Spring 2025 Newsletter
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In these pages last fall we talked about the term Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG), starting with my personal audacious goal of completing a marathon after recovering from multiple surgeries. The next—even bigger and hairier!—goal was about launching the culminating phase of our fundraising marathon that began in 2019 when we started our Fund the Future Campaign to benefit all the activities of the Scandinavian Living Center (SLC) and the Scandinavian Cultural Center & Library (SCC&L).
I’m excited to say that the time has come to launch the largest and last stage of the campaign.
This comprehensive campaign is a bold strategy to raise more than $5,000,000 over the next several
years toward our most pressing capital, growth, and sustainability needs for the next generation and long into the future. This next stage is the biggest, boldest, and most audacious campaign in our history.
future health and impact of both the SLC and the SCC&L. The Fund the Future Campaign will secure the resources for both capital and endowment funds, from the Nordic Hall to the
“I’m excited to say that the time has come to
launch the largest and last stage of the campaign.”
And with your help I know we will be successful and realize something to be proud of for generations. Through this unprecedented capital and endowment campaign, we will:
- Advance our distinctive assisted living model to its full potential by supporting our residents and their families to live their best lives.
- Bring together community members and organizations and spread the model to other housing and care organizations striving to improve the human condition.
- Lean into our Scandinavian roots, values, and cultures while building a diverse, inclusive, multigenerational community of the future.
And when we’re done, we will have refreshed, replenished, and reinvigorated our Center and our endowment funds to ensure the
Frederick Veranda. From upstairs to downstairs. And central to the Campaign is to grow all our endowed funds: The Johansen Subsidy Fund, the Frederic Friendship Fund, the Scandinavian Cultural Fund, and the Fund the Future Sustainability Endowment.
Like marathon training, we will take one step at a time. Here’s the first. This summer we’ll begin our first capital improvement project:
- Lobby and Welcome Desk renovation
- New Public Bathrooms serving the Nordic Hall and Dining Room
- Main Dining Room renovation and new furnishings
- Kaffestugan and Living Room remodel
I’m sure you will agree that these renovations will benefit and be appreciated by everyone who lives at the Living Center or uses…
CAMPAIGN TO FUND THE FUTURE
Opportunities to Support Our Work
Dear Donors, Friends, and Families of the SLC and the SCC&L,
Joe has been talking a lot lately about pushing ourselves to dream big, to never give up, and to pursue all our dreams with tenacity. And that’s just what we’re doing with our Fund the Future Campaign.
The Fund was launched in the fall of 2019 and has—with your tremendous generosity— raised more than 2.3 million dollars. A lot of good has come from that effort. Thank you!
And now, we are launching the next phase of the Campaign which will be our biggest undertaking since we built the Scandinavian Living Center. Over the next several years, we will work with you and seek foundation and corporate supporters to:
Opportunities to Support Our Work
We wouldn’t be able to do this work without the compassionate and forward-thinking dedication of the leaders and benefactors who were part of our founding and who helped sustain us through the decades of great progress and challenging times. Please join us in supporting this mission for the decades to come.
Gifts of Cash, Stocks (many tax advantages are associated with donating appreciated assets), IRAs (if you are 70½ years old or older, you can make gifts now without paying any income taxes
on your IRA withdrawal, known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution), are all welcome.
Legacy Gifts
Gift planning is a potent tool to realize our campaign’s ambition. Planned gifts are a powerful way for donors and beneficiaries to celebrate and leave a lasting legacy for The Scandinavian Living Center and The Scandinavian Cultural Center & Library.
Bequests, trusts, and other deferred acts of giving drive our mission forward—helping to provide outstanding care and
connection for residents and communities alike for generations to come. When you include SLC in your long-term plans, you are recognized as a Legacy Giving member and your gift receives special Fund the Future Campaign recognition.
Support of the Campaign can comprise multiple methods over time (i.e., an initial gift in cash or securities plus a Legacy Gift, or a multi-year contribution from a Donor Advised Fund) to form a significant commitment worthy of name recognition.
Fund the Future Campaign
Donors will be gratefully recognized for their transformational gifts by adding their names—or the names of loved ones or inspirational figures they choose to honor—to the name of the space they support for the next generation.
Nordic Hall $1,000,000
Part performance hall, part gallery, part educational and community center, it is the centerpiece of all cultural and social activities, with two baby grand pianos, a catering kitchen, and seating capacity of 125.
Scandinavian Library $500,000
Our collection of 6,000 volumes of exclusively Scandinavian-language books and periodicals and a special reading room for children who are learning to read in the indigenous languages of the Nordic countries.
Veranda $400,000
CLAIMED
Main Dining Room $250,000
Our light-filled, Scandinavian design-influenced hub of residential life.
Kaffestugan $250,000
The Swedish word for “coffee house” and central to both residents and the community at large, serving Scandinavian pastries, waffles, sandwiches, imported treats, and, of course, coffee.
Lobby $250,000
Where all comings and goings begin, whether coming “home” as a resident, visiting as a family member, or attending an event at the Cultural Center & Library.
Nordic Hall Gallery $250,000
Home to all the Cultural Center & Library’s exhibitions each year, the walls of the Nordic Hall comprise a seldom empty and always engaging gallery of art.
Courtyard $150,000
The inner green, reserved for residents and their families, can be viewed from the Kaffestugan and many resident apartments.
Front Lawn $100,000
Our expansive, tree-lined, and newly seeded green offers open views, a place for walks, picnics, and gatherings large and small.
Welcome Desk $100,000
CLAIMED
Presidents Room $100,000
A special small gathering place for families to celebrate occasions privately, where meals can be served, and community meetings can be held.
Meditation Chapel $100,000
A non-denominational quiet space for both religious observances and quiet contemplation.
Resident Care Center $100,000 The heart of the resident intake process and ongoing wellness program coordination.
Apartments (each) $50,000
Many of our 40 apartments can be named in honor of a donor, their loved ones, or a company.
Kaffestugan Patio $50,000
The welcoming gateway to the Living Center and the Cultural Center & Library, where residents and community members congregate for meals, sun, and conversation.
Fitness Center $50,000
Where residents are trained to use the best equipment for their needs, from cardio to stretching to strength-building, by our Fitness Specialist.
Resident Garden $25,000
An accessible raised bed in the Courtyard dedicated to use by residents—with or without green thumbs—for growing vegetables and flowers.
Trees (each) $10,000
Outdoor Benches (each) $5,000
Chairs (Dining Room or Nordic Hall) $1,000
Donor Video Wall for gifts of $5,000+
All gifts of $5,000 and above will be permanently listed on our video kiosk in the lobby, a reminder every day of our gratitude.
Joe and I look forward to speaking with you to explore how we can match your wishes with our ambitious dreams for the next generation of the SLC and SCC&L!
