Bill George recalls how he and his wife Penny moved to the Twin Cities in 1969 without much in terms of wealth. Today, as chief executive officer of Medtronic, a Fridley-based medical technology company, George finds himself in a much different situation, and he’s giving back to the community that has helped him succeed. "I think society is best served if people who are fortunate enough to be successful pass it on to others," he says.

George established the George Family Foundation in 1994, through donations of Medtronic stock. He and Penny are involved in the foundation along with their two sons, Jeff and Jon. The foundation worked with a consultant to help them refine and focus the foundation’s giving, which is concentrated in two primary areas of interest: whole life healing and youth development.

Whole life healing has become an area of intense personal interest for the Georges in the past few years, as Penny has been recovering from cancer. Their interest in youth development comes from their many years of involvement in the area. Through her work as a psychologist, Penny has aided the career development of young people. And Bill has worked as a volunteer with youth in many capacities, including as a soccer coach for a number of years.

George says he prefers to fund programs instead of capital and endowment activities, because he can see the results now. "With capital and endowment activities, you only see the use of about 5 percent of your funds each year," he says. "We’d rather see all of the funds being used today."