Inside a Trade Mission

On June 8, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton embarked on a trade mission to China. Fifty delegates--including St. Cloud State president & Initiative Foundation trustee Dr. Earl Potter--will travel to Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian (the capital of Shaanxi Province) for a ten day trip of networking events and meetings with U.S. and Chinese government officials.


Our latest issue of IQ explores the potential of exporting for Minnesota companies and gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like for the employees in charge of making sure these events go off without a hitch. (Hint: there's a mind-boggling amount of protocol.) Check out our profile of international trade representative Jeffrey Phillips.


You can read more about the trade mission and the representatives here.

Relationships Matter

We all know that meetings go better when we have face-to-face contact. But that can get complicated when your business partner is in Beijing or Bogota. When we were putting together our current issue of IQ about exporting, we were surprised to learn how much personal connections and relationships matter when it comes to doing business overseas. From navigating cultural differences (did you know that Koreans seat the most senior executive facing the door?) to understanding protocol it's clear that you can't just do business the way you would if you were shipping your goods and services from central Minnesota to Texas. 


Investing in relationships matters, particularly when you are taking your company global.

Exporting for the small business owner

Our latest issue of IQ is dedicated to how exporting goods and services can help central Minnesota businesses survive and even thrive in this uncertain economic climate. But understanding complex tariffs, international shipping and business regulations, and the cultural differences of countries you’d like to export to may seem daunting if you are a small business  and don’t have the resources of a 3M or Cargill.  


That’s why we put together an exporting resource list--think of it as your little black book to doing business abroad. You’ll also want to make sure to check out the opportunities offered by the Minnesota Trade Office’s STEP: ExportAssistance for Small Business Program, which provides financial and technical assistance to qualifying Minnesota small businesses who are interested in exporting to foreign markets.

The Select Six

“Nonprofits and communities can face a real dilemma when a building needs some TLC. They may have an army of volunteer painters, but they can’t afford the paint,” says Dan Frank, Initiative Foundation program manager.  “Valspar helps volunteers to help their communities and we’re grateful for their commitment.”

The Initiative Foundation, in partnership with the Minneapolis-based Valspar Corporation, selected six community and nonprofit organizations to receive more than 400 gallons of free paint and coatings.  Now in its 15th year, the “Minnesota Beautiful” program awards were based on community need, public benefit, visual impact and volunteer participation. 

Congratulations to this year’s colorful award winners!

• Oasis Central MN, Little Falls - exterior paint for the Community Paint-A-Thon for low-income or disabled homeowner-occupied homes.
• A Place For You, Pine City - interior paint walls, ceilings, and basement as well as exterior siding of a transitional homeless shelter.
• Leader-Poplar Senior Citizens, Staples – exterior paint for the Leader Community Hall.
• City of Maple Lake - exterior paint for the baseball park fence, grandstand, concession stand and dugouts.
• England Prairie Pioneer Club, Wadena - exterior stain and paint for the buildings.
• Mille Lacs County Agricultural Society, Princeton – paint for fairgrounds maintenance.

2012 Valspar Paint Program

In 2012 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 5, 2012. For more information or to apply download the fact sheet/application or contact Dan Frank at (877) 632-9255 toll-free, dfrank@ifound.org.  

Java & Jobs

As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), the Initiative Foundation has been given a great opportunity to invest in locally-owned companies - delivering responsible, affordable lending to help low-income, low-wealth, and other disadvantaged people and communities.  


Since being certified as a CDFI, we have been awarded nearly $2 million from the CDFI Fund to provide loans and assistance to technology-based and green business ventures in central Minnesota.  The Foundation is also proud to be a member of the Opportunity Finance Network, a national network of CDFIs.  


And now we have another great opportunity...


Starbucks and the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) teamed up to launch the Create Jobs for USA Fund on Nov. 1, 2011. Seeded with a $5 million donation from The Starbucks Foundation, Create Jobs for USA allows concerned citizens to help create and sustain jobs in America. OFN, a nationwide network of 180 CDFIs, oversees the fund which provides financing to community businesses in underserved markets. One hundred percent of contributions are pooled and awarded as loans for community businesses including small businesses, microenterprises, nonprofit organizations, commercial real estate, and affordable housing groups who are committed to creating and sustaining jobs all across the country. Donations are accepted online at www.CreateJobsforUSA.org and at nearly 7,000 U.S. company-operated Starbucks stores. Donors who contribute $5 or more receive a red, white, and blue wristband with the message “Indivisible,” designed to serve as a symbol of Americans uniting to help create jobs.


So next time you're in a Starbucks, we hope you'll consider a donation.  Not only will you be getting a delicious beverage but you'll be helping to create jobs!


To learn more about Create Jobs for USA, download the fact sheet or visit www.CreateJobsforUSA.org. 

25th Anniversary Commemorative Wall

This past summer we commissioned Paramount Theatre and Visual Arts Center to create an original work that would link the Foundation's accomplishments with the generosity of its donors.  

What artists Anne Meyer and Melissa Gohman created is an amazing work of art!  The 25th Anniversary Commemorative Wall skillfully translates 25 symbols of regional identity and achievement - one for each year of the Foundation's existence.  The 70-piece clay wall was unveiled and dedicated to our donors at a special event on July 13, 2011.  It's now installed at our office and is awaiting one essential element...  the river.

Any donor who has given or pledged $1,000 or more between July 1, 2007 and December 31, 2011 will ensure that their name is forever displayed at the Foundation.  Displayed names, the size of which will correspond to the level of gift, will be installed on tiles that will fill the river portion of the wall in early 2012. 

If you're a donor, please contact Katie to learn more about ensuring that your name will be displayed.  Or to learn more about our wall and its 25 symbols, download and read the "Viewer Interpretation Guide".

(click to view full-size photo)

2012 Grant Making Changes

In an effort to make it easier and more efficient for grant seekers to apply for Innovation Fund grants, the Initiative Foundation will be transitioning to an online grantmaking system in 2012.

This coming year the foundation will award over $1 million in grants.  The majority of these grants require participation in one of our leadership programs and the remainder will be awarded through our Innovation Fund.  Through this discretionary fund, the average grant size will be $5,000 and projects must address at least one of seven different criteria.

As with 2011, we will be reviewing and awarding Innovation Fund grants four times throughout the year, according to the following schedule.

Inquiries and full proposals will be accepted and processed through this new online system. More detailed instructions and the link to our new online system can be found on our website at www.ifound.org. As always, thank you for your continued partnership, and please don't hesitate to contact us with questions or concerns!

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...