Charitable Giving

Since 1952, Marsden Services has been deeply embedded in the communities we serve. Our founder, Skip Marsden, established a legacy of generosity and stewardship that we continue to live out today.

Our Focus Areas

  • Early Childhood Education

  • Youth Development

  • Workforce Development

  • Community Revitalization

70 Years of Giving

Our goal through our charitable giving initiatives is to enrich and build strong communities. We do this by creating partnerships with charitable organizations and matching our resources with the needs of the community. Although we donate to several different causes, our focus areas are early childhood education, youth development, workforce development, and community revitalization.

Our Mission

Our mission is to fund projects & programs that build Marsden communities and make them better places to live, work and raise families. Marsden supports nonprofit organizations through corporate giving and the Marsden Fund.

In 2018, the Marsden Fund of the Opus Foundation was established to support strategic philanthropic investments in Marsden communities with an emphasis on early childhood education, youth development, workforce development, and community revitalization.

Guiding Principles

  • Marsden believes that grants supporting opportunities for people to become well-educated/self-sufficient lead to healthier communities and greater individual success.

  • Marsden seeks out organizations that are entrepreneurial in their approach – the organizations are creative, proactive, innovative, and results-oriented.

  • Marsden values organizations that leverage funding and volunteer talent to achieve their objectives.

  • The majority of Marsden grants are awarded in communities in which Marsden and its affiliates do business. On occasion, national grants may be made that benefit individuals and communities across the country.

  • Marsden grants support employees’ involvement in their communities because we believe such investments provide important time and talent to solve problems, build leadership, and reflect corporate and employee values.

  • Marsden encourages collaboration, teamwork, and team-building among Marsden and its affiliate’s employees; and between employees and community partners.

Early Childhood Education

Programs/projects that provide high-quality experiences for pre-school-aged children that result in enhanced social skills and school readiness.

Youth Development

Programs/projects that promote healthy social and academic development of youth, with an emphasis on fostering their aspirations to stay in school and pursue higher education or vocational training.

Workforce Development

Programs/projects that strengthen the workforce in our communities to position and prepare under/unemployed individuals for career advancement and greater self-sufficiency.

Community Revitalization

Programs/projects aimed at increasing the vitality of economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, such as the development of small businesses, affordable housing, and/or other important community assets such as community centers.

Applying for Funding

Marsden believes in forming partnerships and being an active participant in our communities. We are committed to investing in local organizations beyond just a financial contribution – it’s important to our charitable giving mission that we are also supporting and engaging with those organizations in other ways. In order to ensure that our funding is used to support and further relationships within our communities, Marsden has an employee sponsorship requirement for all funding applications. All funding applications must come from Marsden enterprise employees, and that employee should be already engaged with the organization being recommended for funding, whether as a personal donor, volunteer, committee member, or board member of that organization. Marsden’s Charitable Giving Committee then reviews the applications and will make a decision based on available funding, alignment with our funding priorities, and areas of greatest need and impact. 

For enterprise employees who would like to submit a funding application to Marsden’s Charitable Giving Committee, click the link below. 

 

 

Organizations Supported

We are proud to partner with the following organizations and further the incredible work they are doing in their local communities.

CommonBond Communities
Lifeworks
Regions Hospital Foundation
Goodwill
YWCA Minneapolis
aeon
Make-A-Wish Minnesota
Hope Academy
Emma Norton
Opportunity Partners
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity