Latest News
For fifteen years, the Boulder Junction Community Foundation has been dedicated to preserving and enhancing Boulder Junction for present and future generations. Guided by its vision to strengthen community, develop resources, and enrich quality of life, the Foundation has consistently worked to support and uplift the town, making a significant and lasting impact.
Thanks to the incredible dedication and generosity of our community, since its founding in 2010, the Boulder Junction Community Foundation has distributed over $1.6 million in grants and fiduciary support, directly benefiting countless local initiatives and organizations. With continued donor support, they are also rapidly closing in on their goal of reaching $1,000,000 in the Endowment Fund—a significant target set by founding members.
In celebration of this milestone, the Boulder Junction Community Foundation is thrilled to announce a special summer evening of festivities. The 15th Anniversary Celebration will take place on Friday, August 1st, 2025, from 7pm to 10pm, in the vibrant beer garden at Aqualand Ale House. This celebratory event is free and open to the public, welcoming all ages to join in the fun.
The evening will feature an energetic performance by The Pendulum Hearts, a high-energy Texas swing band ready to get everyone on their feet and boots tapping. Aqualand Ale House will be open with a full food and beverage menu. Attendees can look forward to enjoying complimentary cake, receiving special foundation merchandise as a thank you, and having the opportunity to raise a glass to 15 years of impactful community building.
“We are incredibly proud to celebrate 15 years of supporting the Boulder Junction community,” said Mary Van Grinsven, President of the Boulder Junction Community Foundation. “This anniversary event is our way of saying thank you to everyone who has contributed to our success. We invite all our friends and neighbors to come enjoy fantastic music, celebrate with us, and look forward to many more years of working together to continue to make Boulder Junction an awesome place to call home.”
Come for the music, stay for the celebration, and help us toast to the next 15 years of supporting the town we all love!
The Boulder Junction Community Foundation, in partnership with the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin, offers a way for you to simplify your charitable giving: Donor Advised Funds.
What are Donor Advised Funds?
Donor-Advised Funds offer a straightforward and tax-efficient way to manage your donations. Here’s how they work:
- You establish a fund by making a gift.
- You remain actively involved by recommending grants to the nonprofit organizations you wish to support.
- These funds are the fastest-growing charitable giving vehicle in the nation due to their ease of use and potential tax advantages.
Benefits of Donor Advised Funds
Compared to family or corporate foundations, Donor Advised Funds are generally more cost-effective and less complicated to manage. They allow you to:
- Establish a fund today and make grant recommendations at your convenience.
- Involve future generations in suggesting grants, creating a lasting legacy of family philanthropy.
Learn More
To discover how you can get involved with Donor Advised Funds through the Boulder Junction Community Foundation, click here and scroll down to Donor Advised Funds.
With each step closer to our fundraising goals, the Boulder Junction Community Foundation is thrilled to amplify its investments in our local community.
We are delighted to announce the recipients of our spring grant cycle awards:
- American Legion Auxiliary Unit 451: Awarded $2,000 for their Charter Member Memorial project, ensuring the lasting recognition of the individuals who established this vital organization who serves veterans in the Boulder Junction and Plum Lake communities.
- Boulder Junction Volunteer Fire Department: Granted $11,585 to acquire a new TNT Storm Surge Combination Tool. This state-of-the-art equipment will significantly enhance their response speed in off-road rescues, storm surge incidents, and extraction calls, proving invaluable as outdoor recreation emergencies become more frequent.
- Little Forest School Inc.: Received $10,000 to support their start-up expenses. This newly formed non-profit will address a critical need by providing much-needed childcare services in our area.
- Town of Boulder Junction Parks and Recreation, Tall Pines 18 Hole Disc Golf Course: Awarded $1500 for construction costs of the disc golf course and a signature hole and bench, enhancing the new recreational amenity opening later this spring.
- WinMan Trails: Granted $1,500 for their new Base Camp Mountain Bike Trail, contributing to a larger initiative that continues to boost mountain and trail bike riding tourism throughout our region.
The Boulder Junction Community Foundation extends its sincere gratitude for your ongoing support. Together, we are making a tangible difference in Boulder Junction!
An exciting 2024 saw remarkable progress at the Boulder Junction Community Foundation, as detailed in our newly released 2024 Annual Report. This report celebrates the extraordinary outcomes achieved through the collaborative spirit of our donors and highlights the Foundation’s significant historical advancements.
Innovation continues to move Boulder Junction forward. We are proud to announce the Boulder Junction Community Foundation’s support of the Town of Boulder Junction Parks and Recreation Department’s new fiduciary project. The 18-hole Tall Pines Disc Golf Course is being planned for the woods adjacent to the Boulder Junction Community Center, playground, and ball field.
Designed by local retired Pro Disc Golf player, Mike Kobach, the plans include organizing league and tournament play, events which would bring new visitors to Boulder Junction.
Disc Golf has become an engine for tourism and economic growth in many communities. While most are free to play, 87% of players will travel more than 20 miles to play a course for recreation and to participate in tournaments.
The course will accommodate hundreds of players per day, giving large numbers of visitors an opportunity to recreate in our community. This is a four-season sport, providing shoulder and winter season activity for participants during a traditionally quieter time.
There will be hole and bench sponsorships available throughout the course, where individuals and businesses can share their support as players move through. Fund raising efforts are underway now and the project team hopes for a mid-2025 opening.
If you would like to participate in support of the Tall Pines Golf Course, donations can be made here.
Thanks to the generous support of our donors, the Foundation was able to award a $5,000 grant in the fall cycle, which played a crucial role in helping the Town of Boulder Junction purchase a Zamboni 200, a state-of-the-art pull-behind Ice Surfacing Machine.
This new equipment has been instrumental in expanding the offerings at the Winter Park. With the help of the Zamboni, the Boulder Junction Parks Board has successfully transformed a section of the existing 0.8-mile hiking trail into “The Glide,” a delightful ice-skating ribbon course. This innovative addition has brought new life to the park, providing residents and visitors with a unique outdoor winter activity.
The Zamboni works by expertly resurfacing the ice, which involves scraping off any imperfections, washing away debris, and applying a thin layer of water that freezes to create a perfectly smooth surface. Dedicated volunteers are actively utilizing the Zamboni approximately four days a week, maintaining The Glide loop with 3-4 passes and resurfacing the ice-skating rink two passes.
The response to this improvement has been overwhelmingly positive. During opening weekend over the Holidays, which included a ribbon cutting on December 31, Boulder Junction welcomed more than 1,000 enthusiastic visitors to the Winter Park. This successful project not only enriches the community’s recreational opportunities but also serves as an economic boost for Boulder Junction, drawing visitors from near and far.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our donors whose contributions make projects like this possible. Your support is vital to helping to create and maintain beloved community spaces in Boulder Junction.
The Boulder Junction Community Foundation depends on the support of generous individuals. Donor support has played a vital role in supporting our mission and vision, making Boulder Junction a great place to live, work, and play.
Since 2010 we have awarded an impressive $1,380,415 in grants.
Thanks to our donor support this year, we have:
- Provided state-of-the-art equipment to the Boulder Junction Volunteer Fire Department, ensuring their readiness for any emergency.
- Provided educational programming at the North Lakeland Discovery Center about Boulder Junction history and waterways.
- Contributed to the expansion of the Heart of Vilas County Bike Trail with the North Creek Loop, adding 3.5 miles to the trail, benefiting residents and visitors alike and providing an economic boost to Boulder Junction.
- Contributed to a new exciting ice-skating loop project coming this season to Boulder Junction Winter Park.
With your continued donor support, we can keep making a positive impact on our community for both present and future generations. Our goal is to raise $1 Million for our Endowment Fund, of which we currently have $885,622. This will enable us to provide $50,000 for our community each year, forever!
Gifts of all sizes are welcome and appreciated – together we make a difference! Please consider a gift today.
Fall has come to the Northwoods. Things are quieter, more peaceful, and we sit back to enjoy the moments of bittersweet warmth and sun before the coming winter.
Colorama is upon us. Historically, Colorama is marked in Boulder Junction with the grand tradition of Colorama Dinner. Once a wild game feed with game buffet tables groaning under the weight of many donated prizes, we are now a softer, gentler meal, served by North Lakeland students and parents as has been a tradition for many years.
Colorama is also marked by our last outdoor craft and farmers market event of the year and the weekend promises to be delightfully warm and sunny.
The Community Foundation of Boulder Junction wishes you and yours a very enjoyable season of leaves, rides to see the color, pumpkin spice and one last hike.
May that hike be commemorated with a famous poem that lies in the heart of every northerner:
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED, BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The Town of Boulder Junction North Creek Loop Trail Committee is holding a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony marking the completion of the newest addition to the Heart of Vilas County Paved Bike Trail System—the North Creek Loop Trail. The ceremony will take place on Friday, August 30, 2024 at 10:30am at the wayside located at Highway H and Highway K in Boulder Junction.
The Boulder Junction Community Foundation has been the proud fiduciary of the North Creek Loop Trail Project and has helped fund the project through our grant program. We are looking forward to attending the celebration and hope to see you there as well.
The event will commence with dignitaries speaking at 10:30am, followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony. In the spirit of celebration, complimentary cake and refreshments will be served.
The North Creek Loop Trail Project began in 2017, initiated by residents and businesses along Highway H who sought safe access for biking, walking, and other non-motorized activities into Boulder Junction and the existing Heart of Vilas County Trail Bike Trail System.
Spanning 3.3 miles of paved trail, the North Creek Loop Trail now completes the new 14-mile loop of the Heart of Vilas County Trail system in Boulder Junction, running from Highway K to North Creek Road. Trail users can then connect via North Creek Road to access the existing bike trail along Highway M, creating a seamless route back to Boulder Junction. This new trail provides a safe and picturesque option for campers at Camp Holiday and Upper Gresham Lake State Forest campground, as well as residents and bicyclists in the Boulder Junction area.