Calling all artists!!

The Initiative Foundation is requesting proposals for the design and creation of an artistic piece to recognize donors and 100 commemorative gifts. The deadline for proposal submission is November 24, 2010.

> download the Request for Proposal

Feel free to share this with others who might be interested in this type of project!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Mary Bauer, CommonWealth Officer at mbauer@ifound.org or 320.632.9255.

30,700 Acres of Beauty

A sweet natural gem of 30,700 acres sits just 50 miles northwest of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.

The Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge welcomes some 110,000 visitors every year and now we recently welcomed them into the Initiative Foundation "family"!

Representatives from the Friends of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge (FSNWR) came to visit with our staff a few weeks ago and completed the official paperwork to establish an endowment fund with us.

According to Sue Hix, FSNWR vice president, the fund will provide an opportunity for donors to direct gifts to either short-term or long-term needs for environmental education and interpretation programs and activities.

Earnings from the fund will help to maintain programs into the future - helping to finance program development, speakers, teacher and volunteer workshops, bus transportation, and a comprehensive array of educational materials that will benefit both students and the general public.

The Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, located near Zimmerman, was established in 1965 and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Friends of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1993, currently has more than 300 active members.

And this Saturday, October 9th they're having their annual Wildlife Festival! A sampling of the free festivities... scavenger hunt, bonfire, archery, hay rides, a variety of exhibits, raptor program, naturalists and silent auction. For more info visit their website at: www.exploresherburne.org.

A little background info on our endowed funds:

• An endowment is a professionally managed investment account in which only the earnings are spent.
  
• The Foundation manages the investments and administers the fund.
• Right now we host and manage the assets of more than 40 different funds - all of which exist in order to assist donors, nonprofit organizations, and communities in meeting their charitable goals.

Learn more:

• Friends of Sherburne Wildlife Refuge Website
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Website
• Setting up a Fund with the Foundation

Treasure from the Treasury

Two weeks ago Kathy received an email with the subject: "CDFI award notification email".

We had been anticipating that email for quite some time. (273 days to be exact - not that I was counting or anything.)

Last fall we applied for a grant from the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund. If awarded, the funding would allow us to expand our Technology & Green Loan Fund - basically so that we could provide more technical assistance and loans for businesses in these growing industries.

Well, the email was good news. In fact, it was great news!! The Initiative Foundation was awarded $750,000 from CDFI!

In total our staff logged something like 225 hours in order to prepare that application. It consumed my time and conscience for quite awhile. (I even had a dream that we were awarded $60 million from them and that I had to keep it a secret for a week!)

Well, I can dream easy now. We're thrilled to have received the award but more importantly, we're thrilled that we can invest in more locally owned businesses that are creating good jobs for central Minnesota communities.

Right now we're working through the paperwork but stay tuned as we announce more details about this funding and how businesses can benefit from it! In the meantime, feel free to read CDFI's announcement about the awards and list of recipients.

What it's all about...

As you might know... Linda Kaufmann, who joined the foundation in 2000, was recently accepted into the Bush Foundation's Fellowship program. She left just a couple weeks ago and I wanted to share a little bit about all of the amazing work that she did for the foundation in the last 10 years. (which is going to be hard to sum up in just one, little blog post!)

At the core of Linda's work was providing nonprofits, individuals and coalitions with training and resources in order for them to better support children, youth and families. She is truly dedicated to this - to seeing children and their families in central Minnesota thrive.

In 2003, she helped form a statewide program called the Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative. Through MECI, over 80 early childhood coalitions have been formed in greater Minnesota. Some of the other programs that Linda started or helped initiate include:

• Minnesota THRIVE (which supports the healthy social and emotional development of young children)
  
• Inside-Out Connections (supporting children impacted by parental incarceration)
  
• Minnesota ICE (increasing awareness and action against methamphetamine)
  
• Youth As Resources

"What it's all about..." was the title of one of the last emails that Linda sent out before she left. The email itself was short but the photos are what it was "all about" anyways. Here's what Linda said:

"Wanted to share some beautiful photos from Mikinnack Child Care Center in Cass Lake! We made a grant to the center earlier this year to help them open their doors in order to serve some of the most vulnerable young children in our region."

(click on the picture to see more photos)

Kathy, our president also sent us an email shortly before Linda's departure. It read: "As we prepare for Linda’s send off I wanted to share this editorial that she has written telling the story of the MIF Early Childhood work. Linda has provided a great deal of leadership with this project in our region and in our state. Linda, we honor you for your tremendous contribution!"

(that editorial can be found here: www.mncompass.org)

And besides all of this work, Linda also wrote grants for the foundation's programs. Our conservative estimates show that she helped to secure upwards of $12 million. Simply amazing!

Thank you, Linda, for all of your work and dedication to the Foundation. Families and children (and central Minnesota as a whole) are better off because of you!

24 hours left in the online giving challenge!

There's just 24 hours left in our first ever online giving challenge. So far, the results have been fantastic! 252 unique donors and $48,990 in funds raised for five Brainerd Lakes area nonprofits.

Now we have just one request...

The Salvation Army, one of the five charities, has until tomorrow (Friday, Aug 13) at 4 p.m. to raise another $1,255 to receive an anonymous donor’s matching grant of $5,000, and they are running out of time and options. They are now facing the reality of being the only charity that doesn’t reach their goal. Can you help?

If you have as little as $10 to spare, please consider helping out The Salvation Army or any of the other nonprofits. All five are very worthy organizations, meeting the most basic human needs in the Brainerd Lakes Area. Thank you, in advance, for your support!

www.givemn.org/ripples

Giving Challenge for Brainerd Nonprofits Starts Today!

Here's you're chance to help out Brainerd area individuals and families in need!

Starting Monday, August 2nd at 8 a.m. (& concluding on August 13th at 4 p.m.) an anonymous donor will be matching all online donation to five Brainerd Lakes Area nonprofits. Every donation, up $5,000 per organization, will be matched! The nonprofits included in this challenge are:

• Bridges of Hope
• Kinship Partners
• Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity
• Salem WEST
• The Salvation Army
  

As an extra incentive, the foundation will award another $1,000 to the nonprofit that ends the challenge with the most individual donors. That means every gift matters, regardless of the amount.

So, cast a pebble for your favorite nonprofit today, and check back often to see the ripples!

But Remember!
Gifts must be made online and during the challenge period in order to qualify for the match.

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(www.givemn.org/ripples)

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Other info:
> download the official news release
> visit the Initiative Foundation's GiveMN page
> get more information about GiveMN & online giving trends

And special thanks to The Brainerd Dispatch, BL Broadcasting, Brainerd Lakes Chamber and Range Printing for contributing advertising and other promotional support to the challenge.

Best of luck to all of the nonprofits!

Wadena Loan Fund

Today we announced a special, emergency loan fund for businesses affected by the recent storm damage in Wadena. For more information about the fund you can read the news release about it or download one of the following:

> Wadena Fund Fact Sheet

Fund Application:
- fillable Word version
- printable PDF version

Questions about the fund can be directed to Dean Uselman, the Wadena Development Authority's Executive Director, at 218-631-7710, wadenadevelopment@arvig.net or Paul Kleinwachter, the Initiative Foundation's Business Finance Officer, at 320-632-9255, pkleinwachter@ifound.org.

Also... last week our new intern, Lawrence, visited Wadena and put together a nice video about what's happening now. Take a look!

Wadena Update

The response to our online Wadena Relief Fund has been truly amazing! Because of this and an additional $5,000 in matching funds from the Minnesota Power Foundation we've decided to increase the goal to $25,000. (The original goal of $12,500, set by matching funds from us and West Central Initiative, was completely smashed within just 24 hours of announcing the online challenge.)

I think it's safe to say that community spirit is alive and well in Minnesota!

The supporters and followers on our GiveMN page really say it best though. If you have a few minutes to read their comments, it's well worth it! (visit: http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Wadena-Tornado-Relief-Fund)

And please help spread the word about this fund or other ways to help. I just spoke with a longtime Wadena resident this morning who quite simply said, "there's just a lot of heartache."

For more info about Wadena, the tornado & the recovery efforts visit the City of Wadena's website: www.wadena.org or the Wadena Pioneer Journal's website: www.wadenapj.com.


TO HELP WADENA:

Donations via credit card:
http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Wadena-Tornado-Relief-Fund

Donations via check or cash:
Wadena Tornado Relief Fund
c/o Mid-Central Federal Savings Bank
PO Box 152
Wadena, MN 56482
218-631-1414

Volunteering time or donating items:
Call United Way at 2-1-1 (from land line) or 1-800-534-7709 (from a cell) to get more details, up to date information and to make arrangements.

Thank you for your support!

Wadena's Tornado Relief

On Thursday, June 17th a devastating F4 tornado struck the city of Wadena, a city of 4,300 about 50 miles northwest of Little Falls.

According to Wadena County sources, the 1-mile by 10-mile tornado touched down at 5:10 p.m. and cut through both residential and commercial areas.

Thankfully (and amazingly), only minor injuries were reported but the city suffered extensive damage. Wadena-Deer Creek High School, the Wadena Community Center, Minnesota State Community College, the Wadena County Fairgrounds, the city cemetery and other areas all suffered severe damage. At least 235 homes were either damaged or destroyed.

Caring neighbors in Minnesota and beyond are now able to immediately help the residents of Wadena!

The Initiative Foundation, in partnership with the City of Wadena and the Mid-Central Federal Savings Bank, is now accepting donations to the Wadena Tornado Relief Fund. (download the news release to read more...)

The Initiative Foundation and West Central Initiative will match the first $12,500 in online donations made at http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Wadena-Tornado-Relief-Fund.

GiveMN.org, a Minnesota-based nonprofit giving portal, also allows donors to share the cause through Facebook and other social media sites.

100 percent of tax-deductible donations will go to the City of Wadena to meet the needs of impacted families and help with volunteers and clean-up efforts.

---------------------------------
OTHER WAYS TO HELP:

Donation checks (not eligible for matching funds) may also be addressed and mailed to:

Wadena Tornado Relief Fund
c/o Mid-Central Federal Savings Bank
PO Box 152
Wadena, MN 56482
www.midcentralbank.org

If people are interested in volunteering or making donations, please call United Way at 2-1-1 (from land line) or 1-800-534-7709 (from a cell) to get more details, up to date information and to make arrangements.

Please consider helping your friends and neighbors in Wadena!

(photo by Brian Hansel/Wadena Pioneer Journal)

IOC Featured on Lakeland Public TV

Inside-Out Connections coalition members (including our own Jolene Howard) were featured on the Lakeland Currents show hosted by Ray Gildow on Thursday, May 27. Lakeland Currents is Lakeland Public Television's public affairs program based out of the Brainerd studio.

On the show they discussed our Inside-Out Connections project and the impact of parental incarceration on the lives of children. They described the work the coalitions are doing to support children, educate parents and inform the community.

Inside-Out Connections was created in 2008 and is supported, in part, by organizations like the Minneapolis Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Minnesota and Mid-Minnesota Federal Credit Union.

If you're interested in learning more about what it's all about, and have 30 minutes or so, watching the video is well worth your time! Just visit: www.lakelandptv.org.

Thanks for all of your work on such an important issue, Jolene!