The club, which was sponsored by Lions clubs from Farmington and Lakeville, was originally chartered with 31 members, all men, with Robert Stumm as its first president. The club welcomed women into the fold in 1992. Today, we boast a membership of over 50 members almost evenly split between women and men, and representing all aspects of the communities we serve. 

During its first 15 years, the club raised over $40,000 through events such as pancake breakfasts, Las Vegas nights, White Elephant sales, popcorn and light bulb sales, and more. One notable donation made by the club was the electronic scoreboard and Pates Stadium at Burnsville High School, which is still in use today.

It was also the Burnsville Lions Club that led the effort to arrange the first Fire Muster Community Parade, an event that is now a tradition for Burnsville’s annual community festival.

In 1990, the club decided to enter into charitable gambling as a way to raise more money to support the club’s efforts. Currently, we offer charitable gambling at Niesen's, The Crooked Pint, and McHugh’s Public House all in Savage. When citizens participate in the charitable gambling offered by the club, they may not always win – but the community at large wins every time. One of our first notable donations from gambling revenues was a $50,000 pledge to the Minnesota Valley YMCA for a new building in Burnsville. 

From 1996 to the present day, we have expanded our efforts and now annually contribute over $400,000 back into the community and into a variety of national and even international causes. We also collect used eyeglasses and hearing aids which are repurposed and distributed to those in need both here and abroad.  

We are provide ongoing support through purhases of equipment and other needed items for the Burnsville and Savage police and fire departments.  We are also active in the IDS 191 school district supporting many of their events and sponsoring organizations to support our students. We provide annual scholarships to ISD 191 as well as ISD 196 in Apple Valley, and ISD 719 in Savage/Prior Lake.  An annual club event purchases back-to-school supplies for kids in all 10 local elementary schools to provide assistance to dozens of children in need of financial support.  We strongly support the 4 community food shelves and provide scholarship assistance to the Minnesota Valley YMCA.  We sponsor and support the Build-A-Bed initiative through Sleep in Heavenly Peace, ring bells and contribute to the Salvation Army every November at Lunds and Byerlys, and participate in the Feed My Starving Children, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Walk, and other local events. 

We also support many causes championed by the Lions organization as a whole. Lions projects we support include summer camps for the disabled, the MN Lions Eye Bank, MN Lions Hearing Foundation, various hearing, sight, and service dog providers, diabetes awareness, and Sight First, an effort to eradicate river blindness throughout the developing world.

Our club also has a strong record of supporting the youth in our community and schools. Our club won the WCCO Good Neighbor Award in 2005 for our support of this project. In 2013, we pledged $50,000 to the City of Burnsville in a partnership to build the Burnsville Lions Playground at Clifff Fen Park, and we also regularly donate funds to improve park facilities in Savage as well.  Recent park improvements have been the Skate Park near City Hall and Red Oak Part playground improvements in Burnsville amounting to over $150,000.

In 2021, the club updated its name to the Burnsville Savage Lions Club in recognition of the partnership between the club and with the city and residents of Savage

The Burnsville Savage Lions Club is able to do all this through the volunteered time and effort of its members and supporters, as well as through various fundraising activities including food concessions, State Fair ticket sales, and through our charitable gambling operations. Since 1966, our club is approaching $9 million in total donations given to our community and elsewhere.

We are always happy to welcome new members of all ages and walks of life who are interested in helping their community. Please contact us at burnsvillesavagelions@gmail.com for more information on our club, our community, and what it means and takes to be a Lion. You will not be disappointed!