SOURCE OF WEALTH: Varde Partners
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health & Community
OVERVIEW: Husband and wife Marcia Page and John Huepenbecker, and family move philanthropy through the SKL Family Foundation, which has given modestly in recent years. The foundation lacks transparency, limiting grantmaking guidelines. According to available tax filings, the foundation awarded $78,000 in grants in 2017. The couple are steady supporters of their mutual alma mater, Gustavus Adolphus College.
BACKGROUND: Marcia Page graduated with a B.A. in economics from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1982 and received an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota. She traded distressed and high-yield bonds, managing fixed income portfolios at Cargill. She later served as vice president of EBF & Associates, an alternative investment firm. In 1993, she cofounded Värde Partners, a $10 billion global alternative investment firm.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: The couple support their mutual school Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, including endowing a new faculty position, supporting the Gustavus Annual Fund, and providing resources for the Gustavus Women in Leadership program. The couple met at the school and Page sits on the board of trustees. Via their foundation, the family have also supported places like Youth Frontiers,
HEALTH & COMMUNITY: Page supports the Mary J. Page Community-University Partnerships Fund, which bears the name of her late mother Mary and honors her commitment to rural communities and sustainable development. Mary was a civic leader, including serving as mayor of Olivia, Minnesota. Other grantees have included American Red Cross, Planned Parenthood, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, V Foundation for Cancer Research, and MicroGrants in Minnesota, which “helps people increase their income either through small business development or getting and retaining stable employment.”
OTHER: The foundation’s grantmaking has also touched global organizations like charity:water.
LOOKING FORWARD: Page is only in her late 50s and very much still engaged in business. Perhaps grantmaking through the family’s foundation will ramp up down the line.
CONTACT:
The Skl Family Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with the couple but below is an address:
Skl Family Foundation
5061 Interlachen Bluff
Edina, MN 55436
(952) 893-1554
