What do I do?

Ever since I started working at the Foundation I've been asked that question by family and friends. We do lots of things and since we're not a direct service organization (like a food shelf or a youth program) it can be pretty hard to explain sometimes.

Now I can show them! We put together this 3 minute video for the GiveMN.org website but it's a great piece that I can share with people - especially my kids who still don't quite get it!

So, guys, for the past ten years this is what Mom does when she goes to work everyday...



Enjoy!

$14M on GiveMN Match Day

I was so happy to see the total amount on GiveMN.org's Give to the Max Day keep climbing as the day went on. As I kept checking back it went from $3 million to $9 to $13 and after 24 hours finally stopped at $14,000,406. That's a lot of money to a lot of worthy causes. One of the top three organizations is in our neck of the woods too. The College of St. Benedict came in 2nd with 719 total donors - way to go guys!

What amazes me more is that so many folks from so many different foundations and organizations joined forces to make this all work. I really think GiveMN.org is here to stay.

Thank you to everyone who donated that day - not only to the Initiative Foundation but to any nonprofit. November 17th was truly a great example of "Minnesota Nice"!

Online Giving in MN is Changing

Have you heard the buzz? There's a new website in town and it just might change the face of online giving in Minnesota. It's www.GiveMN.org and it went live last week.

According to my coworker, Matt (who's also on GiveMN's Strategy Cabinet), "It's a visionary & exciting project!"

Here's the deal... GiveMN.org has been pre-loaded with basic information on Minnesota 501(c)3s and gives contributors information about all charitable nonprofits in Minnesota. It provides every charitable nonprofit equal access to online contributors. And, it encourages local online giving.

A couple of big things... there is no cost to a nonprofit to participate in GiveMN.org, and, at least initially, all credit card processing fees for donations will be covered by GiveMN.org funding partners.

To learn more:

• check out the Initiative Foundation's GiveMN page,
• encourage all nonprofits (there are over 20,000 in Minnesota!) to claim their page,
• or better yet... try it out! Find your favorite nonprofit and donate today.

And if you want your dollar to go a little further... next Tuesday, November 17th is Give to the Max Day. Every donation made that day will receive a portion of a $500,000 match.

(NOTE: When this same model was tried in Dallas, donors blew through an online match of $400,000. That day, they raised over $4 million!)

With GiveMN.org, the fundraising potential for Minnesota's nonprofits and the causes they support is HUGE.

Please help spread the word!

Initiative Foundations in Top 25 (again!)

Since 2001 all six of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations have ranked in the Top 25 Minnesota Community and Public Foundations.

And 2008 was no different!

The Minnesota Council on Foundations just released their results for last year and all of the MIFs were listed again. Ranked by the total amount of grants awarded, here's where we all ended up:

• 9: West Central Initiative ($3.6M)
• 13: Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation ($2M)
• 16: Northland Foundation ($1.6M)
• 17: Northwest Minnesota Foundation ($1.4M)
• 18: Initiative Foundation ($1.2M)
• 21: Southwest Initiative Foundation ($1M)

That's almost $11 million in grants to nonprofits and organizations that are dedicated to improving communities in greater Minnesota. Yowza! And none of it would have been possible without generous donations from hundreds of individuals and businesses!

> Learn more about the MIFs at www.greaterminnesota.net.

Thank You, Leah!

Leah Posterick has been working at the Foundation since 1998. As a Development Assistant and Program Assistant she has helped thousands of people in their quest to make their communities better places to live, work and play.

My first contact with Leah was when I was on the other side of the phone as a community leader in Pequot Lakes and we were going through the Healthy Communities Partnership program. She was always gracious and patient with me as a community volunteer. I now have the privilege of working at the Foundation and have been a team member with Leah for over eight years!

Now she and her husband, Dennis, are embarking on an amazing adventure. Next week Leah will be leaving the Foundation. They have sold their home of 20+ years and will be moving in with their eldest son in Pittsburg, Kansas. Their plan is to serve as missionaries, most likely in Burkina Faso.

Where's Burkina Faso you say? Oh only about 5,700 miles southeast of central Minnesota! It's a country in West Africa, about the size of Nevada and is one of the poorest in the world. Leah & Dennis will be coming back to the states every so often to visit their family, which includes four children and three grandchildren.

A couple of weeks ago we gave her some send-off gifts - a solar powered oven and a supply of "Life Straw" water purifiers. (Special thanks to John Sumption at Cass County for donating the oven!)

Leah has done some amazing work over the past eleven years. I will miss her hard work and dedication to small communities all over Central Minnesota, but I am thrilled that she will be able to follow her heart into a great new adventure!

Pomp and Circumstance...

This afternoon we just graduated our 14th group of nonprofits from the Healthy Organizations Partnership program. And this round of HOP was special because all of the groups were area Community Action Programs - aka. CAP/CAA agencies. It was great to have a round of training and capacity-building where everyone had similar goals, challenges and interests!

Best of luck to our recent grads:

• BiCAP, Bemidji
• Lakes and Pines CAC, Mora
• Ottertail-Wadena CAC, New York Mills
• Tri-County Action Program (TriCAP), St. Cloud
• Tri-County Community Action (TCC), Little Falls
• Wright County Community Action, Maple Lake

Take a look at all of the group photos on Facebook!

Biodiesel Facility Opens in Isanti

Back on September 28th our economic development staff attending the grand opening of an amazingly cutting edge business...

Ever Cat Fuels in Isanti produces biodiesel. But they don't use any ordinary way of making the renewable fuel... they patented a revolutionary way of producing it, calling it the "Mcgyan Process".

Through this technology the fuel is made in seconds, costs about half the price, produces basically no waste and can use almost any animal fat or vegetable oil as a feedstock. That means anything from french fry oil to algae can be used it make the biodiesel! Pretty cool, eh? The Foundation financed a portion of their start up last fall - learn more by reading the news release or visiting Ever Cat's website.

And next week look for more photos of the grand opening on Facebook!

Viva VISTA!

Right at this moment, there's a VISTA - not too far from you - working to fight poverty.

The VISTAs that we help place with central Minnesota nonprofits are doing some really amazing work. Just ask Chris Fastner, our VISTA coordinator - here are some stats he recently shared with us.

Last year VISTA members:

• assisted 43,544 households
• recruited 1,172 new volunteers
• logged 28,630 volunteer service hours
• secured more than $345,000 in resources to alleviate poverty

And it's not only the numbers that are amazing, it's the stories and projects these people are a part of that's the really cool part. From installing solar panels for low-income families to setting up a thrift store and creating special activities for at-risk youth... the projects vary just as much as the needs of the people they're helping.

For more information about what our 23 VISTA members are currently working on, download last Friday's news release or visit our website.

Thanks VISTAs, for your great work!

Thank you, Sam Nelson

A friend of the foundation recently passed away.

Sam Nelson, a Delano native, was key to the town's involvement in our community and youth programs. He was instrumental in the original creation of both Delano Dream teams and 'day-to-day' efforts of the projects developed by the teams - working on youth issues, downtown revitalization, river clean up and local libraries. His most recent contribution was working to create nearly 300 new industrial jobs in the city.

I had a chance to email his son, Jeff, a couple days ago and I shared with him that his dad was a great local leader and will be missed. The last time I saw Sam was at a September 30th training in Delano where we were organizing task forces to address downtown development and industrial job development. He deserves a lot of the credit for many good things in his community where he was a positive influence who always gave freely of his time and energy.

We would all do well to emulate Sam as we live and work in our communities. There is no doubt in my mind that Delano and our whole region are better places because Sam did more than his share.

Sam, you will be missed!

Read the Herald Journal's article about Sam.

Minnesotans struggling, ready for action

My coworker and "office neighbor", Chris Fastner, just shared a great resource with me - the Northwest Area Foundation just released the findings of their 2009 National Poll: Struggling to Make Ends Meet. I ordered the report that summarizes Minnesota's results (it's free through their website) and here are the things I found most surprising:

• 63% say they've cut back on spending,
• 44% have lent money to family or friend,
• 74% say they're worried that their local economy may get worse in the upcoming year,
• 80% say they're willing to volunteer for an organization that helps people who are struggling,
  
• 94% say local elected officials have big responsibility to attract businesses with good paying jobs.

If you'd like to learn more or get your own copy visit the NWAF website and you'll find a lot - highlights from the nation, other states, toolkits for action, the full database, etc.

It's an amazing piece of work that I think could really help decision makers, leaders and everyone in our communities understand how this tough economy is affecting people. Please share!!