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Anti-poverty foundation picks new top executive
Kevin Walker, 43, will take over the 74-year-old Northwest Area Foundation on May 19.
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The Northwest Area Foundation, which is taking a new approach in alleviating poverty, has named a new president and chief executive officer.
Kevin Walker, 43, will take over the 74-year-old St. Paul organization on May 19. Walker currently serves as associate vice president of programs for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in Flint, Mich., and oversees a national anti-poverty initiative.
He replaces Karl Stauber, who resigned last June to head the Danville Regional Foundation in Danville, Va. As head of the Northwest Area Foundation, Walker will direct efforts to reduce poverty in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
For the past 10 years, the Northwest Area Foundation has focused on a few communities in long-term initiatives. But under a new approach, the foundation will work with nonprofit and government organizations in an effort to leverage more money to fight poverty.
It's a more versatile approach to grantmaking, allowing the board to diversify its portfolio and do a wider range of things, Walker said.
"The resources of a foundation are impressive but they are finite,'' Walker said. The Northwest Area Foundation's endowment totaled about $500 million last year, which translated into about $25 million in annual grants, he said.
"It's a large amount of money. But if you're looking at fighting poverty in eight states, it's not going to go very far unless you can [leverage it]," Walker said.
Walker's new job will be to take the foundation's new strategic plan and "put some flesh and bones" on it, he said. "This is an exciting opportunity for me to provide executive leadership for a foundation that is very clear on its role in the world."
MARY LYNN SMITH
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