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Karl Stauber Resigns as President and CEO of Northwest Area Foundation
Will be President & CEO of Danville Regional Foundation, Danville, Virginia
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sylvia Burgos Toftness
Communications Lead
Northwest Area Foundation
651-225-7704
St. Paul, June 06, 2007 – Today the board of directors of the Northwest Area Foundation announced a change in the senior management of the organization. Karl Stauber, President and CEO of the foundation for 11 years, will leave organization in mid-July to become President and CEO of the Danville Regional Foundation, Danville, Virginia.
The Northwest Area Foundation board of directors expects to select an interim president within the next several weeks, and will soon launch a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.
“Karl was a key architect in efforts to develop a new, highly focused mission 10 years ago,” said outgoing Board Chair Cornelia B. Flora. “His vision helped us move to a different model of philanthropy, one where our assets could support a single issue for optimal impact,” said Flora. “His dedication to the issue, and faith in communities to take ownership of this very hard work, has fostered a movement in which we are all proud.”
“There’s no doubt that we will miss him personally and professionally,” said incoming Board Chair Daniel Kemmis, “but we are confident in the direction set. We believe our communities, and the organization, are well positioned to move forward, share lessons, and to continue refining our course.”
“Under Karl's leadership, the Northwest Area Foundation has become one of the nation's most respected and influential foundations,” said Ralph Smith, senior vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “This not surprising since Karl himself ranks among the most respected and influential leaders in philanthropy. We all are the beneficiaries of his determination to capture and to share what works to create thriving, family-supportive communities especially in rural America. The Danville Regional Foundation has chosen wisely and well.”
"When Karl and NWAF's board of directors adopted its single-focus mission a decade ago, foundations all across the country took notice and wondered what the impact would be - to the organization and to communities," said Steve Gunderson, president & CEO of the Council on Foundations. "Deciding to work with entire communities over several years, to attack the root causes of poverty took guts. But because of this decision, and of the lessons learned, other foundations are examining this form of philanthropy - one that devotes significant assets over many years to achieve deep, systemic change through grassroots initiatives."
“Karl has been recognized nationally for his leadership in philanthropy, serving on the Council on Foundation’s Board for two terms and now chairing the Ethics and Practices Committee. His commitment to ethics and effective philanthropy define his work. His passion for making the nation a better place for all people defines his vision,” said Gunderson.
Stauber first joined the Northwest Area Foundation in 1986 as vice president of programs. He left in 1993 when appointed deputy secretary of agriculture in the Clinton administration. The following year he was promoted to Undersecretary of Agriculture. He was the chief policy strategist for rural and small community development during his government service.
Stauber returned to the Foundation as president & CEO in 1996. It was then that he joined with his board of directors to examine how Foundation assets might be applied for greater impact. Together they agreed that the Foundation’s mission would be to help communities reduce poverty. They also agreed to engage entire communities to help them develop the skills, knowledge and connections they would need to design, lead and implement lasting change.
Prior to joining the Foundation in 1986, Stauber managed an alternative venture capital firm in Colorado. He also served as executive director of the Needmor Fund, based in Toledo, Ohio, and as assistant director of the Babcock Foundation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
A native of Statesville, North Carolina, Stauber holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, a certificate from the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School, and a B.A. in American Studies from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. He has written and spoken widely on rural development and public policy issues.
Stauber has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Council on Foundations, Forum of Regional Association of Grant-makers, and National Council on Foundations. He was a member of the Presidential Advisory Board on Tribal Colleges and Universities, the vice-chair of the USDA Task Force on Federally-funded Agricultural and Forestry Research Facilities, and on the boards of many non-profits.
The Northwest Area Foundation was established in 1934 by Louis W. Hill, the son of James J. Hill, founder of the Great Northern Railway. The railway served the eight states served by the Foundation today: Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Since 1999, the Foundation has invested approximately $193 million in community-based poverty-reduction programs. It expects to invest an estimated additional $75 million within the next two years, at which time it will have completed its first 10 years of operation under a community-based program model. The Foundation has assets of approximately $500 million.
The Danville Regional Foundation seeks to develop, promote and support activities, programs and organizations that improve the health, welfare and education of the residents of Danville, Pittsylvania and Caswell counties. Established in August 2006, the Regional Foundation has assets of approximately $200 million.
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