Breaking records on GiveMN!

This past Wednesday was a day for the philanthropy history books as GiveMN.org's Give To The Max Day, a 24 hour online giving campaign, raised a total of $13.4 million dollars!  

Records were broken as 47,535 individuals donated to 3,978 organizations - compared to last year, that's 4,939 more donors that gave, and 342 more organizations that benefited, from this annual event.  Here at the Foundation, we're so grateful to the donors who contributed over $2,400 to the Foundation's endowment, two of our community funds and the Wadena tornado relief fund!!

GiveMN is such a fun and easy way for people to contribute to the causes that matter to them.  And it's unique to the nation, firmly putting Minnesota on the 'giving map'.  Thank you to everyone for supporting all our region’s worthy causes and helping to spread the word about this great opportunity for Minnesota’s nonprofits!

Here's a little snippet from an email that the GiveMN staff sent out yesterday:

"Yesterday, Minnesotans once again showed unparalleled generosity. Together, 47,535 people gave a total of more than $13.4 million for 3,978 organizations in just 24 hours. This is the result of our collective effort - we are so proud to collaborate with thousands of nonprofits from Red Wing to Moorhead to Grand Marais.  Though words are not enough, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you."

They also put together this fun two minute video:

2011 Initiative Awards - Thank You!

We hope all of those who attended our 2011 Initiative Awards event on Friday, October 28 were just as ‘inspired’ as we were!

Thanks to our friends at Adventure Advertising, photos from the evening are available online.  To download any of the photos (and then save, email, print, etc.), simply click the disk icon next to the photo. 

Thanks to our friends at QuarterTon Productions, the videos are also available on our event website.  (And also on the Foundation’s YouTube channel.)

Other partners who helped pull it all together include:
•    Range Printing
•    Grand View Lodge
•    Events Extraordinaire

One last BIG thank you to all of our sponsors and of course, the award recipients:

•    Larson Boats
•    Wadena, Minnesota
•    Jack & Betty Thomas
•    Stearns-Benton Employment & Training Council

We had a great time putting it all together and being able to honor some of central Minnesota's best examples of outstanding leadership and community service.  Until next time...

2011 Award Winners Announced

We're excited to officially announce our 2011 award winners!

Outstanding Community — Wadena
The foundation chose Wadena to receive its Outstanding Community Award, sponsored by the Minnesota Power Foundation.  The city was selected because of their community development work and recovery and rebuilding efforts after a June 2010 tornado.

Outstanding Enterprise — Larson Boats, Little Falls
Larson Boats, a boat manufacturer in Little Falls, will receive the foundation’s Outstanding Enterprise Award, sponsored by Schlenner Wenner & Co. Founded in 1916, Larson Boats started by manufacturing small wooden boats.  It has since survived the economic recession, while retaining 170 jobs, and has established itself as an internationally-known company. 

Outstanding Generosity — Jack & Betty Thomas, Hackensack
Jack and Betty Thomas will be the recipients of the foundation’s Outstanding Generosity Award, sponsored by Bremer Bank. The couple started Mann Lake Ltd in 1983 and has set up a real estate gift so that proceeds will help build the first modern animal shelter and training facility in Cass County.

Outstanding Nonprofit — Stearns-Benton Employment and Training Council, St. Cloud
The foundation selected Stearns-Benton Employment and Training Council for its Outstanding Nonprofit Award, sponsored by Xcel Energy.  This organization coordinates education and training for dislocated workers while working with local employers to address critical workforce needs. 

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The winners will be honored at our 2011 Initiative Awards on Friday, October 28th at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa.  Our red-themed event, "inspired", is sure to be fun! 

Winners were selected based on their leadership, innovation and community impact.  Each will receive a recycled glass sculpture by artist, Michael Tonder, and $1,000 for the charity of their choice. The recipients will also be featured in a video revealed during the October 28th event. 

To read stories about the winners, purchase tickets or get more information about sponsorships, attire, etc. just visit our website at www.ifound.org/awards. Hope to see you there!

 

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.