Community Commitment

We know that when we invest in our communities, we receive far more than we give.

In the same way that we value the deep and lasting partnerships we have with our clients, we place a strong value on being partners in our communities. The commitments we make to the communities in which we live and work are our investments in the future.

Firm Commitments
As part of our commitment to provide integrated wealth management services for our clients and their families, the founders of Carlson Capital Management established the American Center for Philanthropy (ACP) in 2002. ACP is a non-profit organization that supports donors and their dedication to making meaningful and effective charitable contributions. The organization is committed to increasing charitable giving by providing donors with useful information, unbiased guidance and advantageous ways to give. Since its inception, donors of the American Center for Philanthropy have made contributions to public charities exceeding $30.6 million.

Recognizing the natural connection between giving of one’s time and treasure, in 2006 the Board of the American Center for Philanthropy entered into a partnership with a volunteer-oriented initiative in the Northfield, Minnesota community called 5th Bridge. As a volunteer, donor-focused organization the mission of 5th Bridge was to enhance individual and community life by encouraging the habits of volunteerism and philanthropy. 5th Bridge was co-founded by two of the principals of Carlson Capital Management. 5th Bridge has since merged with the Northfield Area Foundation to create Northfield Shares. The mission of Northfield Shares is to sustain and transform the Northfield community by advancing philanthropy, inspiring volunteerism and promoting collaborative leadership.

The Northfield Jingle Bell Run/Walk was a CCM tradition for sixteen years. For eleven years, colleagues and families of Carlson Capital Management joined forces to plan and implement this festive, fun, community-centered event held every December. Each year a different local non-profit recipient organization was selected to receive all proceeds from the event. Starting in 2013, the Northfield Area Family YMCA became the presenting organizer of the event, with CCM as presenting sponsor. Over its history the Northfield Jingle Bell Run/Walk raised approximately $75,000.

Starting in 2007, for five years, the Carlson Capital Management team partnered with 5th Bridge, community leaders, and individual sponsors, to host a mobile unit for Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), an organization whose mission is to package healthy meals and distribute them to malnourished children in 60 countries around the world. At the end of these annual three-day events more than 1,200 community volunteers participated in packing from 300,000 to 500,000 meals. In total, over the course of the five years, 1.6 million meals were packed.

Since 2009, our firm has embraced an approach to holiday giving that honors the values and priorities of our firm, and our clients. For each of the first four years, we made the commitment to contribute $10,000, which was allocated to three non-profit organizations according to input from clients. Clients used a response card to indicate their top choice, and allocations were announced accordingly. For the 2019 Holiday Gift, our contribution of $10,000 followed our clients’ gifts of time and resources. The names of ten organizations were drawn, each receiving $1,000, based on nominations from clients. We have been delighted by the enthusiastic support for these gifts to honor our clients’ community commitments, now totaling $110,000 in contributions.

Colleague Commitments
Members of the Carlson Capital Management team are actively involved as volunteers with more than 50 organizations (see below).

Each year the colleagues of Carlson Capital Management participate in Holiday Sharing, a program of the Northfield Community Action Center. The team also gathers to serve together as volunteers for organizations chosen by colleagues.