Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Winona Community Foundation is focused on building philanthropy in the greater Winona area. By offering a variety of fund types, collaborating with nonprofit organizations, and partnering with professional advisors, the Foundation seeks to build a permanent endowment that will infuse the community's nonprofits with needed operating funds, allow it to invest in solving difficult problems, and take advantage of opportunities that will help the community thrive.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Donor Advised Grants
Winona Community Foundation holds many donor advised funds. These funds may or may not be endowed. Donor advisors may direct funds to public charities for use within their specifications. Although most donor advisors will benefit state or local charities, they may direct anywhere within the United States.
Community Grants
Applications are received from the Winona Community and reviewed by the grant committee for awards
Winona Nonprofit Alliance
The Winona Nonprofit Alliance is a collective o nonprofits in the Winona area. Its purpose is to allow space for nonprofit leaders and staff to share opportunities, challenges, learn, and exchange ideas to strengthen the nonprofit community. The Winona Community Foundation facilitates the group.
Where we work
Accreditations
Community Foundation National Standards Board 2021
Community Foundation National Standards Board 2015
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of donor-advised funds
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Donor Advised Grants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
DAFSs are an important vehicle for directing philanthropy into the community and beyond. Fees generated support the community grant program. Reclassifying funds make it appear there was a drop in 2020
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Community Grants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is reporting the dollar amount of funds awarded via the Winona Community Foundation's community grant program whereby organizations must submit a formal application.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Winona Community Foundation seeks to expand its ability to invest back into the community by growing its assets under management, increasing the number and diversity of funds it holds, and increasing the dollars granted back into the community. It does so with the goal of building and strengthening the community.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
This will be accomplished by educating the public about philanthropy, connecting people with needs, and collaborating with other charitable organizations, working with professional advisors to increase their comfort level with talking to their clients about philanthropy.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In 2018, the board of directors more than doubled the dollars available for its community grant program. In order to continue growth, it will be vital that the executive director, in collaboration with the board, will increase giving directly to the foundation as well as increase the number and diversity of funds held by the foundation. This will be accomplished through personal contacts and diverse communication channels as outlined in the strategic plan.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2021, the Foundation grew its assets under management by more than $2 million while simultaneously increasing its community grants to more than $130,000 and overall grants to more than $1.7 million.
The Foundation is leading a collaboration among the Winona-area nonprofits to build a workplace giving initiative that will allow employees to contribute to their preferred charities via payroll deduction.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), one-on-one visits,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
We successfully changed the turn around time from when a fund advisor makes a distribution request to when it is sent. We changed our competitive grant cycle from four periods to two, cleaned up the application process, and clarified our funding priorities.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
WINONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC
Board of directorsas of 06/30/2022
Amanda Hedlund
Habitat for Humanity Serving Winona County
Term: 2022 -
Kathleen Peterson
Community Leader
Term: 2022 -
Denise McDowell
Winona State University
Jerry Papenfuss
Community Leader
Aaron Young
Great River Shakespeare Festival
Kevin O'Reilly
Peerless Chain
Genelle Groh Beck
RTP Company
Ann Gibson
Community Leader
Angela Lallemont
Lallemont Law Office
Corey Hancock
Benchmark Electronics
Andrew Guzzo
Merchants Bank
Jolene Vaselaar
Altra Federal Credit Union
Jackie Czaplewski
WinCraft
Maurella Cunningham
La Crosse County
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/30/2019GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.