise funds so that we do the best we can to support quality learning opportunities for students and Central Lakes College.

Responsive Relationships: We value the importance of responding to needs by building positive relationships and improving our image among constituents from a diverse population within our Board, Central Lakes College, and the community at large.

Monitoring Performance: We value the necessity to continually monitor our performance and make changes deemed appropriate and feasible.

Effective Communication: We value the process of improving communication among our Board members, staff, donors, college personnel, students, and the general public.