BY AND FOR COMMUNITY. The Eau Claire Community Foundation is approaching its 30th anniversary – and is still experiencing "firsts." Upon release of its 2025 annual report, the Foundation also announced the year had been its largest season of growth ever. (Board Chair, Jeff Kowieski, pictured at ECCF's recent ribbon-cutting event / photo via Facebook)

It’s been nearly three decades since the Eau Claire Community Foundation (ECCF) formed, launching with $1 million in assets thanks to over 60 founding members pooling pledges to do so. Its mission then, was the same as it is today: strengthen the community through opportunities for donors to establish charitable legacies and create grant funds to meet community needs.

After almost 30 years, the ECCF still experiences new “firsts.” On Tuesday, June 30, the organization released its 2025 annual report, and with it, announced its single largest season of growth.

In 2025, ECCF oversaw more than 400 funds, distributed nearly $6 million in grants and managed a whopping $84 million in total assets – roughly $20 million more than it had in 2024; almost $40 million more than it had in 2023.

“This growth is not about scale for the sake of scale. It represents trust that has been built over time and reinforces the idea that local giving can be thoughtful, responsive, and lasting,” ECCF Board Chair, Jeff Kowieski, shared in the annual report’s opening note.

“This substantial effort helped to make 2025 one of the most meaningful in the Eau Claire Community Foundation’s history.”

JEFF KOWIESKI

BOARD CHAIR, EAU CLAIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

The 17-page 2025 annual report spotlights a number of funds, donors and community members, data and more. Over the course of nearly 30 years, ECCF's total assets have grown from about $1 million to over $84 million.

Kowieski pointed to the “generosity of donors,” community partners, volunteers and nonprofit leaders as the backbone of the ECCF’s growth in 2025.

“This substantial effort helped to make 2025 one of the most meaningful in the Eau Claire Community Foundation’s history,” he said.

The annual report also spotlights, among other things, its various competitive community grants – including the Community Grant, Physicians’ Community Impact Fund Grant, Women’s Giving Circle Grant, among others – and its new partnership with the AnnMarie Foundation.

The AnnMarie Foundation’s partnership with the ECCF “was one of the most significant milestones of 2025,” the report states. This partnership will further ensure the AnnMarie Foundations' vision – to enhance the quality of life of Wisconsin communities it serves, including Eau Claire, Menomonie and the wider region – continues to be realized.

Since its founding by Bob Cervenka and Louie Vovurka (the same founders of Phillips Plastics Corporation) in 1973, the AnnMarie Foundation has awarded over 6,000 grants and distributed $12 million.

The ECCF oversees hundreds of local funds and offers various grant cycles each year in the community. Learn more about those opportunities online.

Keep up with the Eau Claire Community Foundation on social media or at eccfwi.org. The full 2025 annual report can be viewed online.