Smude's Sunflower Oil Featured in Star Tribune

In 2009 we helped the Smude family with a start-up loan to build a 'seed oil crushing facility' on their farm. Great things have been happening since then!  The following is an excerpt from the Star Tribune’s June 3, 2011 article, “The Taste 50”:

On their Pierz, Minn., farm, Tom and Jenni Smude are making a Minnesota-made cooking oil, and a superior one at that. After switching out soybeans for 500 acres of drought-tolerant sunflowers, the entrepreneurial couple imported German-made equipment and began producing their cold-pressed, filtered, hand-bottled product. Their gamble has been a win-win situation. Not only have the Smudes created a fragrant, amber-tinted sunflower oil, but their process also turns byproducts into feed for the farm's 400 head of Black Angus cattle.

On the market for just over a year, Smude's Natural Sunflower Oil is catching on with chefs and cooks across the state, including chef Marshall Paulsen of the Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis, who has been going through "a ton" of it since he discovered it last fall, using it for sautéing as well as embellishing the restaurant's popular granola. At home, he mixes it with lemon juice and splashes it on greens, or blends it with butter when preparing eggs. "It has a complex flavor, and it tastes a little more nutty when it's cooked a little," Paulsen said. "The bottom line is that it tastes great. I met the guy, and I liked him. That goes a long way."

Way to go, Tom & Jenni!  

To learn more about Smude Enterprises visit their website www.smudeoil.com.

More great support from USDA!

The other day we received word that we were awarded a $175,000 grant from the USDA's Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI).  

This brings our total support from this program to almost $1.5 million since 2004!  It's been an incredible resource for us as we work to support our region's rural, low-income communities and nonprofits.  

This particular grant will enable three communities to participate in our Healthy Communities Partnership program - helping a group of citizen leaders develop a plan and implement community and economic development projects.  It will also support a solar energy project with the Region 5 Development Commission and the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL). 

Thank you to USDA for their continued investments in the Initiative Foundation and central Minnesota - we're proud to be a grant recipient once again!

To learn more about what this funding will be used for, feel free to download/read the news release that was issued earlier today.  Or visit USDA's website to learn more about the RCDI program and the other organizations who received grants.

Welcome Dan!

The picture frames are on his desk, his laptop is fired up and his business cards have arrived....

It is our pleasure to announce that Dan Bullert has joined our team as the new Business Finance Officer!  Dan comes to us with over 20 years of commercial lending experience with both national and community banks and is eager to work with local businesses, lenders and economic development professionals joint loan projects.  Dan and his family reside in rural Stearns County.  We look forward to introducing Dan to you over the next several months!

Get to know Dan by browsing through his bio or contacting him at: 320-631-2013 or dbullert@ifound.org. 

'Thrive' is definitely thriving!

The other day we received a update from Jane Ellison, project manager for the Greater St. Cloud Area Thrive group.  (If you haven't heard about Thrive, you can either read about it on our website or browse through the Winter 2008 issue of IQ to learn more.

Since she describes everything so well, I thought I'd just share a clip directly from her email...

"As you know the Access project, developed by our Leadership Team, received a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation.  While working on our planning year, that grant - along with our StayStrong grant [from the Initiative Foundation] - have given us an absolutely amazing opportunity to develop relationships between members of our Thrive Leadership Team and immigrant and refugee populations in the community.  I have attached a great picture of our Access planning team.  We are conducting forums and interviews with immigrant/refugee families and bringing the results back to share with our Leadership Team.  A final report of the forums and interviews will be presented in July to our Thrive Coalition team."

Jane goes on to describe a few other projects they're working on - home visitations, childcare provider trainings, 'playdates' between local legislators and kids, integrating services in area school districts and a variety of presentations and resource sharing.  

Thank you, Jane, for sending us the update and thank you, Greater St. Cloud Area Thrive, for doing such amazing work to support our area's youngest citizens!!

Valspar Offers Paint & Coatings

In 2011 Valspar Corporation will once again be offering nonprofits and communities a chance to apply for free paint and coatings through its “Minnesota Beautiful” partnership with the Initiative Foundation.

Representatives from the Initiative Foundation and Valspar will select 8-10 restoration or beautification projects to receive paint and coatings based on their visual impact, public benefit, volunteer participation and support, intended use and benefit to the needy. 

Projects that may qualify for a grant include historic buildings, community centers, public buildings, facilities for seniors or people with disabilities, murals or other visual impact projects.  Ineligible projects include denominational churches, city maintenance, schools (except murals) and privately owned buildings.  Projects must take place in one or more of the counties in the  Foundation's service area.

Applications are due by March 7, 2011. For more information or to apply download the fact sheet/application or contact Dan Frank at (877) 632-9255 toll-free, dfrank@ifound.org.  

New Grant Review Process in 2011!

Just wanted to share some new changes with our 2011 grant review process...

As of January 1, 2011, the Initiative Foundation will be reviewing grant inquiries - for our Innovation Fund - on a quarterly basis.

We have decided to adopt this process due to an increased number of funding requests and our desire to be more transparent and strategic. Our Grant Team will be able to compare applications, ensuring that we fund the most promising and well-planned projects that serve critical needs in central Minnesota.

In 2011, the foundation will award over $1 million in grants, $150,000 of which will be awarded through our Innovation Fund and the remainder through restricted grants that require participation in one of our leadership programs. Through the discretionary Innovation Fund, the average grant size will be $5,000 and projects must address at least one of five different criteria.

Instead of reviewing Innovation Fund inquiries and proposals on an ongoing basis, now we will be reviewing and awarding grants only four times throughout the year. More information about the the schedule and process can also be found on our website at www.ifound.org.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Don Hickman, Senior Program Manager & Grant Team Lead @ 877-632-9255, dhickman@ifound.org.

Looking forward to a healthy and prosperous new year!

Looking for the right host site...

How can a VISTA member help your organization better fight poverty?

• Got an idea for a new program or for improving services but no one with the time to dig in and get the job done?
• Wanna improve your fund development efforts? Generate community “buzz” about your work?
• Need more volunteers? Want them to be better trained?
• Need an enthusiastic someone with a singular focus on helping your agency better deliver on the promise of its mission to alleviate and eliminate poverty?

A VISTA member could be just what your agency needs!

Over the past ten years the Initiative Foundation’s 140+ VISTAs have created new programs, developed outreach tools and helped their host sites manage over 21,000 volunteers who provided over 234,000 hours of community service. Over that time, our VISTAs have helped raise over $1.6 million in grants and contributions and nearly $1.1 million in in-kind resources for their sites.

The Initiative Foundation is currently looking for organizations interested in hosting an AmeriCorps VISTA member for the 2011-2012 service year.

VISTAs are national members who serve full-time for a year in nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, faith-based organizations, tribal and government agencies to build their capacity to conduct anti-poverty work. (Note that eligible nonprofit private organizations are not limited to those with IRS 501(c) (3) status, but rather all organizations with IRS 501(c) status that focus on anti-poverty community development; organizations that focus solely on advocacy and lobbying are not eligible.)

VISTAs help their host sites grow so they can serve more people, in better ways for a longer period of time.

Applications for next year’s host sites are being accepted through February 4th. Selected sites will recruit VISTA members this spring who will begin service in early August.

Wanna learn more? Visit our website or call Chris or Annie at (320) 632-9255.

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