The Kathryn P. Bond Scholarship

FMAF Grant Helps Lisa Rorvig Earn Master’s Degree In Social Work


In 1996, long time Fargo resident Kathryn P. Bond established a fund with the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation to assist graduate students in continuing their education in areas of medicine, social services and/or political science.

Mrs. Bond attended the University of North Dakota and graduated from St. Mary’s of the Woods College, Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1935.  Her lifelong interest in higher education was one reason she established the Kathryn P. Bond Charitable Fund here at the Foundation.

Mrs. Bond’s foresight and charitable vision will live on in perpetuity because of this Fund.  Lisa Rorvig of Moorhead is a shining example of how these charitable intentions benefit us all.

Lisa was initially selected in 2005, and then again in 2006, as the recipient of the Bond Scholarship.  She is pursuing a Master’s of Social Work degree from the University of Minnesota.  She is able to attend class, through the use of interactive television, at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

“Higher education is very expensive,” Lisa said.  “The cost of tuition, fees and books can add a lot of stress to a student’s life, on top of the demands of the class work.  This scholarship has made my life a lot easier.  It has given me a financial cushion which allows me to pursue my education without worrying about money.”

Lisa wants to use her Master’s Degree to pursue a career as a social worker in child protection services.  “The dynamics of domestic violence are complicated and solutions are often hard to achieve,” she said.  “With my experience working in the field, combined with my education, I hope to find solutions to ensure the safety of children.”  The charitable fund established by Kathryn Bond will help not only Lisa Rorvig, but because of her training and education it will help children in need.  The ripple effect of philanthropy is indeed wide and enduring.

The Bond scholarship criteria includes an emphasis on students who are interested in coming back to or staying in North Dakota after receiving an education, and Lisa’s intentions are clear:  she wants to live and work in our community to help protect children from child abuse.  “I don’t know of any place else I’d rather be,” she said.

This scholarship is only one of hundreds which have been awarded over the years by the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation.  They are a key component of our vision:  to address all quality of life needs in our community by creating unlimited philanthropic resources.

"Everything We Eat, Drink, Wear or Live In Comes From the Earth...

When We Protect Nature, We Protect Ourselves."
                                                                                       -Sally Hausken

On U.S. Highway 10, about four miles east of the city limits, the City of Detroit Lakes has established Sucker Creek Preserve.  Acquired in 2001, the Preserve conserves 64.24 acres of a remnant of Minnesota’s original post-glacial maple-basswood forest for future generations.

One of our donor advised funds at the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation has provided important financial support to the Preserve, to improve it and to make it more accessible.

The Charles and Linda Moses Foundation Fund provided funding to the Preserve both in 2005 and in 2006. Sally Hausken, who volunteers her time and efforts to the Preserve, said safe pathways and clear signage for visitors had always been a big priority, but funding was limited.

“We could only afford crushed bit for our paths in 2005, and we only had funds for a few educational signs,” Hausken said.  “The gift from the Moses Foundation Fund was very special to us, it allowed us to upgrade our paths to asphalt, and we were able to install nine signs.  The asphalt makes it so much easier for wheelchair access.”  As much as the 2005 gifts were appreciated, the grant to the Preserve project in 2006 will be even more meaningful.

Much of Sucker Creek Preserve is low lying terrain.  The Preserve features a conifer swamp and tamarack bog.  Under normal circumstances these areas are inaccessible.  A raised dock structure often referred to as a Bog Walk or Marsh Walk, was needed, to allow visitors to walk through the Preserve without disturbing Mother Nature.  The Moses’ donor advised fund has agreed to provide funding for the Marshwalk.  It will be installed this spring/summer.

“The Marshwalk is going to be to-die-for,” Hausken said.  “It’s going to be wonderful.  We went up to Washkish to look at that one, and it was glorious!” The vision of Sucker Creek Preserve, to save the land from development, lives on, thanks in part to the hard work of volunteers like Hausken; and also thanks in part to the generous contributions from the Charles and Linda Moses Foundation Fund, a donor advised fund of the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation. The mayor and city council members of Detroit Lakes graciously allowed Hausken to pursue her vision.

Donor advised funds give donors tremendous flexibility in completing their charitable vision and dreams.  Donors have the flexibility of contributing to the non-profit, charitable organizations of their choice, whether they are related to the field of human services, the arts, education, disaster relief or the environment.  Also, with such a fund donors can recommend donations in the Fargo-Moorhead, Cass-Clay area, or extend their charitable dreams regionally or nationally, such as in the case of the Sucker Creek Preserve in Detroit Lakes.