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On December 16, St. Olaf College and Carleton College made their annual donation to the City of Northfield at City Hall in the Council Chambers.

Carleton President Alison Byerly and St. Olaf President Susan Rundell Singer presented two checks of $85,000 — totaling $170,000 — to Mayor Rhonda Pownell and City Administrator Ben Martig.

“Carleton is proud to continue our two colleges’ longstanding tradition of support of the City of Northfield,” Byerly says. “Both Carleton and St. Olaf recognize how fortunate we are to be part of such a thriving and dynamic community, and this contribution reflects our commitment to its continued success.”

Northfield provides the nearly 5,000 college students who call it home for the academic year with restaurants, shopping, and emergency and professional services. Students enjoy local employment, internships, and volunteer opportunities within the community that expand their collegiate experience.

“Northfield is a vibrant community filled with passionate individuals who care deeply about the city they live in. For 150 years, the mutually beneficial partnership between St. Olaf, Carleton, and Northfield has fostered a gifted community in Southern Minnesota. We are grateful for these continuous relationships and the strength of our community. We are proud supporters of Northfield.”

— St. Olaf President Susan Rundell Singer

St. Olaf and Carleton are the two largest local employers in both Northfield and Rice County, employing more than 1,500 people combined. They are also two of the city’s top 10 property tax payers in addition to spending over $900,000 combined on municipal services such as sewer, water, waste removal, and more.

“Northfield is a vibrant community filled with passionate individuals who care deeply about the city they live in. For 150 years, the mutually beneficial partnership between St. Olaf, Carleton, and Northfield has fostered a gifted community in Southern Minnesota,” Rundell Singer says. “We are grateful for these continuous relationships and the strength of our community. We are proud supporters of Northfield.”

The annual gift dates back to the 1920s, when Carleton and St. Olaf were among the first colleges in the United States to make such a gift. 

“Carleton and St. Olaf are two nationally recognized liberal arts colleges. They are integral to Northfield and bring many benefits to our community,” Pownell says. “The colleges and the city are strong community partners, each working to enhance economic development, education, and cultural opportunities for the community. We’re grateful they are so involved and supportive of the entire Northfield community.”

The Northfield community benefits from the students, employees, and visitors St. Olaf and Carleton bring. The students, faculty, and staff are significant consumers and clients for local businesses, and provide countless volunteer hours for local schools and organizations. In the 2023-24 academic year, 73 percent of Carleton students engaged with volunteer programs, internships, work study, and nonprofits in the local community, according to data from the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE). In total, Carleton students contributed 51,594 hours to local communities that year through programs and projects supported by the CCCE. Last year, St. Olaf had 845 students participate in Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) courses, which encourage students to learn in a community context and apply their education within real-world situations.

Bon Appétit, which provides food and dining services for Carleton and St. Olaf, also spends more than $1 million in the community each year on local produce, meat, and dairy. St. Olaf contributed around $7,000 in community sponsorships for 2024 to organizations such as the Northfield Arts Guild, Northfield Shares, and Winter Walk. Carleton provides an additional $20,000 each year to the Northfield community in sponsorship funding and in-kind contributions, and the total value of annual Carleton purchases and contracts with Northfield area businesses equals $4.9 million.

St. Olaf and Carleton family members also either live in Northfield and are active in the community or visit Northfield regularly in order to attend festivities, competitions, recitals, concerts, award ceremonies, and commencements. These visitors and community members, as well as the thousands of prospective students and their families who visit each year, frequent local hotels, restaurants, and shops. Both colleges host a large amount of athletic, art, and musical offerings every year as well, which are almost always free and open to the public.