Our 2025 Impact Report
What does community impact really look like? It's a student staying in school after receiving emergency financial support. It's a family moving into a safe, affordable home. It's neighbors restoring habitat, expanding childcare, preserving local history, or creating spaces where people feel welcome and connected.
While each story is unique, they all begin the same way: with people who care about their communities and choose to invest in them.
That's what you'll find throughout our 2025 Impact Report.
Together with donors, nonprofits, volunteers, community leaders, and partners across northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, our community made a remarkable impact in 2025.
Behind every number is a story of generosity, partnership, and people coming together to strengthen our region.
One of the year's biggest milestones was the largest Community Opportunity Fund grant cycle in Boreal Waters' history, with $1.34 million awarded to 32 organizations addressing community priorities like housing, childcare, food access, legal services, and community connection.
Education remained another key investment, with scholarships helping students pursue their goals while programs like the THRIVE Scholarship and community-led STEM, environmental, and cultural learning opportunities expanded access to education and mentorship.
Philanthropy also continued to shape the region's future. New and longtime fundholders invested in the causes they care about—from student success and conservation to local history and community well-being—creating lasting resources that will benefit future generations.
Beyond grantmaking, Boreal Waters brought partners together to advance workforce housing, strengthen nonprofit collaboration, and support regional initiatives like Nonprofits Unite. At the same time, regional affiliate funds empowered local volunteers to invest more than $232,000 in projects that strengthened their own communities.
The numbers tell an important story, but they're only part of it.
Behind every grant is an organization responding to a community's needs. Behind every scholarship is a student pursuing their future. Behind every charitable fund is someone choosing to invest in the place they call home.
Those are the stories that matter most.
We invite you to explore our 2025 Impact Report to learn more about the people, partnerships, and investments that shaped this past year, and to see how, together, our communities continue creating ripples that will be felt for generations to come.