As we get ready for our annual dinner to celebrate the incredible impact of the Greater Twin Cities United Way Tocqueville Society, we’re looking back at last year’s honorees. At the 2025 dinner, we celebrated our society’s 20th anniversary and honored both past and present leaders while reflecting on our community’s long history of leadership giving.
Founding Tocqueville Society members John and Nancy Lindahl were honored for their philanthropic dedication with the Alexis de Tocqueville Legacy Award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated civic-minded leadership and a deep commitment to the Greater Twin Cities, creating a legacy of lasting, generational impact.
With nearly 30 years of combined Greater Twin Cities United Way board service between them, plus Nancy’s involvement on another 30 community boards and John’s service on more than 100 corporate boards, this philanthropic power couple is deeply engaged in our community.
When asked what inspires this generosity, they share they are following the example modeled by their own parents. Nancy remembers her father once said, ‘You inherit a small speck of grass and your job is to water it, keep it growing and leave it better than you found it,’ which continues to resonate with her today.
As inaugural chairs of the Tocqueville Society cabinet, they were instrumental in establishing the Society as a forum for uniting the passion of philanthropic leaders with United Way’s expertise about community needs and resources. Two decades later they continue to connect people to each other through the work.
It’s the power of these connections that keep them coming back for more. “We believe boardsmanship is a way to not only serve our community but to connect with people in a deeper way,” said Nancy. “All of our best friends are people we have served on boards with over the years.”
In addition to serving on Greater Twin Cities United Way’s Board of Directors and Tocqueville Society Cabinet, the couple chaired the Centennial Campaign and serve as honorary co-chairs of the Breakthrough Campaign.
They are currently members of the Tocqueville Society, Tocqueville Legacy Circle, United Way Legacy Society, Tocqueville Million Dollar Roundtable and in 2016 received the Tocqueville Society Lifetime Achievement Award.
By modeling this level of engagement for their own children and countless others in the community, John and Nancy hope their generosity continues to inspire others to continue to build a culture of philanthropy in the Twin Cities.
“We want Minnesota to be a leader in quality of life. We have the resources and capability to grow a healthy community that can be an example to the rest of the country,” said Nancy. “But we need leaders in the corporate community to reinvest in the nonprofits that help make our quality of life possible. We’re all in this together.”
