DCCF goal: Immediate, recognizable community benefits Foundation helps local ambulance service

Dodge County Community Foundation (DCCF) has found the perfect way to introduce itself to the community: prioritizing immediate and recognizable community contributions.
The foundation has its origins in county government, where Dodge County staff conceived of the idea of a community foundation while drafting its comprehensive plan in 2018. County staff identified funding gaps which could benefit from non-governmental solutions.
With help from the J. A. Wedum Foundation, as well as individual stakeholders across the county, DCCF was officially incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in September 2023 with the mission of “Enhancing Dodge County Together.”
DCCF has long-term plans for community support, including parks and recreation, education and community services. In order to give the fund time to grow and become a sustainable resource, the founding board is focusing on urgent needs like emergency services, specifically rural ambulances as a primary funding focus.
Tom Monson, DCCF board president laid out the difficulties faced by ambulance services in Dodge County.
“This stems back fundamentally to an issue of how Medicare reimbursement rates are calculated based on Congressional directives dating back to the 1970s,” Monson said. “About 30% of ambulance costs are reimbursed on Medicare calls. A large percentage of their calls are Medicare-driven, so you have a formula where you are basically losing almost 70% of your cost.”
Outside support is available, Monson said, but it is not enough. The result for ambulance districts in the county — and throughout Minnesota — is volunteer shortages and training limitations. DCCF has already made steps in bridging these gaps.
The foundation provided scholarships for the cost of training and testing for two new emergency medical response volunteers at Dodge Center Ambulance last year. It also helped Dodge Center Ambulance purchase two new training mannequins for emergency responders and donated duty vests for chaplains at the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office.
In an effort to increase volunteer availability, DCCF also supported Dodge Center Ambulance in a partnership with Triton High School for the 2024-25 school year to offer an EMT training course to students interested in attaining their certification. Triton’s contribution to the cost of training was paid for by the Future Forward Impact Grant Program.
“There was great interest in this program, which offered a hands-on certification career experience,” Triton Superintendent Luke Lutterman said in an email. “I welcome opportunities in the future to partner with foundation organizations and industry partners to provide students with career-focused experiences.”
With the success of the inaugural class at Triton, Monson sees a pathway to expand the partnership countywide.
“A next phase I would like to strive for is getting the endowment to a point where we can partner with our school districts to have funding for a rotating class that runs through Hayfield, Triton and Kasson-Mantorville, where we help cover the cost of holding the class and cover the test registration fees for qualifying seniors,” Monson said. “We’re hoping to get there, but it will require more resources and more awareness.”
DCCF has grown its endowment to $80,000 since its founding with the support of the Claremont Area Chamber of Commerce, Ellingson Companies, Powerlift Doors, MBT Bank, the government of Dodge County and with personal contributions from all seven founding board members. The J.A. Wedum Foundation also provides ongoing financial and legal support.
The nonprofit continues to work to expand awareness of its mission through presentations to local chambers of commerce and city councils as well as community fundraising events. The Foundation will host a charity golf tournament July 20 at Oaks Golf Club in Hayfield, and plans to revive the “Haunted Hustle 5K” in Mantorville this October.
“Now that we have our governance documents polished and ready, we’ve built up the endowment, and we have made our first small impacts, we can say we’re doing it,” Monson said. “We aren’t being speculative. We’re ready to get out there, get talking to people and get going.”