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Making a Difference

Hugh J. Andersen Foundation: quiet philanthropy bucks trends and credit

Created in 1962 “to better people's lives and strengthen communities”, the Hugh J. Andersen Foundation does pretty much the opposite of what many foundations do. “The Hugh J. Andersen Foundation is not about making a huge, immediate impact and leveraging big dollars; we’re about doing many small, good things in our area,” says program director Brad Kruse.

Created by Andersen Family members, founders and owners of the Bayport, Minnesota-based Andersen Corporation, the Hugh J. Andersen Foundation's primary geographic area of focus is the St. Croix Valley, a mix of rural, suburban and urban communities that span the Minnesota/Wisconsin border just east of the Twin Cities. The Foundation primarily supports nonprofits in Washington County in Minnesota, and Pierce, Polk and St. Croix Counties in Wisconsin. Read More…

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Welcome to SmartLink!
A program of the Neighborhood Funders Group

SmartLink is your one-stop-shop for free and useful ideas and insights, created just for donors, foundation trustees and others who give locally, to neighborhoods and communities.

SmartLink solves your toughest giving problem: it helps you learn who is building strong communities, what is working to make a difference, and how to connect your giving (whether modest or substantial) to the most effective ideas and projects. Connect, with just a few clicks! Among the treasures you will find here are candid profiles of donors and small foundations from all over the country, making a difference on a range of issues in their communities. With a few clicks on the left navigation menu, you can search briefs and tools focused on six key issues.

Don't stop there, drill deeper to explore action- and results-oriented topics and strategies. We won't tell you where to give; instead, SmartLink makes your giving smarter and more focused on making a difference. Please note: SmartLink is not a grantmaker.

In the News

  • Only 2% of the federal government's hurricane-related funding went towards education recovery, according to a recent report released by the Southern Education Foundation. Read More...
  • A report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition finds the national housing wage ($16.31, the amount a full-time worker must earn to afford a two-bedroom home) is rising faster than the median hourly wage and is almost three times higher than the federal minimum wage. Read More...
  • Ten nonprofit policy proposals to strengthen U.S. communities Read More...

Facts & Figures

  • Federal assistance to very low-income households reaches only about one-quarter of eligible renters and virtually no homeowners.
  • Only 48% of the teaching force in New Orleans' Recovery School District are "veteran teachers," or teachers with 3 or more years of experience.
  • We dedicate over 16 percent of our economy—$2 trillion a year—to health care. On a per-person basis, our health care costs are 50 percent higher than the second most costly nation.
  • The number of households paying more than 30 percent of income on housing hit a record 37.3 million in 2005.