PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Thank you for visiting our website and for your interest in the Carlson Family Foundation.
Our family inherited a strong sense of community and giving from my parents, Curtis and Arleen Carlson. My father’s spirit of entrepreneurship built one of the largest, privately-held companies in the world, and that spirit also held true for his support of our community. The Foundation began making charitable distributions in 1959, and our family is honored to carry forth its philosophy of caring today.
We especially value the role of education for young people. Our founder paved the way by giving back to his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, and the Carlson School of Management—a commitment that continues to be upheld by the Foundation. We are also committed to serving at-risk children and youth, and we believe that quality mentoring—long-term, trusting relationships between children and caring adults—can be a powerful tool in developing a young person’s character, building competent skills and fulfilling his or her potential.
The Carlson Family Foundation is a co-founder of the World Childhood Foundation, established by Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, in an effort to preserve the rights of abused and sexually exploited children around the world. The World Childhood Foundation supports over 100 programs in 14 countries that raise awareness and serve vulnerable children who have been neglected, abandoned, and violated in unacceptable ways.
We are deeply grateful for the essential programs and services that our grantees and others bring to our communities, and we continue to learn, share and grow from their knowledge and experience. Working together with these partners, we have high aspirations about improving the lives of children and youth in the communities where we work and live.
Barbara Carlson Gage, President & Chair
