How Minnesotans Gave to the Max

This past Tuesday, November 16th was like most any other early winter day in Minnesota. Crisp temps, a little sunshine and some snow-covered pumpkins on porch steps... But inside our office and thousands of other nonprofits across the state, we weren't too focused on what was going on outside. I was obsessed with clicking that little blue round arrow at the top of my internet browser. And the website that was up on my screen? GiveMN.org

Tuesday was the second annual Give to the Max Day - a statewide push to promote philanthropy and online donations to the thousands of nonprofits in Minnesota. And WOW what a turnout!

First though I should start by reminding everyone that last year's inaugural Give to the Max Day smashed all sorts of records when 38,000 donors raised over $14,000,000 (yes that's MILLION) for 3,434 Minnesota nonprofits. So needless to say, it was a lot to live up to.

This year's results were truly amazing though... when they first started promoting 2010's GTMD they set a goal of getting 40,000 individual donors to give during that 24 hour period. The goal was met and then exceeded when 42,596 people raised over $10,000,000 for 3,663 nonprofits!

I stayed up until 11:45PM on Tuesday night watching the neck and neck race between the North American Bear Center and Concordia College. Even though their total donation spread was more than $150,000 they were competing for the most number of individual donors - and the stakes were pretty high. The nonprofit with the most number of donors would receive an extra $20,000. It was really quite fun to see - to see a smaller nonprofit in Ely and a large college in Northfield 'playing on same field'. (And since I fell asleep before the race ended I awoke to find that the St. Olaf had won by only eight donors!)

Congrats to all of the nonprofits who received donations on Tuesday and thank you to the staff at GiveMN for a well-promoted, well-received, well-executed day of giving! Kudos to you!

Want to learn more about GiveMN and GTMD?
Watch their fun "thank you" video or take a look at the GiveMN.org website.

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.

------------------------

(www.givemn.org/ripples)

------------------------

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!

"I can't imagine a better place to live."

Our very own Kathy Gaalswyk was recently featured on a new website!

Mymn.org is a new, local website that zooms in on our Minnesota communities and celebrates the reasons why we love living and working here.

The site is packed with resources and opportunities to share your story by allowing us to comment on hot topics, submit photos, videos and even get our voices heard by our elected leaders!

Mymn.org is a nonpartisan grassroots effort to unite Minnesotans around the shared goals of growing our economy, maintaining our quality of life and creating a secure future for our children.

Hear what Kathy has to say:

Thrive: helping our youngest little citizens.

THRIVE-verb {thriv};
1. To prosper; be fortunate or successful.
2. To grow or develop vigorously; to flourish.

To thrive in life is probably a goal for many of us; to be the best we can be.

But what about the young children in our communities who have little or no support? What help is out there for them?

Statewide surveys revealed that an alarming number of greater Minnesota children are struggling with mental health issues and a striking lack of access to professional help.

Working together, the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations launched the Minnesota Thrive Initiative in 2007 in order to address the healthy social and emotional development of infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

The Thrive Initiative didn’t come easy; it took years of hard work and research to gather the necessary information, contacts, grants, etc. But it’s worth it because it’s SO important for our very youngest children to have the opportunities to learn and grow.

And that hard work has paid off. According to a recent project report: “Together, we have helped connect practitioners across multiple disciplines, educate community members about healthy social and emotional development, coordinate and expand mental health services, and make Greater Minnesota a better place for children and families."

The Thrive Report, published back in March, contains background information, case studies and outcomes. I'd also invite you to become inspired and better informed by reading our Winter 2008 IQ Magazine,, where all 56 pages are dedicated to the issue!

Ground Level Hits the Ground Running

Some of our staff received an email from Dave Peters, at Minnesota Public Radio, last week. Part of it read: "Sitting in your offices last summer and fall as we planned this out, I would have been tickled to think it would go as well as it did."

We couldn't agree more.

Nearly 200 people joined MPR and Initiative Foundation staff in Long Prairie last Thursday night as they held a community forum to explore Todd County's future.

This forum illustrates how well things have been going for Ground Level, a new project that MPR, the Initiative Foundation and Bush Foundation all banded together to create.

The purpose of the project is to see how people are trying to make their communities better places to live, work and play. The Initiative Foundation is doing this by guiding them through the HCP program while MPR is exploring each community through a variety of mediums including videos, pictures, sound bites, blogs and articles. They want to reach the people on the ground level to hear what is happening in the areas they live in and to get conversations started.

• In January MPR started with Baldwin Township (in Sherburne County just south of Princeton) and focused on its growing population - which has created transportation, housing, planning and lifestyle issues. Reporters began by immersing themselves in the Baldwin community to learn as much as they could. Learn more about the results...
• In April MPR began their work in Todd County, focusing on their aging population and concern for the well-being of residents - trying to uncover the answers they have to support an aging and changing population. Learn more about the results...

We are excited to be a part of this project as we ALL work to make these communities better!

To read more about Ground Level and join the conversation, visit the MPR website: http://minnesota.publicradio.org.

Important Tax Alert for MN Nonprofits!

According to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits there are an estimated 4,000 nonprofits in Minnesota that will lose their 501(c)(3) tax exempt status unless they go online and file form 990-N. The nonprofits are small organizations that operate on the calendar year with financial activity under $25,000.

They will have their tax deductible status revoked (and will need to pay $750 to be reinstated to the tax status and receive tax deductible contributions) if they do not file the 990-N by May 15th, 2010.

For more information and/or to download a list of the affected nonprofits visit the MCN website at www.mncn.org.

Direct From the Pie Capital of Minnesota...

If you didn't know... Braham, Minnesota is proudly hailed as the Homemade Pie Capital of Minnesota (declared such by former Governor Rudy Perpich in 1990).

But you know what else is special about Braham? ...and no, it's not that they're a participant in our HCP program!

Not only does Minnesota's first woman lieutenant governor, Marlene Johnson, hail from this small town of 1,600 but so too does our new Children, Youth & Families Specialist, Sara Dahlquist!

Sara started with us just a couple weeks ago and yesterday she participated in her first official training session with our three new early childhood coalitions from Elk River, Pine River-Backus and Wadena County. Here's a clip of Linda's introduction of Sara and a bit of her in action:



Sara replaced Jana Shogren, who is enjoying her new position as the executive director at Bridges of Hope in Brainerd. We'd like to welcome Sara to the foundation - we're so glad you've joined us!

If you'd like to learn more about Sara feel free to read the news release or find her in our staff directory.

IQ Receives Gold!

Our IQ Magazine recently won a Gold Award from the Council on Foundation's Wilmer Shields Rich Awards for Excellence in Communications!

We were named the best magazine/periodical in North America among foundations with up to $100 million in assets. Our nomination included the following issues:

• Winter '08 (early childhood mental health)
• Spring '09 (Initiative Award winners/philanthropy)
• Summer '09 (manufacturing)
• Fall '09 (employment)

Judges evaluated all entries based on the following criteria:

• Overall outcomes/impact
• Message and design effectiveness
• Organization of content
• Outreach/distribution strategies

According to the Council on Foundations’ website, “The awards, which originated in 1984, showcase the ways foundations and corporate giving programs use communications strategies and techniques to advance their grantmaking goals.” An award ceremony took place yesterday morning at their annual conference in Denver, Colorado.

Thank you and congrats to our IQ Team for all of their hard work!

Second Time's A Charm for Lake Association

Big Fish Lake, located near Cold Spring, MN is one of the largest lakes in the state. It’s popular for boating, fishing and other recreation (like bird-watching as these photos from Big Fish show!).

Recently, their lake association joined our Healthy Lakes and Rivers Partnership (HLRP) program.

Big Fish Lake Association isn’t a stranger to the program though; it was also a participant back in 2002. But this time around, there is new and dedicated leadership involved and everyone is looking forward to figuring out how they can make Big Fish the best it can be.

Participating lake or river associations must attend two of our leadership training sessions as part of the program, which is exactly what Jim Sand of Big Fish Lake Association has done.

“After attending the training workshop I did increase my knowledge base, but I realized there is still so much more to learn,” said Sand. “Hearing from other lake associations at the training and making connections with others has given me a wealth of resources.”

Big Fish’s Lake Association hasn’t quite determined what their top priorities will be for the lake, but they hope to work with area farmers and governmental agencies to clean up the water that enters the lake from cropland which will have a positive effect on our overall water quality, said Sand.

HLRP works with associations in many different areas including developing strategic management plans, restoring shorelines, upgrading septic systems and enhancing habitats.













Sand’s recommendation to other groups thinking about participating in HLRP?

“Be prepared to get to work! Attending the workshop is the easy part, it will be the follow up work that you and your team do that will really take up your time and energy, but it is also that work that will give you great satisfaction.”

For more info about HLRP, visit our website or contact Don Hickman.

Your idea could be worth $15,000!

Have you always had ideas on how to make your community better, but never knew where to go with them?

Now you can do something with those great ideas!

All you have to do is visit Minnesota Idea Open's website at www.MNIdeaOpen.org to suggest solutions to important community issues.

Idea Open’s goal is to sponsor idea challenges that will get Minnesotans thinking and talking about issues, and more importantly... solutions! Their first idea challenge is focused on obesity and the community with the best idea will receive a $15,000 grant.

So get going... visit their website... and submit your ideas today!!

48th Winter Institute - In Review

Touted as a merger of academic horsepower and business horse-sense, the 2010 Winter Institute proved to be just that.

The 48th annual academic and business event, held March 4 in St. Cloud, drew nearly 500 people throughout the day.

This was the first time the foundation joined with St. Cloud State University, the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce and Times Media to sponsor and organize the event.

The morning's academic event was at St. Cloud State and the afternoon/evening business event followed at the Best Western Kelly Inn. The evening's events kicked off with an interactive panel discussion, complete with a new twist: live text polling. (It really was pretty fun to see the results coming in the on screens up front!) The discussion was moderated by Minnesota Public Radio's Chief Economics Correspondent, Chris Farrell.

That was followed by the traditional area economic forecast and something new this year - some comedy (and yes, even a non-economics person like me found it pretty funny!) from Yoram Bauman, The Stand-Up Economist.

Many agree that the economy is slowly turning around, including Randy Olson, our VP for Economic Opportunity, “I think the worst is behind us. What happened in 2009 was probably the worse we’ll see. It’s important for our region to have a strong economy because it means there are jobs, growth and consumer spending.”

The attendee survey revealed that half of the participants were there for the first time - 60% said they'd attend again!

The event also received some nice media coverage - take a look (or listen)!

St. Cloud Times Articles:

• Economists, business leaders focus on future at Winter Institute
• Experts say Great Recession is over

Minnesota Public Radio:

60 people + 1 day = 11,664 packaged meals

Many people get time off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but for VISTA and AmeriCorps members, it’s a day on; a day for a community service project.

At the MLK National Day of Service Event (this past January 18) nearly 60 people helped pack food for the Kids Against Hunger (KAH) program at their warehouse in Sauk Rapids.

This was the first time the VISTAs and AmeriCorps members worked with KAH. They decided to work with KAH this year because it’s a great cause and it was something they could all do—indoors, said Chris Fastner, our VISTA Program Manager.

“The whole process of that day was empowering,” said Fastner. “It was a unique opportunity for all these VISTA and AmeriCorps members to come together and do something as a group that was very tangible with an immediate result.”

That day there were 11,664 meals (54 boxes) packaged, which were all taken and shipped to Haiti.

KAH relies heavily on volunteers to help in the packaging process so that they can send food worldwide when it’s needed. According to their website, “More than 8,000 volunteers have packaged over 5 million meals since opening on March 1, 2003.”

For more information about KAH visit: http://www.kidsagainsthungercm.org or about the VISTA program visit: http://www.ifound.org/effective_volunteers.php.

To see all the pictures from the days’ event visit the MN Initiative Foundation VISTAs’ Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=photos&gid=126833602116.

Hickman Preparing for Vietnam Trip

Vietnam may be over 8,000 miles away from Minnesota, but a group of 80 people are soon going to make the long trek.

Our own Don Hickman, along with his wife and two kids are among those in the group planning to go - their daughter, Ellen, was adopted from Vietnam almost ten years ago. Hickman’s family will be helping to build houses as part of their six-day venture.

The Catalyst Foundation (the trip's sponsor) is a nonprofit based in Northfield, MN, that improves the lives of at-risk Vietnamese by working to prevent child trafficking and building houses and schools. Once the homes and schools are built, children learn to read and write and be recognized as citizens so they are better able to receive assistance.

Hickman’s family traveled to Vietnam in 2000 to adopt Ellen, so this time they want to go and return the good deed by helping in anyway possible.

While in Vietnam, Hickman’s daughter wants to bring school supplies with to teach the Vietnamese children English. The trip is set to take place in this month and each of the families are expected to donate $3,000 to help purchase building supplies.

Hickman is hoping people are willing to donate to the Vietnam Aid Expedition to help raise the funds needed. For more information or to donate contact Don or visit the Catalyst Foundation at: http://www.catalystfoundation.org/

New office chair: more than just a great place to sit.

Kathy recently received a new chair for the office from the Anderson Center of St. Cloud.

She received the chair as a “Thank You” for participating in the Anderson Center’s Roundtable Forum - a gathering of Minnesota business leaders who are committed to excellence and business development.

The chair is eye-catching and fits in quite nicely with its wood frame, blue cushion and engraving of the Anderson Center Roundtable’s logo on the backrest of the chair.

What's the significance of a chair?

“It’s about partnership,” she said. “Having gone through their Executive Forum, I can attest to the high quality of their training.”

She went on to say: “We're proud to be a partner with the Center in supporting the growth and development of local companies that provide quality jobs. These services complement our business financing programs and community and economic development mission very well.”

The Anderson Center’s mission is to provide management and business development services that facilitate economic progress in Greater Minnesota. They work with the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations by proving scholarships to nonprofits and other small organizations so that they can attend a Center Forum.

Learn more about the Anderson Center at: www.acmbd.org.

170 Jobs Secured at Larson Boat!

We are incredibly excited to share news about a loan that we just closed on a few hours ago...

Larson Boat Company has been a key business in Little Falls since the early 1900's. At it's peak a few years ago, the facility employed nearly 900 people. Because of the economic crisis though, boat sales plummeted, jobs were cut and the whole company was at risk.

With the help of four other organization we helped put together a financing package that will keep the Little Falls manufacturing facility open and secure about 170 full-time jobs. (Larson also hopes to add another 150-175 more jobs over the next couple years.)

The other groups that were involved included:

• The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development's Minnesota Investment Fund,
• The Economic Development Authority of the City of Little Falls,
• Community Development of Morrison County and,
• The North Central Economic Development Association, Inc.

In the words of Kathy Gaaslwyk, our president: "I’m very proud of our organization for being involved in this project—it’s a great example of why we exist and why we do business loans."

And even though we share this good news, our thoughts go out to the 180 people who were recently laid off from the Crestliner/Triton manufacturing facility here in town. It sounds like some of those people will be able to relocate to New York Mills but it's still a harsh blow to a lot of families here.

And it's proof that there's still a lot of work to do to bring jobs back to our central Minnesota cities!

For more information about the Larson Boat Company project read the official news release from today, a recent article from the Morrison County Record or visit the Larson website.

Help Wanted: Kid Specialist

Want to work at the Initiative Foundation? Here's your opportunity...

We are now seeking a Children, Youth & Families Specialist to support citizen-driven early childhood community coalitions, early childhood mental health coalitions, youth engagement teams and other regional and community-based early care and education initiatives.

Bachelor’s degree in community development, human services, education or related with three years experience or equivalent. Qualified candidates will be experienced organizers with human service, training and community development background. Yes, we are an Equal Opportunity Employer as well as a top-flight place to work hard, have fun, make a difference, and advance your career.

View the position description on our website, and submit application (required) with your resume by February 19, 2010.

MN Compass Provides Local Trends, Stats

Looking for LOCAL statistics on any of these topics?

• early childhood
• educational attainment
• employment
• crime
  
• environmental quality
• civic engagement
• housing

Minnesota Compass (www.mncompass.org) might be your answer! The new website, which launched this past Tuesday and was created by the Wilder Foundation, is an expansion of their Twin Cities Compass but provides information on critical trends for the well-being of communities in Greater Minnesota.

Data is taken from a wide variety of sources and is presented by county so that you can compare your stats to other regional and statewide peers. The project is supported by the Minnesota Initiative Foundations, The McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation, Blandin Foundation and others.

We plan to use the information in a variety of ways but mostly to help communities in our Healthy Communities Partnership program identify and work on areas that either represent economic opportunities or where they lag in comparison to others.

To learn more: read our 1.26.10 news release on the website's launch or visit the website.

One Way to Beat the Winter Doldrums

Although April is National Volunteer Month I thought this would be a nice piece to share now. Getting out of the house and helping others might be just the thing for beating those mid-winter blues!

The Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) recently released results from their November 2009 survey: The Status of Minnesota’s Volunteer Programs in a Shifting Environment.

The survey found that:

• nearly 60% of organizations reported an increased reliance on volunteers compared to a year ago.
• over 50% reported an increase in volunteer hours of service.
• 44% of respondents reported increased numbers of inquires from potential new volunteers.
  
• 52% reported volunteers were more likely to have strong work skills.
  

Respondents shared hundreds of strategies for volunteer programs to respond to the current times. The survey included responses of 280 Minnesota nonprofit and governmental organizations. For the full survey report go to: www.MAVANetwork.org/shiftingenv.

Are you looking for volunteering opportunities in central Minnesota? Contact one of our HOP participants or check the United Way's website for more ways to get involved in your community!

Got a Fresh Idea?

Pepsi-Cola will be awarding more than $20 million in 2010 for your fresh ideas!

Their Pepsi Refresh Project invites people, businesses and nonprofits to submit their creative ideas for "moving the world forward" by improving their local communities and neighborhoods. Ideas can be submitted in one of six different categories:

• Health
• Arts & Culture
• Food & Shelter
• The Planet
• Neighborhoods
• Education

Ideas can be submitted at any time (up to 1,000 will be accepted every month) via the refresheverything.com website and then the public's votes decide which ideas get funded.

Bernick's Beverages and Vending, the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and United Way of Central Minnesota will be hosting an informational meeting about the project on Monday, January 25th, 2010 from 3:30 - 4:30 at the St. Cloud Library.

For more info watch their video on YouTube, download the news release or visit www.refresheverything.com to submit your idea and vote!

Thank You!

We recently said "goodbye" to a few special people...

MaryAnn Schefers started working at the foundation in September 2002, and worked in both our donor services and finance departments throughout the past seven years.

Today she starts a new adventure in Pine City working in the accounting department at Pine Technical College. Curt Hanson, who probably worked the most with MaryAnn, had this to say:

"MaryAnn could be a poster child for the “typical central Minnesota farm kid,” in that she thrives on hard work, is reliable and very conscientious, and solves problems rather than pointing them out and complaining about them. Pine Tech made a good choice."

We will miss her dedication, attention to detail and great sense of humor!

Thank you, MaryAnn!

*********************
In December we recognized a few foundation friends who "retired" from our board of trustees. Gloria Contreras Edin of Inver Grove Heights and G. George Wallin, PhD. of Big Lake had both served since 2000. Jim Anderson, of Crosslake and Key Largo, Fla. had been a Trustee since 2007.

In recognition of their service to the foundation, all three were invited to select a charity of their choice to receive a $1,000 grant. They selected:

• Perseverancia (Cold Spring), to support opportunities for Latina leaders, in recognition of Gloria Contreras Edin,
• Saron Lutheran Church (Big Lake), for the hospitality committee, in recognition of G. George Wallin, PhD., and
• Kinship Partners, Inc. (Brainerd), to support a youth mentoring program, in recognition of Jim Anderson.
  

To learn more about their contributions to the board, read the news release from last week or to meet our current board members, visit our website.

Free paints & coatings!

Valspar Corporation (headquartered in Minneapolis) has helped us out for the last 12 years by supplying area nonprofits and communities with FREE paint and coatings. Some of last year's projects included:

• Audubon Center of the North Woods, Sandstone: Interior and exterior paint for wildlife barn, office, dining hall and outdoor structures used for activities and classes.
• City of Big Lake: Interior paint for the food shelf expansion and new senior center.
• Crow Wing County 4-H, Brainerd: Interior and exterior paint stage and new electrical room in the 4-H building at the fairgrounds.
• City of Little Falls: Exterior painting to preserve a historic barn by the Pine Grove Park.
• Long Prairie Hockey Association: Exterior and interior paint for the exposition arena which is used for hockey, 4-H presentations, trade shows and community gatherings.
• Minnesota Pioneer Park, Annandale: Exterior paint for Big Woods building and Finnish Apostolic Church at the history museum.
• The Refuge Network, Cambridge: Interior paint for addition to a home for women and children fleeing domestic abuse.
• St. Cloud Housing & Redevelopment Authority: Exterior paint for “Paint the Town” event, painting low-income homes in northeast St. Cloud area.
• Sebeka School District: Interior paint for students who will paint murals on high school walls.

Applications for this year's program are due to the Foundation office by March 5th. For more information on the program and how to apply download the fact sheet/application or the official news release that we just sent out today.

HAPPY PAINTING!