IQ Magazine- Q4 2015

4TH QUARTER 2015

ECONOMY

The Automated Employee How robotics increase efficiencies.

Pg. 10

RURAL REBOUND

Why families are moving to small towns.

Pg. 18

PROFITING THE COMMUNITY

Social enterprise fuels innovation.

Pg. 44

30 YEARS How the Minnesota Initiative Foundations became a model for rural philanthropy and economic development.

Pg. 22

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IQ

Initiative Foundation Quarterly 4TH QUARTER 2015

Contents FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

22

6

32

36

30 Years Strong

Forged in crisis, the Minnesota Initiative Foundations have become a model for rural philanthropy and economic development.

Be Prepared

Regional Highlights

Get the latest economic and community development highlights from the 14-county area.

10

When disaster strikes, towns need to engage the entire community to rebuild and repair. Here’s how.

The Pillars of Success

Initiatives:

Economy:

The Automated Employee

Manufacturers are finding that robotics increase efficiencies. Workers are discovering more satisfying employment.

14

Talent, teamwork and a strong shared vision are helping to shape a vibrant Greater St. Cloud area.

Emerging Leaders:

Welcome Home

Eunice Adeji-Bosompem works to make St. Cloud a place where migrants, refugees and people of color want to put down roots.

18

Community:

Rural Rebound

Forget about the “brain drain.” Young families are moving back to small towns across Central Minnesota.

44

Philanthropy:

Profiting the Community Nonprofits are finding new ways to enhance their bottom lines through mission-driven ventures.

48

Home Made:

UPAC2

See what’s brewing in Becker.

52

Where is IQ?

Brainerd’s BIG Idea . . .

CELEBRATING

YEARS

Engineering Architecture Surveying Environmental

WidsethSmithNolting.com

A BIG-TIME FACELIFT for the

Essentia Health Sports Center

WHAT’S ON YOUR WISH LIST? 4TH QUARTER 2015

3

Dear Friends, Growing up in southern California, I aspired to be an attorney. I loved living in Los Angeles, and I assumed it’s where I would stay.

But an unexpected thing happened on the way to law school: I met and fell in love with Neal Gaalswyk and found myself on a farm near Pillager. I went to work at the regional development commission in Staples while Neal and his family ran the farm. In the early years, when I’d return home from work in the evening, I’d help move irrigation pipe, work on the books, spend time in the barn or do whatever was needed. We settled in, had babies and thought all was well.

I’d chosen a rural life, and it was good.

Then came the mid-1980s when our rural areas were rocked by the realization that our economy was shifting. Greater Minnesota’s natural resourcebased economic models—agriculture, forestry, mining—were no longer going to work. Along with the shift, our family’s dream of a multi-generational farm crumbled. We, along with many other rural families, grieved and grasped for new hope.

The crisis caught the attention of The McKnight Foundation, and its leaders ventured out into the rural reaches of the state in a profound and meaningful search for solutions. I had the Kathy Gaalswyk, President privilege (three decades ago) to join these statewide conversations, and from them the Minnesota Initiative Foundations were born. They represented a new framework for turning pain into passion, despair into commitment and hope.

Only by looking back can we tell how far we’ve come. That’s why we’ve dedicated 10 pages in this edition of IQ Magazine to tell the story of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations, because we think it’s a story worth telling.

Fast forward to today, and hundreds of thousands of lives have been touched by the 30-year collaborative effort to reduce poverty, enhance prosperity and restore our Greater Minnesota pride. Local businesses have been started and expanded, quality jobs have been secured, community leaders have been engaged and young children have been empowered with opportunity.

Los Angeles has enough attorneys. I am so glad that I chose rural Minnesota!

VOLUME 19, 4TH QUARTER 2015 Initiative Foundation President | Kathy Gaalswyk Marketing & Communications Manager | Bob McClintick Marketing & Communications Assistant | Alyson Twardowski Editorial Managing Editor | Elizabeth Foy Larsen Writer | Laura Billings Coleman Writer | Maria Surma Manka Writer | Lisa Meyers McClintick Writer | Gene Rebeck Writer | Lawrence Schumacher Writer | Andy Steiner Art Art Director | Photographer Photographer Photographer

Teresa Lund | John Linn | Michael Schoenecker | Bill Jones

Advertising Advertising Director | Brian Lehman Advertising Manager | Lois Head Advertiser Services | Janelle Breen Subscriptions Email info@ifound.org to subscribe or to make subscription inquiries.

Enjoy the magazine.

Kathy Gaalswyk PRESIDENT

405 First Street SE Little Falls, MN 56345 (320) 632-9255 | ifound.org

IQ Magazine unlocks the power of Minnesota leaders to understand and take action on regional issues.

RANGEDELIVERS.COM Printed at Range, Inc. with Soy-Based Ink on Recycled Paper

4 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

NJPA core services and public benefit National Cooperative Contract Purchasing

Through its joint powers authority and statutory authority to engage in cooperative purchasing, NJPA is able to award contracts through a competitive solicitation process on behalf of its members. NJPA members, in accordance with their own laws, rules and regulations may purchase from the NJPA contracts; enabling funding for NJPA operation costs and marketing.

Technology Services

Education Solutions

NJPA’s Technology Solutions Department offers IT support and technology services to assist Region 5 members.

Training and consulting services to administrators, teachers, staff and students that includes training sessions on leadership and professional learning, assessment and curriculum, and effective instruction.

National Cooperative Contract Purchasing

Professional development services in leadership, supervision, planning and zoning. Plus discounted services in areas such as financial, economic development support, executive recruitment, land use, HR policies and grant writing.

Regional Low Incidence Project and Collaborative Service Workers

NJPA leads a Collaborative Service Team in Crow Wing County to provide strong research-based interventions and work with children and their families from birth to 18 at no cost.

City/County Services

Risk Management

NJPA’s Risk Management Pool serves twenty-eight government and education entities with insurance products and maintains a focus on wellness initiatives and continues to expand Life and Disability programs nationally.

NJPAcoop.org National Contract Purchasing • Risk Management • Education Solutions • IT Services • City/County Gov’t Services • And More!

IQ Initiatives

Regional Investment Highlights BENTON COUNTY

Quality Jobs Campaign

A group of local leaders is exploring ways to best support business growth and economic vitality. The Initiative Foundation-facilitated group will launch a new economic development organization to guide countywide workforce and business retention and expansion efforts while offering technical guidance to expand the number of quality jobs in the area.

CASS COUNTY

A Can-Do Community

The Working Together Coalition, along with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Opichi Wadiswan Prevention Program, brought together more than 220 people earlier this year for its second annual “Be the Change: The Solution is in the Community” conference on substance use and mental health. The conference was funded in part by a grant from the Initiative Foundation.

CHISAGO COUNTY

It’s a SNAP

CROW WING COUNTY

Local Pride

Lakes PROUD, a collaboration of the Brainerd Lakes, Crosslake, Pequot Lakes, Cuyuna Lakes and Nisswa chambers of commerce, is a buy-local campaign to create awareness that it matters where consumer and business dollars are spent.

Support to launch the campaign was provided through an Initiative Foundation grant. Learn more at lakesproud.com.

CASS

WADENA

Community access is growing at the Chisago City Farmers Market, where Initiative Foundation Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) summer associate Daniel Gerdes cultivated partnerships to promote the acceptance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Gerdes also partnered with the University of Minnesota Extension’s Cooking Matters program to provide market tours and cooking demonstrations for SNAP recipients.

TODD

CROW WING

MORRISON

MILLE LACS

ISANTI COUNTY

All Smiles in Isanti

The county and Children’s Dental Services, a mobile dental program, are collaborating on a plan to help meet the needs of children and teens. The countywide Early Childhood Dental Project, supported by a grant from the Initiative Foundation, will provide a full range of dental services to the area by periodically visiting Cambridge.

KANABEC COUNTY

Showcasing Mora

The Fish House coffee shop on the outskirts of Mora is more than just a new community gathering space. Rather than compete with area businesses, the owners have created a venue where Highway 65 travelers can purchase local merchants’ products. Business financing from the Initiative Foundation helped with the purchase of the building.

MILLE LACS COUNTY

Lighting Up Literacy in Onamia

The Onamia Area Early Childhood Coalition is lighting up literacy by offering the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for children up to age 5 and through its summer reading program and community-wide Little Free Libraries. The coalition, sponsored by the Initiative Foundation, also engaged a summer Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) member to advance its literacy efforts.

6 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

BENTON STEARNS

SHERBURNE

WRIGHT

Lending a Helping Hand

Tool Shed Inc., a Little Falls-based nonprofit, is growing its staff and its outreach.

Tool Shed recently added its first two employees and is actively seeking a house to rent. A recurring recipient of Initiative Foundation grants, Tool Shed provides transitional support for women who are leaving jail or are recovering from addiction.

PINE COUNTY

Musgrove to Lead Economic Development

Congratulations to Dr. Robert Musgrove, retired Pine Technical & Community College president, in his new role as Pine County Economic Development coordinator. Musgrove has a long history of activity with the Pine City Area Early Childhood Coalition, the Greater Pine Area Endowment (an Initiative Foundation Turn Key partner fund) and GPS 45:93, a regional economic development group serving five east central Minnesota counties.

SHERBURNE COUNTY

Coal Plant Transition

A coalition has formed to ease the transition as Xcel Energy executes plans to shut down two coal-fired power plant units in Becker to help cut carbon emissions 60 percent by 2030. Coalition partners include Sherburne County, the cities of Becker and Big Lake, the Initiative Foundation and the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation.

STEARNS COUNTY

Circles of Family Support

Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota and its St. Cloud Area Circle of Parents is providing free weekly support to deliver positive parenting and healthy conflict resolution skills with the goal of creating greater family stability. The 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Monday meetings at Great River Regional Library are supported by an Initiative Foundation grant.

TODD COUNTY

A Real Plus for Browerville PINE

KANABEC

E

MORRISON COUNTY

WADENA COUNTY CHISAGO

ISANTI

A gas station and convenience store is set to reopen in Browerville, filling a two-year void for area residents who had to purchase convenience items and fuel in neighboring towns. The Initiative Foundation provided business financing to assist Petro Plus owners with inventory and working capital needs.

A Wealth of Dental Health

A countywide early childhood dental health initiative has big plans for a new Initiative Foundation grant. Goal No. 1: Educate children, parents and families about the importance early oral health care. Goal No. 2: Increase access to timely and affordable dental care for children from birth to age 5.

WRIGHT COUNTY

Grant Writing Workshop in Delano

Nearly two dozen people participated in a Delano grant writing workshop led by Barb Downs, Initiative Foundation grant specialist. The complementary workshop, co-sponsored by Delano Area Community Foundation, guided participants through research strategies and the proposal development process while helping attendees avoid common grant-writing mistakes as they seek support for critical services and activities.

4TH QUARTER 2015

7

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economy

LEFT TO RIGHT: Central McGowan’s Luis Maldonado, automation technician; Joe Francis, chief financial officer; Corey Jelinski, automation project manager; and Allan Holst, director of automation.

The Automated Employee Manufacturers are finding that robotics offer new efficiencies. Workers are discovering more satisfying employment.

By Gene Rebeck | Photography by John Linn

For automation technician Luis Maldonado, robots aren’t Terminators programmed to conquer the world. They’re opportunities.

Maldonado, who has a four-year degree in production manufacturing, was working three years ago for a Central Minnesota manufacturer that used robotics for handling materials and stacking pallets. He became intrigued. Though he lost that job during the recession, he went back to St. Cloud Technical & Community College to study mechatronics—a field of engineering that combines hydraulics, electronics and several other manufacturing disciplines—as well as other courses related to robotics.

Since completing his coursework in June, Maldonado has been working as an automation technician at Central McGowan, a St. Cloudbased supplier and builder of welding and material-handling equipment.

His work there is varied and includes both programming and set-up.

At his previous employer, “I could see what the robots were capable of doing,” Maldonado said. “But I knew they could do so much more.”

Regional manufacturers and economic experts are saying the

same thing. “As precision machines become commonplace, they can help area manufacturers improve quality and productivity, reduce cost and injuries and reduce the frequency at which humans need to engage in repetitive tasks,” said Don Hickman, vice president for community and economic development at the Initiative Foundation, which has provided grants to high school robotics teams and partners with businesses and higher education institutions to make sure the region has a highly skilled workforce. “The skills needed to operate this equipment is increasingly technical and requires critical thinking, which also raises the wages of workers in these fields.”

Though the technology has been around for decades, only in recent years have robotic automation systems—which automate repetitive manual tasks, including pallet loading, stacking and welding—become more widely used in smaller manufacturing businesses, including several in Central Minnesota. For these manufacturers, robotic systems have become more cost-effective. But that doesn’t mean that manufacturers will soon no longer need workers on the shop floor. For ambitious people like Maldonado, robotics can actually provide job security.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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economy, continued from page 10

Efficiency and Quality

Central McGowan has been selling robotic-driven welding equipment for more than 20 years. In 2014, the company acquired Little Falls-based Pro-Fect Automation, which specializes in materialhandling robots. There has always been an interest in robotics equipment among smaller manufacturers, said Corey Jelinski, automation service manager at Central McGowan. But with the challenges manufacturers face in finding employees and paying workers’ compensation costs, “people are looking at revising some of their processes, and automation is definitely a front-running option to accomplish that,” according to Jelinski. And while the price of such equipment hasn’t necessarily come down, “it has become more easily justifiable” in recent years.

One company that has incorporated robotics is Avon-based Midsota Manufacturing, an Initiative Foundation loan client and winner of the Foundation’s 2015 Outstanding Enterprise Award, which first began using robot technology about a decade ago. Midsota manufactures heavy-duty hauling trailers for contractors, landscapers and construction companies as well as for homeowners.

About a year ago, Midsota acquired a large robotic cell that welds the main dump box to each trailer. A cell is a complete robotic system that includes an arm and the motor that runs it. Midsota’s new cell features another motor that drives the robotic arm back and forth 12 feet along a rail, spinning the item being welded to put a continuous weld around the radius. For Midsota, robotics offer two chief benefits.

“Number one is efficiency,” said Midsota co-owner Tim Burg. “Number two is quality, as far as each part being identical. You can pull that Monday morning or Friday afternoon human error out of it.”

Getting the Skills

Burg learned how to set up Midsota’s cells through Central McGowan, which offers training on the robotic systems it sells. These days, Burg said, “we train all of our robotic operators and programmers.”

Employers also are looking to area technical colleges to provide robotics education. Central Lakes College in Brainerd started its robotics program in 1983, but interest from students and employers in the past few years has intensified. “The industry is just dying for people who understand mechatronics and robotics,” said Chris Hadfield, CLC’s former dean of career and technical programs who now leads the Transportation Center of Excellence with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU).

The demand for such skills, both current and potential, was one of the engines driving the formation of the Advanced Manufacturing Education Alliance (AME) in 2012. The AME is a regional consortium of technical colleges, employers, government entities and other partners whose goal is to boost manufacturing education and employment, primarily in Central Minnesota. In 2012, AME received a $13.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help its partner colleges add to their program inventories and upgrade their equipment, including for robotics programs.

Rebekah Kent, AME’s director of strategic grant initiatives and interim dean of career and technical programs at CLC, , said robotics offer “a lot of opportunity for higher-wage, living-wage jobs—much higher.” Many worry about robotics eliminating jobs, but she observed that many manufacturing jobs in Central Minnesota remain unfilled.

12 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

In that way, robotics could actually provide more secure employment.

“Those employees have specialized knowledge that a company can’t do without,” Kent said.

Maldonado’s alma mater, St. Cloud Technical & Community College, is one of the schools that belong to the AME, and it graduated its first students from its two-year robotics and automation degree program this spring. Aaron Barker, a robotics technology instructor at St. Cloud Technical & Community College, said the school includes employee comportment as well as technical education in its program.

“When our students graduate they not only have the technical skills, but also the soft skills the employers are looking for,” Barker said.

That’s certainly been the case for Luis Maldonado. His work at Central McGowan is “a dream job for me,” he said. Not only do “I get to work with my hands pretty much every day,” but his colleagues are providing plenty of help and opportunities to pick up new skills.

“There’s always room to learn and grow there,” he said. That’s one of the reasons he pursued robotics in the first place.

THE NUMBERS A need for workers combined with a potential boom in robotics specialists is leading to high-paying jobs.

Manufacturers need qualified workers According to Enterprise Minnesota, the percentage of Minnesota manufacturing executives who say they’re having difficulty finding qualified candidates to fill their company’s vacancies has risen in recent years: 2010.................................................................... 40% 2014.................................................................... 67% 2015.................................................................... 71% Source: Enterprise Minnesota State of Manufacturing 2015

Robotics students are increasing Minnesota’s higher educational institutions report a steadily growing number of students completing studies in robotics-related programs, which these schools categorize as systems automation technology: Academic period Number of completers 2009–2010 553 2012–2013 636 Source: University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and University system data, September 2015

Robotics specialists will be in demand—and well paid The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) released projections on the top 10 job categories that will have the most openings by 2020.

Industrial machinery mechanics (which includes robotics specialists) made the top 10. It also ranked No. 2 in projected annual median income: Electricians.................................................... $67,187 Industrial machinery mechanics ...................$64,470 Source: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

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economy leaders emerging

EUNICE ADJEI-BOSOMPEM: ”I call St. Cloud home now.”

(Photography courtesy of Create CommUNITY)

Welcome Home Eunice Adeji-Bosompem works to make St. Cloud a place where immigrants, refugees and people of color want to put down roots.

By Andy Steiner | Photography by John Linn

It’s hard to imagine now, but when Eunice Adjei-Bosompem first came to St. Cloud, she was shy.

“I didn’t know anyone,” she said, remembering those late summer days in 2005. “I was really, really scared of getting out of my comfort zone.” As an undergraduate at St. Cloud State University, AdjeiBosompem, who was born in Ghana and then lived in England for a short time, rarely spoke to others, partially because she felt that her accented English was hard to understand. It made for a lonely life.

“I hardly left campus,” said Adjei-Bosompem, who moved to St. Cloud after a friend from Ghana recommended SCSU. “I was afraid of getting lost on the bus. My only trips out were from the library to the dorm to the cafeteria.”

These days, Adjei-Bosompem is the exact opposite of the shy, isolated young woman she once was. She’s one of St. Cloud’s most active and involved citizens, a community leader who works as the administrator for the city’s Create CommUNITY diversity initiative, sits on the Initiative Foundation’s Emerging Leaders advisory council, works as a project and grants manager for CentraCare

Health system, is chair of the region’s Human Rights Commission, is a member of the Tri-CAP community action board and, in her spare time — if one could imagine she has any time to spare — is developing a new training program for emerging regional leaders of color.

It’s an exhausting schedule. But Adjei-Bosompem, who is 34, says she has energy for the work because she sees great promise in the region. She wants it to become a place where other immigrants, refugees and people of color feel comfortable enough to put down roots.

“I call St. Cloud home now,” Adjei-Bosompem said, firmly.

Though she still has family in Ghana, she feels settled in Central Minnesota. “I live and work here. I have built a community for myself. I would like to make this place better and more accepting for everyone and I’m willing to put in the time it takes.”

Community Commitment

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis has worked with Adjei-Bosompem several times, including CreateCommUNITY meetings and Human Rights Commission events. He’s impressed with her honest commitment to making St. Cloud a better place, to creating a home CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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economy, continued from page 14

“ We want our community to be one where everyone feels welcome, where everyone is represented. Eunice is key in this effort.” in a region that hasn’t always felt so welcoming to newcomers.

Though Adjei-Bosompem came to St. Cloud with no clear ties, Kleis says she has managed to build a strong network of support. He believes the inherent conflicts associated with changing demographics needs people like Adjei-Bosompem to help keep it healthy and successful into the future.

“Eunice has been a tireless volunteer and advocate for the community,” Kleis said. “She works hard, trying to encourage and involve participation from all sectors. She is constantly advocating for creating a welcoming atmosphere. We want our community to be one where everyone feels welcome, where everyone is represented.

Eunice is key in this effort.”

Michelle Kiley, Initiative Foundation community and economic development specialist, says Adjei-Bosompem’s networking skills have helped her build strong connections with members of St. Cloud’s communities of color. “Eunice has the ability and desire to help out people and meet them where they are at,” said Kiley, who leads the Initiative Foundation’s Emerging Leaders program. “She’s truly interested in supporting them in their transition to living in greater Minnesota.”

Hedy Tripp, an adjunct lecturer at SCSU’s department of Ethnic and Women’s Studies, agrees. She has known Adjei-Bosompem since she first moved to town and Tripp was the administrator of Create CommUNITY. Tripp witnessed her struggles. “When you come anywhere as an immigrant it can be really difficult,” she said. “The language is difficult. Understanding the culture of the place is difficult.” But Tripp also saw Adjei-Bosompem’s promise and encouraged her young friend to apply for her job at Create CommUNITY, which she did.

Firm Foundation

Even though she has now stepped into the role of community leader, Adjei-Bosompem hasn’t forgotten what it felt like to be a lonely, scared college student. She feels indebted to mentors such as Tripp for helping her get her feet on the ground.

“I was lucky to find so much support,” Adjei-Bosompem said.

“But that doesn’t happen for everyone who comes here. It is very hard to be a minority person in this community. You need someone to help teach you the ropes.”

She’s committed to teaching others how to handle those sometimes-slippery ropes. Sometimes she’s helping strangers. Other times the connection is more personal, including when her brother, Emmanuel Oppong, came to Minnesota to study at SCSU in 2009. As soon as he got to town, Adjei-Bosompem helped lay the foundation for his success. “I took him everywhere, introduced him

16 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

LOCAL LEADERS: SCSU professor Debra Leigh (left) and Adjei-Bosompem strive to give newcomers the support they need to thrive in Central Minnesota.

to everyone,” she said. “I knew it was important. If you don’t have someone to show you the way, you aren’t going to go anywhere.”

Debra Leigh, professor of theatre and film studies and lead organizer for the Community Anti-Racism Education Initiative at SCSU, agrees. Without support from others, people’s hopes of a new life can crumble and slip away. “When I first came to St. Cloud, I saw a revolving door of people of color that come into the community,” Leigh said. “They stay for a year or two and then they are out of here.

The reason is they don’t always enjoy the same successes as their white counterparts. In order to enjoy the same success, you have to know the ropes, to get the support you need.”

In only 10 years, Adjei-Bosompem has become indispensable to her new hometown. “She has her finger on the pulse of the community,” said Leigh. “She’s not afraid to speak up or speak out, not afraid to be in front of a group and tackle difficult issues. She’s come so far in such a short time. And she’s taking the rest of us with her.”

Adjei-Bosompem hopes that her minority leadership program will be one way that St. Cloud can create more economic opportunities for people of color. “This program is a legacy I’d like to build,” she said. “I’d like it to be ongoing, creating a strong pool of candidates for leadership. When people of color rise to levels of community influence, they will create more opportunity for others.”

Building a strong pool of multicultural leaders in Central Minnesota will take time, but Adjei-Bosompem says she’s committed to seeing this initiative through. She used to tell the folks back home that she’d only stay in the United States as long as it took to earn her degree, but now she’s changed her mind. She’s determined to make the region her home.

“After all these years in Minnesota I’m finally getting into winter sports,” she said. “Last winter I went ice fishing. It was a little crazy, but I just had to experience it.”

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community

BRAIN GAIN: Researcher Ben Winchester (right) has found that more and more young people like Tesla and Matthew Apple (shown with their son, Dane) want to relocate to small towns.

Rural Rebound Forget about the “brain drain.” Young families are moving back to small towns across Central Minnesota.

By Elizabeth Foy Larsen | Photography by John Linn

It was the midwestern warmth that made Tesla Apple know she’d made the right decision to move her young family to Sandstone. “A man at the gas station held the door open for me,” she remembers of her first few days as a newcomer last winter. And when she was driving down the highway and an oncoming driver gave her a wave—well, that sealed it.

Apple and her husband, Matthew, had been following his promotions as an employee in the federal prison system, eventually landing in Berlin, N.H., a former mill town on the edge of the White Mountains. But even though Matthew’s career was charging ahead to the point where they were able to buy their first home, a beautiful old Victorian, their life wasn’t settled. “We had no friends and no family,” Apple said. “And the city was suffering. Unemployment was high and so was the welfare rate. Neither of us was happy.”

The Apples wanted to raise their 2-year-old son, Dane, in a small community. Matthew had happy memories of growing up in Sandstone and liked the idea of being closer to his family. So when a job at the

nearby correctional institution opened up, they jumped at the chance, despite the fact that Tesla had visited the Central Minnesota town for all of five minutes while driving to a friend’s wedding. “I got the vibe that it was a Midwestern hometown,” she remembers of her first impression. “And that’s what I wanted for my son.”

At a time when the headlines might make you think young people are fleeing small towns so quickly there’s no one left the turn off the lights in the tattoo parlors, the Apples are an example of a different trend: Young families who are choosing to relocate to rural America. In fact, a study by University of Minnesota extension fellow Ben Winchester shows that while 18- to 25-year-olds do leave their hometowns after high school—a phenomenon known as the “brain drain”—there is also an ongoing migration to these towns of 30- to 49-year-old adults and their children. In many cases, those moving into rural communities offset, or even surpass, the numbers of those moving away, which Winchester calls a “brain gain.”

Pew Research Center reports that 51 percent of Americans say they would prefer to live in a rural area or small town. “People of all walks of life are interested in living in a rural community,” said CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

18 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

Our community, our home.

ANDERSON BROTHERS Family Fund

Serving Quality People, Quality Places With over seventy five years of fostering community growth, we’ve become attached to the communities we’ve helped build. The Anderson Brothers Family Fund, administered in partnership with the Initiative Foundation, helps strengthen the regional economy, works to preserve the environment, and supports the children and families in central Minnesota.

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Community Asset Profiles Region Five wants to know: What you love about your community.

What aspirations you have for your community.

Why does this matter?

• Strengthen rural community by a process to identify and build upon assets • Receive and share the story of the character of our communities • Understanding of the assets that each of our communities offer and how collaboration between our communities can be effective For more information or to participate in your community’s profile workshop, contact: Dawn Espe Regional Development Planner 218-894-3233 x3 despe@regionfive.org www.regionfive.org www.resilientregion.org

The mission of Region Five is to enhance the vitality and quality of life in Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties.

he help you need.

T At your place or ours.

For more information about our communities and agencies in the Brainerd Lakes and Pine River area, call (218) 820-8975 or visit good-sam.com/brainerdlakes.

All faiths or beliefs are welcome. 13-G0510

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community, continued from page 18

“ People of all walks of life are interested in living in a rural community. As our urban areas have gotten wider, people want to live in less dense environments.”

Winchester. “As our urban areas have gotten wider, people want to live in less dense environments.”

Rapid Changes

With a population of just over 2,800, Sandstone certainly has a lot to offer young families like the Apples. Bordered on three sides

by Banning State Park, the town sits just above the Kettle River, which is famous across the region for its class 4 white water rapids.

Robinson Park, a former quarry on the river, is an idyllic place to hike, fish, boulder and ice climb, not to mention hang out and enjoy a picnic. Programs at the schools and the library provide enrichment opportunities for the town’s preschoolers. And community-building events give neighbors a chance to get to know each other. “Sandstone has been doing a great job of building its neighborhoods through block parties and other activities during the past five years,” said Dan Frank, the Initiative Foundation’s senior program manager for community and economic development. Frank worked with the town when it took part in the Foundation’s Thriving Communities Initiative, which helps local communities develop a common vision and a plan for improving the economy and quality of life. “That’s unusual for smaller rural communities, but you can see how much it’s paying off in the number of young families moving to the town.”

Sandstone also has the everyday necessities, including Chris’ Food Center, a gorgeous, locally owned supermarket with its own butcher and bakery. A new health care campus with a hospital, clinic, pharmacy and attached assisted living and memory care unit will be a huge benefit when it opens in early 2017. Two new restaurants, both catering to a crowd that wants healthier alternatives to burgers and fries, have sprung up in the past year.

“Sandstone is making changes to accommodate what’s changing

in society,” said Apple. “It’s not stuck in a rut.” And if you do get a craving for Ethiopian food or need the variety of clothing retailers offered at a mall, Duluth is an easy one-hour drive and it takes roughly ninety minutes to get to the Twin Cities.

New Perspectives

It’s not just the newcomers who benefit from Sandstone’s version of the good life. In addition to enrolling their children in local schools, transplants often import a dynamic sense of enthusiasm and possibility. “People who grew up elsewhere bring new ideas and energy to our town,” said Sam Griffith, Sandstone city administrator. “They have other perspectives and connections that reinforce that it’s a bigger world out there.”

They also replace retiring workers in education, agriculture and the healthcare industry. While Tesla Apple works part-time at the Chamber of Commerce, it’s not uncommon for newcomers to be self-employed or to telecommute, a trend Winchester sees as positive for the long-term growth of Minnesota towns. “Thankfully, we don’t have a single industry dominating our towns anymore,” he said. “We want our employment base to be diversified.”

Less than a year after their move, the Apples feel settled in Sandstone. In addition to her work with the Chamber, Tesla joined the Sandstone Quarry Lions Club and became a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Matthew has joined the volunteer fire department. “I already know 75 percent of the town,” she laughs.

And Sandstone has made an impact on Apple, too. “For the first time in my life I’m in a bowling league,” she said. It’s safe to assume that as more and more young people move to small towns, she won’t be the only Millennial to discover the joy in strikes and spares.

BRAIN GAIN MATHEMATICS

In 2010, a group of rural Minnesota leaders commissioned University of Minnesota Extension to study the economic impact of newcomers in five rural counties in southwestern Minnesota. Key findings include:

3 T he surveyed newcomers reported $6.6 million in

household income in 2009 and 2010. This equates to an average household income of $66,000.

3 N ew, expanded or relocated businesses owned

by the newcomers reported spending an average of $108,000 each year in the region.

20 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

3 The total economic impact of the surveyed newcomers’

business and household spending is $9.1 million, encompassing 174 jobs and $7.2 million in labor income (including wages, salaries, and benefits).

3 Top industries impacted by the presence of newcomers in the

community include wholesale and retail trade, food and drinking establishments, housing and health care.

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YEARS

A Model for Moving Forward FORGED IN CRISIS 30 YEARS AGO, the Minnesota Initiative Foundations have become a model for rural philanthropy, economic development and forward thinking.

Laura Billings Coleman | Illustrations by Chris McAllister

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Greater Minnesota’s once strong natural resource-based economic engines—forestry, agriculture and mining—were significantly disrupted during the mid-1980s.

The meeting was called to order one August night in 1985, in a crowded room just above a restaurant in Byron, Minn., population 1,715.

Turnout was high, and the temperature was higher, remembers Ken Trom, who drove from his home in Blooming Prairie to add his voice to a conversation taking place in coffee shops, school auditoriums and conference rooms in rural communities around the state.

The question on the table: What will it take to get Greater Minnesota working again?

While the nationwide recession was nearing its end, rural Minnesota was still reeling from almost a decade of bad news: mass layoffs in the mining industry on the Iron Range, a farm crisis that had foreclosed fifth-generation farms, major losses in manufacturing jobs and a steady migration of young people who could no longer see their future in Greater Minnesota.

From Trom’s point of view as a small town banker, “The economy was a shambles, and there was just no capital to get things going. We were educating our kids, then watching them move away to earn their living. It was all outflow.”

Minnesota’s rural areas could foresee little relief from philanthropic investments, which accounted for just 9 percent of charitable dollars contributed in the state in 1982, compared to 66 percent for the metro area. Alarmed by the growing disparities between urban and rural community assets, the Minneapolisbased McKnight Foundation, then the state’s largest philanthropic organization, set out on a series of road trips across the state, following the headlines and visiting hard-hit areas.

Using the state’s Regional Development Commission regions as a road map, McKnight Foundation CEO Russ Ewald, board chair Virginia McKnight Binger and other members of the familyled foundation “traveled around the state, hauling a trailer full of

24 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

their luggage, and did a whole series of listening sessions,” said Neal Cuthbert, McKnight’s current vice president of program.

After more than a year of community assessment meetings and less formal conversations with farmers, miners, civic leaders and small business owners, McKnight trustees knew a recovery plan for rural Minnesota couldn’t be driven from an office in Minneapolis.

Instead, they committed to an unprecedented strategy to create six separate regional entities across the state—the Minnesota Initiative Foundations—with missions and priorities that would be set by the people they served.

At the first regional priorities meeting for what would become the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, Trom remembers the heat in the second floor room was stifling—yet more than 30 stakeholders stayed through the night. “It must have been a hundred degrees up there, but that meeting started, and holy smokes, it went on all the way until morning,” he said. McKnight senior program officer Nancy Latimer led the discussion, “and we came up with a whole wall full of ideas and then we grouped them into four columns—economic development, human needs, natural resources and rural leadership,” Trom said. “Those were the four areas where we thought we could start making a difference.”

As morning came, the meeting finally broke up, but the plan the group outlined for their region felt like a turning point to Trom, who would go on to become the board’s first treasurer. “We had no idea what we were getting into, but it gave us hope,” he said. “The thing that the Minnesota Initiative Foundations brought to rural Minnesota was the empowerment of local leaders. McKnight made us feel like we already had the right answers, and with some help and encouragement, we could move mountains.”

BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS: From the beginning, the Minnesota Initiative Foundations were ready partners as businesses came out of the mid-1980s poised for growth and expansion in a new economy.

Within just a year of their launch in 1986, the Minnesota Initiative Foundations began changing the economic landscape of rural Minnesota, more than doubling charitable giving in outstate areas.

A New Model

Thirty years later, the six sister Minnesota Initiative Foundations are still in the mountain-moving business, empowering rural communities with a flexible business model forged by the unique needs of each region. Referred to collectively as the “MIFs,” the Initiative Foundation, serving Central Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota Foundation, West Central Initiative, the Northland Foundation, Southwest Initiative Foundation and Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation together have awarded nearly 32,000 grants in Greater Minnesota, leveraging nearly $190 million for everything from innovations in early childhood education, to building the capacity of regional nonprofits, to coordinating disaster relief for small towns devastated by tornados and floods.

Within just a year of their launch in 1986, the six foundations began changing the economic landscape of rural Minnesota, more than doubling charitable giving in outstate areas, an infusion fueled largely by The McKnight Foundation’s deep investment. In the years since, McKnight has invested a total of $285 million in the six regional entities, contributions that have helped leverage an additional $270 million to benefit Greater Minnesota.

The McKnight Foundation’s commitment to what was then still a “great experiment” in rural philanthropy inspired Kathy Gaalswyk,

MCKNIGHT VISIONARIES: Russ Ewald, past executive director of The McKnight Foundation, and Virginia McKnight Binger, former McKnight Foundation board president.

the former executive director of the Region 5 Development Commission, to apply to head up the Initiative Foundation in Little Falls—a role she’s had ever since.

“Finding a new economic model for rural Minnesota was very personal to me,” said Gaalswyk, whose husband and father-in-law were forced to shut down their multi-generation Pillager-area farm in 1993. “During those years I’d be spending my days at meetings talking about how to make rural Minnesota less dependent on agriculture, and then I’d come home at night to a kitchen table where we were trying to figure out if we could pay the bills or if we needed to give up the farm. It made the stakes very, very real.”

Sherry Ristau, long-time president of the Southwest Initiative Foundation and now the president of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, which serves Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, saw the same struggle play out in her corner of the state. “In 1982, I married a guy who was destined to take over the family farm, and by 1986 his father and uncle had to sell it at auction because of the farm crisis,” she said. “We needed to diversify the economy, and the need was urgent.”

The crisis wasn’t limited to agricultural areas. Some towns in northeast Minnesota’s Iron Range suffered from unemployment rates of more than 20 percent. A billboard on Interstate 35 made the region’s pain all too clear when it asked, “Will the last one leaving Duluth please turn out the light?”

Each of the six foundations started up with two years of seed funding from The McKnight Foundation, but no prescribed plan for how to proceed. “Philanthropy didn’t have that much of a formal presence in Greater Minnesota, so there was just a lot we didn’t know,” Gaalswyk remembered. But she and other early leaders credit their lack of prior experience with charitable giving regulations

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Tom Renier, now-retired founding president of the Northland Foundation, with his wife, Debbie.

Jim Binger, McKnight board member and the husband of Virginia McKnight Binger, tries out grant-funded gym equipment during a site visit.

Inaugural Initiative Foundation board members, including John Kuester (foreground), created the framework for the Foundation today.

“ Rural Minnesota is in a much better position now, 30 years later, because of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations. They’ve provided what was lacking during the crisis in the 1980s: A positive catalyst for change.”

– John Kuester, Initiative Foundation founding board member Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) programs give high schoolers a headstart on their careers.

for leading them toward one of the earliest and most enduring innovations—providing gap funding to small businesses and startups that couldn’t qualify for traditional bank loans.

“McKnight had asked us all to think about what we could do for economic development. We told them the lack of business capital was killing entrepreneurship and stifling growth and contributing to all of the social ills to go along with poverty and unemployment,” said Tom Renier, retired president of the Duluth-based Northland Foundation, which serves the seven-county Arrowhead region.

“Coming up with some way to do community lending was definitely not the answer McKnight was expecting, but I’ll never forget Russ Ewald saying, ‘Well, if I didn’t want to hear the answer, I shouldn’t have asked the question.’”

McKnight and its legal team brought the idea to the IRS, making the case that community lending in stagnant rural economies with high poverty and unemployment rates qualified as a charitable activity. The federal government agreed, and authorized the six foundations to add business lending to their list of community services—an only-in-Minnesota model that continues to spark national interest.

“The community lending piece of the (Minnesota Initiative Foundation) model is so ahead of its time, and it makes a ton of sense,” said Trista Harris, president of the Minnesota Council on Foundations. To date, the six foundations have provided $200 million in business financing to 4,100 companies across Greater Minnesota. The lending activity have leveraged $1.3 billion in private investment while securing 42,000 jobs. “As far as we know, we’re the only foundations in the country that have this special IRS ruling,” Gaalswyk said. “This was new ground for community foundations.”

Foundations Without Fences

While early leaders can all remember how Russ Ewald raised

26 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

his eyebrows at the idea of community lending, McKnight president Kate Wolford says it’s no surprise that Ewald went on to champion their approach with real conviction. “I would say that risk-taking has always been part of the DNA at McKnight,” she said, starting with its founder William L. McKnight, 3M’s influential CEO. “If you put fences around people, you get sheep,” he used to say. “Give people the room they need.”

Wolford sees that philosophy at work today in the way each foundation has marked out its own territory and regional identity, cultivating ideas from the ground up in a style not always seen in responsive philanthropy. “One of the brilliant things in the design of the (Minnesota Initiative Foundations) is that even though their structure may be similar, there was also a real willingness to let their work reflect the particularities of a region,” she said.

From the beginning, West Central Initiative became a driving force on workforce development, moving to fill the gap left by the collapse of the area’s Regional Development Corporation, and putting dislocated farmers and agricultural workers at the center of their first programs. “We wanted to be proactive,” said Roger McCannon, who served as the director of continuing education and regional programs at the University of Minnesota, Morris, which served as West Central’s fiscal sponsor before the foundation was fully fledged. A co-chair of the planning committee behind the Minnesota Initiative Foundation movement in west central Minnesota, and later founder of the Center for Small Towns, McCannon says, “We didn’t want to be sitting in a chair at a foundation waiting for good ideas to come to us, we wanted to be out in the community.”

West Central Initiative also sounded the alarm when statewide demographic projections for the region showed a workforce shortage on the horizon. “At the time, business owners could put an ad in the paper and get 50 applications, so the projections didn’t

Nancy Latimer, past senior program officer for The McKnight Foundation, worked tirelessly for early childhood initiatives.

Lind-Rite in Osakis benefited from West Central Initiative’s incumbent worker training.

Shovels in the ground signify economic progress and a commitment to the region at Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.

“ We needed to diversify the economy beyond agriculture, and the need was urgent.”

Glenn Krog donated his farm to support his community of Lake Benton.

feel real,” said former West Central CEO Nancy Straw, now the director of community and economic development at the Ford Family Foundation in Oregon. But West Central didn’t wait for the downturn, leading a Labor Force Development Council that met regularly, and launching the Workforce 2020 program to help employers invest in high-tech training for incumbent employees.

“We found that companies were more willing to invest in training when they knew the employees were a good fit, and the training they got made workers more productive,” Straw said. “If your company thinks enough of you to invest in you, it also makes you more loyal.

It’s an equation where everyone wins.”

“We’re the only (Minnesota Initiative Foundation) that took that approach, continually training our employees to be better, but I think our Workforce 2020 program really equipped this region for the future,” said Sandy King, West Central’s vice president of operations.

“I think it shows not just in the businesses that are thriving in the region, but also in the wages our employers are paying their workers.”

The defining work of the Northland Foundation in northeast Minnesota grew from a very different landscape—one that already included established community funds that helped support the work of the region’s nonprofits. “There were already organizations serving those roles and doing it well, but we knew we had to raise a bunch of money to be successful,” said Renier, who served as Northland’s president from 1986 until his retirement in 2014. “We also knew it would be counterproductive to be knocking on the same doors as the organizations we were created to support, so I would say it became a sort of unspoken part of our mission to raise as much money as we could from outside the region and invest it back here, and by and large, we were successful.”

In fact, over the last 30 years, nine out of 10 dollars the Northland Foundation raised came from outside the seven-county area, including major gifts from Otto Bremer Foundation and the

Promoting literacy is a high priority of the White Earth Early Childhood Initiative, which is supported by West Central Initiative.

Margaret A. Cargill Foundation as well as investments from national and state funding sources. “Our task was to convince donors and funders and the state and the federal government about the common interests we all had in making this region work,” he said.

Meanwhile in southwestern Minnesota, capturing the capital that lay in the region’s more than six million acres of farmland became a major part of the mission at Southwest Initiative Foundation, where president and CEO Diana Anderson got her start as development director. “I remember traveling around the region, and in every community I saw organizations struggling to involve farm families in charitable giving,” she said. “It’s not a lack of generosity. The reality is farmers often have assets tied up in the land and equipment. That’s what got us to thinking about finding a way to capture the philanthropic wealth of southwestern Minnesota in a more unique way.”

That idea led to one of Southwest’s signature programs, Keep It GrowingSM, a flexible tool for rural philanthropy that makes it possible for the foundation to accept gifts of farmland without being required to sell the property. The program even allows for gift agreements that can keep tillable land in production for years to come while Southwest serves as managers and stewards of the land.

Anderson says the Keep It Growing programSM is a perfect reflection of Southwest’s 18-county landscape, nearly 80 percent of it farmland. “Our farmers want to keep their land legacy going, and supporting their community is a great benefit to go with it.”

Learning from Each Other

Plowing farmland into philanthropy has proven to be such a winning plan that regional versions of the strategy have sprouted up at the sister foundations, too—one of several programs that have cross-pollinated between the Minnesota Initiative Foundations thanks to their regular gatherings throughout the year.

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Worthington residents share what they envision for the town during a 1995 community convening.

Early Northwest Minnesota Foundation board members included (front row) Kathy Craddock; Bruce Hamnes; Norma Hanson; (back row) Paul Stankovich; John Ostrem; Jack Downing; Bishop Victor Balke; and Tom Jorgens.

The Initiative Foundation’s Youth as Resources program enlisted young leaders to issue grant money to youth-led community projects.

“ The community lending piece of the (Minnesota Initiative Foundation) model is so ahead of its time, and it makes a ton of sense.”

The Northland Foundation launched KIDS PLUS in 1991 to more directly connect children and youth with caring adults.

“Another real strength of the (organizations) is that while they’re independent from one another, they’re also a cohort group that can learn with and from each other,” said Wolford. “The sense of isolation, of there not being enough people to do the work in rural Minnesota, is very real, so one thing we’ve heard over the years is how much the (foundations) value having the opportunity to network, and even do some programming together on an issue.”

One statewide issue that all of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations have embraced is early childhood education, a collective effort that Tim Penny, president and CEO of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, believes has “really moved the needle on making sure our kids are ready for school”—but from a variety of different angles. For the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, early childhood efforts have had a strong emphasis on literacy, with 20 AmeriCorps Learning Early Achieves Potential (LEAP) members placed annually in early childhood settings (an effort bolstered by many local book donation partnerships), while West Central Initiative, faced with a shortage of childcare providers, launched a loan program that encourages qualified providers to train and pay for the necessary licensure to become daycare providers.

The health of children and families has become a hallmark of early childhood investments, which includes a pilot project embraced by all Minnesota Initiative Foundations called the Thrive Initiative that aims to support healthy social and emotional development of children birth to age 5 with a special emphasis on birth to age 3.

Hearing her cohorts from all six foundations weigh in at meetings with new findings and fresh angles on statewide challenges several times each year is one of the things Southwest’s Anderson likes best about the Minnesota Initiative Foundation model. “When we’re together, it’s like having a 360-degree view of Greater Minnesota,” as well as a sounding board for concerns, and a signal of things to come.

For instance, immigration has been a headline story in Central 28 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

West Central’s Tri-State Manufacturing Association supports “DreamIt!DoIt!,” a high school robotics programs.

Minnesota for nearly a decade, as Somali refugees and other foreign-born immigrants began settling in and around St. Cloud, while aging communities like Long Prairie were transformed by an influx of younger hispanic families, who traveled north for jobs in the area’s meat-packing plants. As these new neighbors have settled, the Initiative Foundation has worked to ease their cultural transition, supporting local micro-loan programs to help foreignborn entrepreneurs start new businesses, and launching a new Emerging Leaders program to tap and develop the increasingly diverse talent pool poised to replace the leadership of more than 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day in the United States.

“In my region, the last big influx of immigrants arrived when my ancestors came here five generations ago,” said Nancy Vyskocil, president of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation. “So as we move into more workforce shortages and there’s a push to bring in more immigrant workers, I can really learn from my counterparts at the Initiative Foundation and in other regions who are already learning about the challenges and opportunities that go along with that kind of population change.”

A More Resilient Minnesota

Cohort learning has been a critical part of the model, one that’s rooted in a culture of Minnesota Nice. “Collegiality trumps competitiveness,” Cuthbert said. “Each one of the (foundations) has a different constellation of work, their own success stories, and a role as a real leader in rural Minnesota. They’re nonpartisan but they’re not neutral on what matters, and that’s why people trust them.”

Over the years, the unusual flexibility of the Minnesota Initiative Foundation model of rural philanthropy has attracted national notice as a strategy for pulling far-flung rural communities into a united regional force, said Janet Topolsky, the director of the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group. “In rural

“ The real lesson we’ve learned from the (Minnesota Initiative Foundations) is that when you empower people they exceed your expectations.”

– Neal Cuthbert, McKnight Foundation, Vice President of Program

Current Minnesota Initiative Foundation presidents include (front, left to right): Diana Anderson, Southwest Initiative Foundation; Nancy Vyskocil, Northwest Minnesota Foundation; Tony Sertich, Northland Foundation. Back row, left to right: Tim Penny, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation; Kathy Gaalswyk, Initiative Foundation; Brad Barth, West Central Initiative; and Neal Cuthbert, vice president for programs at The McKnight Foundation.

places you have this phenomenon where there’s a place but there’s no overt identity,” due to competing jurisdictions, tax bases and decision-making bodies. Organizations like the Minnesota Initiative Foundations “are a natural player to pull people together and find common ground—plus on top of that they’re the most flexible form of nonprofit around,” capable of managing community funds, grant making and community lending.

As each foundation has evolved, McKnight funding has made up less and less of each organization’s operational budget, now providing for less than one-fifth of total annual revenues. “In the early years, when we were still 90 percent dependent on McKnight funding, they used to ask a lot of questions about our sustainability plan and what it would mean for us if their support went away,” said the Initiative Foundation’s Gaalswyk. “But a while ago, they stopped asking because I think it became clear that no matter what, we were here to stay.”

“McKnight could have stopped funding the (foundations) 10 years ago and they’d be fine, but we support them at this point in time because of strategy, not out of dependence,” said Cuthbert. “We have statewide concerns, and they help us meet our mission.”

While each organization can point to the direct impact of their work—from grants made to jobs retained and dollars leveraged— Cuthbert believes they also helped buffer Greater Minnesota against the 2008 recession. “If you look at the most recent recession, rural Minnesota did better than the metro by nearly all measures, and there were even some parts of the state that hardly felt the recession at all,” he said. “That’s what the (Minnesota Initiative Foundations) have been working on for 30 years, and I believe they deserve real credit for creating a more resilient Greater Minnesota.”

Over the last year, three of the foundations have welcomed new leadership—Brad Barth, the new CEO and President of West Central Initiative, Tony Sertich, the new president of Northland Foundation, and Diana Anderson, the new CEO and president of

Southwest Initiative Foundation.

As commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, Sertich says he saw firsthand how an organization like the Northland Foundation acts as a conduit. “Northland has always been about nurturing relationships and facilitating collaborations to strengthen our rural communities,” he said. “The opportunity to continue building on 30 years of incredible work is once-in-alifetime, and I’m excited about the next 30 years.”

As these new leaders forge new paths in their regions, Renier predicts that the challenges and opportunities they face will look very different than they did 30 years ago, when Northland and its five sister organizations were founded. “One of the first grants we ever made was to Lutheran Social Services for a relocation fund to help move families off the Range and into the Twin Cities,” he said. “It was a painful thing for us to do, and a painful project for us to fund, but I don’t think you’re going to see that kind of exodus from rural Minnesota anymore.” In fact, as Penny points out, many pockets of small town Minnesota are enjoying a rural renaissance of sorts, with growing local food scenes, creative agribusinesses like bio fuels, and even a “brain gain” of young people choosing to return to where they were planted, starting families and new businesses closer to their roots.

Since that first community priorities meeting for the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation 30 years ago, in fact, Bryon, Minn., has more than tripled in size, with an estimated population of 5,191.

When Ken Trom encounters a new business owner in his corner of southern Minnesota, “I’ll ask them if they’ve ever heard of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations, and all the time I hear people say ‘well, sure, if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here.’

“It’s good to hear,” said Trom. “Because I know we made a difference.”

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Timeline

1986

The IRS issues a special ruling allowing the Minnesota Initiative Foundations to provide business loans. The designation remains unique to Minnesota and has resulted in collective lending of more than $240 million since inception.

1988

The six Minnesota Initiative Foundations are founded by The McKnight Foundation and incorporated to serve the 80 counties of Greater Minnesota.

To date, McKnight has provided $285 million to fortify the foundations’ ongoing work.

Meet the MIFs

The Minnesota Initiative Foundations mark 10 years of economic and community development in Greater Minnesota with about $55 million in combined revolving loan fund assets.

THE SIX MINNESOTA INITIATIVE FOUNDATIONS REFLECT THE UNIQUE ASSETS OF EVERY CORNER OF GREATER MINNESOTA

NORTHWEST Minnesota Foundation:

NORTHLAND Foundation:

“With about 175,000 people spread across 14,400 square miles, we’re about as rural as it gets,” said Nancy Vyskocil, president of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation headquartered in Bemidji.

Those wide-open spaces have fostered one of the most entrepreneurial corners of the state, spawning such innovative businesses as Arctic Cat, Polaris, Marvin Windows and Digi-Key. With agricultural assets along the Red River Valley to the west, two strong tribal nations, and a tourism economy in the region’s scenic eastern lakes and pines, Northwest Minnesota Foundation provides training and technical assistance and uses grant making, small business lending and an annual IDEA competition to keep the region’s spirit of independence and ingenuity going strong. To date, the foundation has made grants and loans totaling $57 million to support northwest Minnesota.

The wellbeing of children and families is at the heart of Northland’s work—from helping to create family-sustaining jobs to developing young leaders to strengthening early childhood efforts. Nationally known for its comprehensive KIDS PLUS Program, which started in 1990, the Northland Foundation is now leading the way in the Arrowhead Region within its “Aging with Independence” priority to strengthen the network of aging services and ignite intergenerational programs and civic engagement for seniors in the northeast corner of the state, demographically the “grayest” population in Minnesota. Northland’s robust business finance program is another core priority, providing businesses and nonprofits with critical resources to the tune of $60 million to date, helping create or retain more than 7,000 local jobs.

30 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

1996

WEST CENTRAL Initiative: Workforce development has been the driving force at Fergus Falls-based West Central Initiative, helping to create and retain 7,000 well-paying jobs through its Workforce 2020 incumbent worker training program. To date, West Central Initiative has delivered more than $88 million in grants and business finance loans while also providing component fund management. West Central Initiative plays an additional role by serving as the home base for Minnesota Economic Development Region IV and contracts with the Economic Development Administration and the Minnesota Department of Transportation to coordinate planning for the nine-county area.

The McKnight Foundation and the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations launch the Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative to help rural communities support young children and their families. Today, there are more than 90 communitydriven coalitions in Greater Minnesota.

2003

2006 Combined, the Minnesota Initiative Foundations have community-boosting endowment assets of about $260 million as they celebrate their 20th anniversary.

At 30 years, the Minnesota Initiative Foundations continue to champion Greater Minnesota prosperity through the collective dispersal of $430 million in grants and loans since inception.

2016

The Minnesota Initiative Foundation endowments are investment accounts in which the principal gradually grows but is never spent. Annual earnings provide ongoing support for grants, programs and initiatives.

INITIATIVE Foundation:

From downtown St. Cloud to the 500 lakes surrounding Brainerd and beyond, the Initiative Foundation in Little Falls serves a diverse landscape in Central Minnesota. Its focus is the economy, community and philanthropy of the region, with an emphasis on early childhood initiatives, community and economic development collaborations and the preservation and celebration of Central Minnesota’s assets and natural resources. Now with an influx of new neighbors fueling a more diverse economy, the Foundation is taking the lead on identifying immigration as a valuable economic driver with new programs aimed at developing next-generation leaders. Since its inception, the Initiative Foundation has trained more than 7,000 community leaders across the spectrum of its programs and offerings.

SOUTHERN Minnesota Initiative Foundation: Owatonna-based Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation to date has invested more than $55 million through grants and loans in its 20-county region. The foundation’s grants and investments support economic development and early childhood efforts that encourage regional innovation and collaboration. One example is Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s Community Growth Initiative grant program, which fosters cross-sector conversations to get communities working together to address regional issues. Community funds that strengthen small towns have been a special focus of the foundation, which administers more than 20 major funds from Blue Earth to Zumbro Valley.

SOUTHWEST Initiative Foundation: Seeding new enterprise in the traditionally agricultural corner of southwestern Minnesota has been central to Hutchinson-based Southwest Initiative Foundation. Business finance and microlending are core functions, including its Center for Rural Entrepreneurship—a onestop online shop for resources and financing opportunities. Renewable energy represents a different kind of crop and, along with food and agriculture, bioscience and manufacturing, is a priority investment opportunity. Southwest has a long history of forging partnership and uniting volunteers and donors around local needs, a big driver of which is the foundation’s family of 120 hosted partner funds. To date, the foundation has made grants and loans totaling $70 million to support southwest Minnesota.

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When disaster strikes, towns need to engage the entire community to rebuild and repair. HERE’S HOW.

By Gene Rebeck | Photography by John Linn

32 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

A SOLID LOCAL PLAN IS CRUCIAL because all disasters are local and are most effectively handled at the level closest to the people.

TO THE RESCUE: Rob Mason (left), East Gull Lake’s city administrator and John Bowen, the emergency management director of Crow Wing County’s Sheriff’s Office.

On Sunday, July 12, a storm bearing powerful straight-line winds roared through the Brainerd IT WAS BAD, Lakes area during the early evening hours. It flattened thousands of trees and hundreds of utility poles, ALL RIGHT. BUT IT knocking out power between Brainerd and Nisswa during the height of the summer tourist season.

COULD HAVE BEEN Fortunately, there were no deaths and no major injuries. What’s more, authorities were largely SO MUCH WORSE. prepared for just such a disaster. Minnesota cities and counties are required to have an emergency response plan, which includes designating an emergency manager to coordinate rescue and volunteer efforts. From all reports, the emergency managers, fire and police officials and numerous volunteer groups skillfully handled the storm’s aftermath.

But there’s a layer of long-term support that often goes unfulfilled. While counties, cities and towns have response plans for public safety and infrastructure, many lack a centralized plan to handle the recovery needs of community members in the weeks and months after a disaster. Helping communities prepare for the unexpected is the idea behind the Philanthropic Preparedness, Resiliency and Emergency Partnership (PRREP), which the Initiative Foundation launched as a pilot program this fall. The goal is to guide communities to a new sense of normal, particularly the 160-plus in the Foundation’s service area, by aligning civic, faith and nonprofit support systems following a disaster.

“Government plans tend to focus on urgent and shorter-term responses,” said Dan Frank, senior program manager for community and economic development at the Initiative Foundation. “It’s the civic groups, the faith communities and the nonprofits that often step in to provide long-term support. Most cities and towns have no plan for aligning these groups, especially when it comes to attending to the needs of low-income communities, senior citizens, immigrant communities, communities of color and others who often find themselves overlooked and underserved following a disaster.”

After the various government entities and organizations have finished clearing roads, reconnecting utilities and providing food and short-term shelter, it’s up to local communities

4TH QUARTER 2015

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to address long-term needs. That can include helping people navigate federal aid or insurance entanglements, getting businesses back open so workers can generate income, and supporting individuals who have lost wages or who are struggling with a post-traumatic response that can include anxiety and depression.

+ Quick Response

The Initiative Foundation is structuring its program based on Minnesota Department of Public Safety guidelines. Dennis Walter, volunteer resource coordinator for Homeland Security and Emergency Management, a division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, has worked with numerous small communities to prepare for and respond to disasters such as the Brainerd Lakes storm and the 2010 Wadena tornado. His advice to communities: Make your plan as solid as possible by including all of a community’s public, nonprofit and private sectors.

That way, when a disaster hits, “You have the right partners, you understand what they can do, and they understand what will be expected of them,” Walter said. “It speeds the eventual recovery.”

A solid local plan is crucial because “we all believe that all disasters are local. They are most effectively handled at the level closest to the people.” Along with fire and police departments, faith groups and local charitable organizations, local businesses should be invited to the table. Each of these allies has unique skill sets, social connections and access to different resources to provide labor, funding, management and professional services appropriate for the type and scale of disaster that has occurred.

All these resources were put to work following the July 2015 storm that roared through Cass and Crow Wing counties. John Bowen, Crow Wing County emergency management director, assessed the storm’s aftermath and quickly coordinated rescue and recovery. During the first 24 hours, Bowen needed to get into locations not accessible to vehicles. Once he had a sense of road conditions and the extent of the damage, he assembled all the response groups the morning after the storm. For the whole event, about 60 organizations were involved, including fire and police departments, state agencies and numerous volunteer groups, including the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. “I realized we all needed to get together as a group … to get a game plan together,” Bowen said.

+ Working Together

Responding to a disaster doesn’t end when the power is restored, the debris is cleared and those in need receive food and fresh water.

The 2010 Wadena tornado, for instance, destroyed 94 homes and 32 commercial buildings. And as the citizens of Wadena know, “the government doesn’t come in and rebuild everything,” Frank said.

“Folks have to figure out how to get that done on their own. That takes a lot of volunteers. It takes a lot of fundraising and becomes quite a process. Most communities aren’t prepared for the long-term recovery.”

After the Wadena tornado, the community found it had to meet those long-term needs itself. They learned and developed best practices for raising funds to help neighbors in need of financial CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) recommends taking these planning steps to help communities recover from a disaster.

Long-term recovery is the period following a disaster when the affected community and its residents work together to restore normalcy. A long-term recovery program is usually established by the community, often with outside assistance, and aims to help its most vulnerable residents through the recovery process.

Excerpted from the NVOAD long-term recovery quick reference guide.

Source: nvoad.org

34 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

1

Take a proactive stance: Build a team and organize for long-term recovery.

2

Assess your community’s disaster recovery needs.

3

Create a plan for how you will manage volunteers.

4

Establish roles and lines of communication for the team and for the community.

5

Make a plan for how you will handle donations of cash and goods.

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THE

PILLARS OF SUCCESS

As the Greater St. Cloud area embraces its location on the Mississippi River, philanthropy, collaboration and volunteers are helping the area prosper.

Including the communities of Greater St. Cloud | Sartell | Sauk Rapids | St. Augusta | St. Joseph | Waite Park

By Lisa Meyers McClintick | Photography by John Linn

By Lisa Meyers McClintick | Photography by John Linn

Save the Date

Better Together: The Greater St. Cloud Community Pillars Forum FRIDAY, FEB. 26

7:30 – 10 a.m.

River’s Edge Convention Center, St. Cloud Register to attend at stcloudcommunitypillars.eventbrite.com 36 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

BY GEORGE: A summertime concert series sponsored by the Rotary Club of St. Cloud has been a resounding success with an average of 11,300 attending each Wednesday night concert. (Photo courtesy of Rotary Club of St. Cloud and Granite City Photography)

“ Greater St. Cloud is a great place to call home and will only continue to get better by us imagining what the future of our community might be.”

It’s the last Wednesday before Labor Day, and an estimated 19,000 people have packed downtown St. Cloud’s Eastman Park. The Fabulous Armadillos have an all-ages crowd swaying to Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help from my Friends” and shouting out the letters to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” Weekly Summertime by George! concerts—named for the park’s popular lake—were launched five years ago by the Rotary Club of St. Cloud with the hope of drawing a few thousand people to downtown. Instead, the series exploded in popularity. On any given week the scene can include preschoolers sprinting through spurting fountains, young adults wobbling on paddleboards and parents reconnecting with neighbors in shady spots beneath the oaks. The scent of barbecue, caramel popcorn and fresh-cut grass wafts from the vendor area, where concertgoers line up for ice cream cones, shaved ice and cheesecake.

The concert series’ inception added velocity to a lineup of extensive Lake George improvements—a granite fountain and artwork, improved walking paths, native plantings and a new splash pad and playground to replace the old pool at the Lake George Municipal Complex. Quarterly art crawls and a farmers market also bring people downtown, helping to re-energize the historic commercial district and bolster the local economy.

It’s a scene that thrills the area’s residents. “They got a sense of community started, and they’ve nurtured it, “ said Brian Hooey, a musician, artist and automation technician who moved to St. Cloud with his two teenage sons in 2010. “This is something really special.”

The success of Summertime by George! showcases the kind of teamwork, vitality and success that community leaders aimed for when they came together five years ago to establish the Greater St. Cloud Community Priorities, a sweeping vision of the area’s assets and a road map for how St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Augusta, St. Joseph and Waite Park can strengthen and grow.

“Greater St. Cloud truly has all the resources to continue to build a great community,” said Kathy Gaalswyk, Initiative Foundation president. “The key to continuing to make the community better is a

common vision that engages people, encourages collaboration, and excites the larger community about what our community can be.”

With financial support from regional foundations and businesses, the talent and dedication of local volunteers and expertise and input from a variety of organizations that serve all sectors of the population, the initiative—renamed Community Pillars this year—encompasses anything from expanded recreation, wellness, arts and culture to increased lifelong education opportunities to boosting employment and supporting local businesses.

The Great River

The effort started in 2010, when the Central Minnesota Community Foundation (renamed Community Giving earlier this year) and the Initiative Foundation co-sponsored a group of local leaders on a fact-finding trip to Dubuque, Iowa, in search of ideas and inspiration. Iowa’s thriving city of more than 58,000 residents has earned national awards for its thoughtful and sustained business growth and for embracing its Mississippi riverfront. The visit resulted in a short list of priorities and the establishment of the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation (GSDC), a regional economic development organization that works with government entities, school districts, universities, health care providers, churches, philanthropic foundations and private businesses.

“Greater St. Cloud is a great place to call home and will only continue to get better by us imagining what the future of our community might be,” said Steve Joul, president of Community Giving. “It’s a diverse community with six municipalities, three counties and multiple civic-minded organizations, each with its own plans and visions for the areas they serve. The opportunity exists for us to continue to find priority areas we all share that will strengthen the region as a whole. In strengthening the whole, each individual partner is better off as well.”

Key among the community priorities is a renewed appreciation for how the Mississippi River is a natural resource and recreational

4TH QUARTER 2015

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asset that can benefit the entire community. “It’s kind of like the spinal cord running through our region,” said Patti Gartland, GSDC president. Not only is St. Cloud located on one of the river’s quietest and prettiest urban stretches, it’s home to the scenic Beaver Islands. In the past five years, public access areas have been added to the Mississippi and several of its tributaries, including the Watab and Sauk Rivers and river trips and recreation equipment rental businesses have expanded south of the University Bridge and the St. Cloud Dam. Long-distance bicyclists can now follow the Mississippi River Trail, which is marked with new signs.

Bigger projects include an $8.44 million riverside boardwalk to expand the popular Beaver Island Trail from the River’s Edge Convention Center to Fourth Street North. The city also is bidding for a future Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener in the hopes of drawing attention to the area and showcasing the river’s smallmouth bass fishing.

Improving Transportation

While trails promote community wellness, recreation and alternative transportation, St. Cloud area leaders also have been working to expand traditional transportation to and from Central Minnesota. They’ve encouraged Interstate 94 improvements between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud. They’ve lobbied to extend the Northstar commuter rail service north from Big Lake and invested heavily in airport improvements with the hope for better air service. Today, SkyWest links Central Minnesota to Mesa, Ariz., and Laughlin, Nev. Studies are underway to explore other options for expanded air services, which could in turn help attract new businesses.

A Vibrant Downtown

The success of Summertime by George! earned the St. Cloud Downtown Council a coveted Pinnacle Award from the International Downtown Association. But the concert series is just one of many reasons people are more actively embracing St. Cloud’s historic commercial core. On a summer evening, you’ll find people dining in front of The Pickled Loon, catching a performance at the historic Paramount Theatre & Visual Arts Center or Pioneer Place on Fifth, or pairing microbrews with jagerschnitzel or Vietnamese pho at The White Horse.

Business leaders are sinking millions into projects, including the renovation of the red-brick-and-granite First National Bank building and a new six-story, market-rate loft apartment dwelling.

The hope is that new downtown residences will attract tech businesses and millennials, who research shows prefer urban living where they can work and play. Meanwhile, initiatives such as AroundtheCloud.org keep residents informed of cultural events and entertainment opportunities, and GreaterStCloudJobSpot.com connects graduating students, newcomers (plus their spouses) and residents with career opportunities.

Overall, the downtown area has welcomed 24 new businesses in the past 18 months, with close to $9 million in commercial investments, according to Pegg Gustafson, president and CEO of St. Cloud Downtown Council. “We have a 3 percent storefront vacancy rate,” Gustafson said. “That’s a 14-year low. The national rate is between 14 and 15 percent. There’s momentum like never CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

38 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

GREATER

ST. CLOUD COMMUNITY

PILLARS: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT All people feel ownership in and connected to the broader community.

ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION All people have opportunities to engage in and take advantage of cultural, entertainment, recreational and well-being activities.

HOUSING All people have access to a full range of housing options.

INFRASTRUCTURE All people have affordable access to transportation and communication.

ECONOMY All people benefit from an increase in employment, wages and business vitality.

SAFETY Everyone feels secure and free from crime.

EDUCATION All people have access to lifelong educational opportunities.

WELLNESS The community will create sustainable environments to encourage healthy choices and to support mental and physical well-being.

GREEN The entire community grows in an environmentally sustainable manner with respect to our land, water and air resources.

The Greater St. Cloud Community Pillars is sponsored

by CentraCare Health Foundation, Community Giving, the Initiative Foundation, the Morgan Family Foundation, St. Cloud State University, the St. Cloud Times/Times Media and United Way of Central Minnesota.

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BE PREPARED CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34

and psychological support. They found ways to share the impact of the disaster so that people in Wadena and elsewhere would respond and contribute. And they organized volunteers and organizations to provide help for residents and businesses needing to rebuild but who lacked sufficient financial resources.

The communities hit by the July 12 Brainerd Lakes storm coordinated short-term response more or less according to plan. Still, there was an enormous amount of work that could be done only by volunteers. Some of these volunteers were local, but many were from outside the area and were coordinated through Minnesota Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (MNVOAD).

Setting up and managing the emergency hotline was Brainerd-based nonprofit Bridges of Hope, which Jana Shogren, the organization’s executive director, described as “a single point of entry in the community for families or individuals facing any sort of challenge or crisis.” As a connector and clearinghouse, Bridges of Hope set up the hotline (with help from Lutheran Social Services) and referred callers to organizations that could handle whatever crisis the storm had caused.

Some callers needed to get an emergency refill of their medications while others needed chainsaw crews or simply needed to know how they could get food and clean water. All told, the hotline received about 140 calls in the days following the storm. Emergency managers made sure the phone number was broadcast via public service announcements and online, as well as via word of mouth.

“We gave a call back to every household that reached out to us, to make sure their needs were fully taken care of,” Shogren said. Hotline operators HELPING HANDS: A relief center at Timberwood Church along Highway 371 in Nisswa provided water, ice, food and other services to storm victims. (Kelly Humphrey, Brainerd Dispatch)

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+ Long-term Needs

All told, the disaster response to the Brainerd area storm went as close to clockwork as it could. For long-term needs, the Bridges of Hope hotline remains open and the organization continues to stay in touch with Lutheran Social Services, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Cass and Crow Wing county officials should any longterm recovery issues arise.

The Initiative Foundation’s PPREP program will include a thorough checklist and will identify the community organizations that will be ready to respond and the roles they will play in the aftermath of a disaster. It will serve as a roadmap and will be available online so that “communities can do this on their own,” Frank said. By taking proactive, self-directed steps, “they’ll be able to recover in a way that’s faster, less painful and more effective.”

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connected callers who couldn’t clear trees on their own to a volunteer organization. In addition, after two or three days, “people’s emotional stress was taking a toll,” Shogren recalled. Bridges of Hope connected these callers to a local crisis line.

Other groups that emergency managers in the Brainerd Lakes area called out for praise are often overlooked in emergency situations—namely, local chambers of commerce. Bowen said chamber employees helped find hotel rooms and other accommodations for out-of-town responders and volunteers and organized food donations from local restaurants. The advantage of this kind of “whole community” response is that donors— whether they’re generous individuals, businesses, former residents or foundations—can more quickly channel charitable gifts to have the greatest impact and reach those in need.

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4TH QUARTER 2015

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The Pillars of Success CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38

before.” Newer developments also are connecting downtown to St. Cloud State University and the Mississippi, while long-term goals include improving the appearance of Division Street’s most crowded commercial stretches.

A Healthy Culture

As the economy strengthens, progress can extend to other Community Pillars, including reducing poverty and improving safety and security. Expanding affordable housing across the Greater St. Cloud area and welcoming other cultures into more workplaces can also help strengthen the region. Don Hickman, vice president for community and economic development at the Initiative Foundation, said companies such as Electrolux and Gold’n Plump have worked on ways to get past language and cultural barriers and therefore have benefitted from the wave of immigrants that contribute to a fresh workforce.

“There are up to 50 languages already spoken in the school district,” Hickman said. “Those cultural and language barriers— and even some fears—can break down as new immigrants get to know fellow employees who may be a second- or third-generation Central Minnesotans or as students get to know each other in classrooms. With so many aging Baby Boomers, our region’s

workforce needs newcomers.”

One of the biggest pushes in the coming years will be wellness. The YMCA this year will break ground on a $24.9 million, 106,000-square-foot regional aquatics center at Whitney Park. The aquatics center has been regionally supported with sales tax funding coming from Waite Park, Sauk Rapids, Sartell, St. Joseph, St. Augusta and St. Cloud, along with public and private contributions.

“We want to get a shovel in the ground as quickly as we can,” said Greg Gack, executive director of the St. Cloud Area YMCA. The goal is to create a year-round community gathering place with multiple activity options, from swimming and ball courts to exercise classes and weight rooms.

“It’s something we need,” said Marty Moran, president and founder of Clear Path Consulting, who has been involved with the Pillars through the Morgan Family Foundation, a family foundation that supports community-building initiatives. An aquatics center will make a good impression on newcomers and potential businesses, in addition to being a solid resource for residents of all income levels.

Moran and Gartland emphasize that wellness doesn’t just mean physical health, but also mental health, financial health, social

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well-being, feeling a sense of purpose and a connection to the community. They want to keep pushing that message to business leaders, and believe the eventual ripple effect will include lower healthcare costs and happier and healthier employees, who in turn encourage their families to adopt positive lifestyle changes.

Based on what he’s seen since he moved to the area 15 years ago, Moran believes the Greater St. Cloud area has several advantages that will help the area move forward. In addition to supportive foundations, generous businesses and philanthropic networks such as the United Way, the region boasts a community of devoted volunteers who donate their time, energy and expertise to help strengthen their hometown.

“People do think about, ‘How can I give back?’ and ‘What can I do for the community?’” said Moran. “It’s part of the community fiber.”

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philanthropy

PAM BALTES: “People see that we’re employing folks who get excited to work here.”

Profiting the Community Nonprofits are finding new ways to enhance their missions through for-profit ventures.

By Lawrence Schumacher | Photography by John Linn

There’s an old adage that says, “If nonprofits just ran like a business, they’d be more successful.” Ask any executive director and they’ll tell you it’s not that straightforward. In fact, the foremost objective of any nonprofit is to advance a charitable mission.

“They can and should, however, look for ways to become more financially resilient so they can provide critical services and weather difficult economic times,” says Chris Fastner, senior program manager for organizational development at the Initiative Foundation.

Enterprise Market in Little Falls serves as a great example of a way one local nonprofit found to use “business-thinking” to better serve their clients and support their organization. Open since mid-year, Enterprise Market already is exceeding executive director Pam Baltes’s growth projections. The store is a retail training ground for people with developmental disabilities, mental illness, autism and related conditions that create barriers to employment. It sells

bulk nonperishable foods and merchandise that its nonprofit parent organization, Employment Enterprises, purchases from retailers at a discount.

Throughout Central Minnesota, many nonprofit organizations are pursuing social enterprise ventures. That is, they’re creating revenue-generating businesses that help to fulfill and fund their respective nonprofit missions.

Baltes got the idea for Enterprise Market when she learned about an Initiative Foundation program called Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise (FRSE). The program’s goal is to educate nonprofit leaders and give them the tools and knowledge they need to build and run a new and, hopefully, profitable business line. FRSE offers training in financial analysis, business planning and market research along with guidance in navigating legal issues that may arise with the development of a social enterprise venture. Training is complemented with 15 hours of business consulting and a business planning grant of up to $10,000.

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DOING WELL

BY DOING GOOD RREAL PROGRESS: Rural Renewable Energy Alliance in Pine River combats poverty through the use of solar energy for residential and commercial markets.

The program, entering its fourth year, was launched during the recession when government, grant and donation dollars to nonprofits were drying up, Fastner said. Of the 15 nonprofits that participated during the first two years of the FRSE program, eight have launched or grown successful ventures that have so far generated more than $125,000 in collective net profits. It’s not enough to make the nonprofits self-sustaining. However, by by providing an additional source of revenue that can be used as needed by the organizations, it is a strong start toward supporting their overall resiliency and long-term sustainability.

Created in partnership with the Nonprofits Assistance Fund and utilizing area business experts, FRSE brings participating nonprofits together for four full-day training sessions in which they learn to think entrepreneurially and gain the knowledge and skills to develop thorough business plans.

Cindy Owen, executive director of Arc Midstate, a Waite Park nonprofit that advocates for people with developmental disabilities, said participation in the FRSE program “improved our ability to match our strengths with potential social enterprise ideas, which helped us to filter and sort possibilities.” As part of FRSE, Arc Midstate developed a business plan to provide a training program that it can package and sell to others who serve people with special needs. “Our board members experienced increasing enthusiasm and interest in learning more about social enterprises,” Owen said. “At the same time, we learned about potential pitfalls and developed more reasonable expectations about financial returns.”

Figuring out the best fit between an organization’s mission, its staff capacity and the services or goods it can offer is essential to the process. “What do you have that you can sell?” asks Janet OgdenBrackett, associate director at the Nonprofit Assistance Fund, which specializes in financial assistance to Minnesota nonprofits. “What do you have that there’s a market for? What markets do you have easy access to? Most of us are proud of the services we provide, but there’s reluctance in the nonprofit world to examine what people are willing to pay for it. That’s one of the things we do in this program.”

The twist with social enterprise ventures is that they’re not solely about generating income. “Social enterprise can be an innovative means for using proven business principles and practices to positively impact social problems,” Fastner said.

At Employment Enterprises, the benefits of social enterprise have gone far beyond added revenue. “We’ve seen an increase in referrals to our programs as a result of the store,” Baltes said. “People see that we’re employing folks who get excited to work here.”

46 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise grantees are making a difference across Central Minnesota.

3 Advocates Against Domestic Abuse (AADA), Aitkin Established in 1981, AADA offers a variety of programs and services to survivors of domestic abuse. Through the FRSE program, AADA is developing a hospitality industry business plan.

3 Arc Midstate, St. Cloud

For more than 50 years Arc Midstate has made a difference in the lives of individuals with special needs. Through the FRSE program, Arc Midstate developed a business plan to provide training on a range of special needs-related topics.

3 Helping Hands Outreach, Holdingford

A senior services nonprofit, Helping Hands has developed a social enterprise plan to open an adult daycare center to provide caregiver support and social activities for older adults.

3 Lakes Area Youth Service Bureau, Forest Lake

The bureau supports families and children in the Forest Lake Area School District and all of Chisago County. Their Tried & True Small Engines program will receive donated small engines, repair them and put them up for sale. The youth they serve receive training on how to repair engines.

3 Love INC Heartland, Delano

A neighbor-helping-neighbor organization that partners with local churches. The organization uses proceeds from its active thrift store to support its role as a clearinghouse to direct people to get the help they need.

3 Pregnancy Resource Center, Cambridge

The Pregnancy Resource Center of Cambridge has been serving East Central Minnesota since 1985 by helping those facing a possible unplanned or medically challenging pregnancy and other reproductive health concerns. Through the FRSE program, the Pregnancy Resource Center is developing a business plan in an up-and-coming technology field.

3 Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, Pine River

A nonprofit that combats poverty through the use of solar energy for residential and commercial markets. RREAL installs residential solar heating systems to help alleviate energy poverty and to defray expenses for low-income families.

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4TH QUARTER 2015

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home made

UPAC2 Becker, Minn.

By Maria Surma Manka

If you’ve ever used a single-use coffee maker, such as a Keurig, you’re familiar with the individual brewing pods that are known as K-Cups. They’re convenient and fast—and they end up in landfills. In fact, according to The Atlantic, enough K-Cups were sold in 2014 to circle the globe more than 10 times.

Where some see an enormous waste, entrepreneur Cal Krupa sees an opportunity. Krupa, a veteran food packaging developer, set out to make a pod that is fully compostable and biodegradable.

“There’s so much need for innovation and for using new materials in this space,” Krupa said. “I wanted to use my experience to build another company and create something new.” So Krupa launched UPAC2, a Beckerbased business that has designed and developed the “Compo Cup.” When it hits stores, it will be the market’s very first 100 percent compostable coffee pod that fits most home brewing systems.

Though still in the start-up phase, Krupa is working hard to launch a product that could change the coffee world and put another Central Minnesota success story on the map. We caught up with Krupa to see what’s brewing with UPAC2.

What’s brewing.

• You have to have patience to head a start-up company: Patents for Compo Cup are pending—they were filed in May 2015 and can sometimes take as long as two years to be issued. “We’re lining up customers now, and they are ready to buy as soon as we can go commercial with the cup,” said Krupa.

•U PAC2 is working on third-party certification to back up its claims. It’s an arduous and extensive process, which takes place in an independent lab that specializes in compostable materials. At the end of the test, the leftover compost must be able to sprout seed. Krupa expects the Compo Cup to be certified 100 percent compostable within the next year.

• I n true start-up fashion, Krupa is running lean. UPAC2 currently has an independent sales team and just one employee, a plant manager. Krupa is optimistic that he’ll be hiring 20 to 25 people in the next 12 months for positions such as packagers and machine operators.

48 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

• Although UPAC2 has met with some of the largest coffee chains in the country, it’s eying the middle market, including Peoples Organic and Caribou Coffee.

“The mid-sized companies need a way to stand out,” said Krupa. “And they can do that with an environmentally friendly, 100 percent compostable pod.”

• After the cups come out of the thermoforming machine, they’re set out to cool. Then they’re put in plastic sleeves and shipped off to another company that fills them with coffee grounds. Finally, they are packaged and shipped to customers.

•U nlike the current coffee pods that are made with multiple layers of plastic, UPAC2’s Compo Cup and filter are made from biopolymers that are fully derived from plant-based resources that are farmed every year.

• The Compo Cup is made out of a common, corn-based plastic called PLA, along with proprietary ingredients developed by UPAC2. The PLA is provided by NatureWorks, a joint venture of Cargill. PLA is an ideal plastic for food packaging because it can withstand high heat and is microwaveable—yet naturally derived.

• The cups are thermoformed using molds, and 60-100 cups can be made from each mold per cycle.

In production, Krupa expects UPAC2 will make 25,000 to 30,000 Compo Cups per hour on a single machine.

•U PAC2 is more than Compo Cups. The company also develops, manufactures and markets food packaging trays—also using PLA from NatureWorks. It’s currently building samples and working with a large, national company to roll out the product in 2016.

If you’re an existing business or in the startup phase, contact Business Finance Manager Dan Bullert to learn how the Initiative Foundation’s business financing programs can help. dbullert@ifound.org | (320) 631-2013 4TH QUARTER 2015

49

When you give, expect change.

Your donations stay in the Brainerd Lakes area to fund year-round programs and services.

Give during the Christmas season at red kettles and online anytime at SalvationArmyNorth.org/brainerd.

Donations Double

Thursday, Dec. 17 All red kettle donations will be matched on Dec. 17 at the Baxter Mills Fleet Farm store.

POWERING POSSIBLE Through Financing Partnerships

When Midsota Manufacturing owners Joel Bauer and Tim Burg needed to expand their Avon-based trailer manufacturing business to create new jobs and meet year-over-year growth, the Initiative Foundation was a ready partner.

“There was a gap in our funding, so we approached the Initiative Foundation,” Bauer said. “We made it work, and it’s just been a great fit.”

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a nonprofit with a great idea, an existing business owner or a commercial lender, we’re here to help.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit ifound.org or contact Dan Bullert, business finance manager, at (320) 631-2013 or dbullert@ifound.org.

IFOUND.ORG INFO@IFOUND.ORG (877) 632-9255

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50 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

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where’s IQ?

THINK YOU KNOW? Send your best guess to IQ@ifound.org

by Jan. 15, 2016.

Three winners will be chosen, at random, to receive a $25 GiveMN.org gift code to support the charity of their choice.

HINT: The statue is a tribute to a Swedish writer, playwright, journalist and social critic who explored the area on bicycle during the summer of 1948.

Congratulations to everyone who correctly recognized the statue of Lucette in Hackensack, next to Birch Lake, on Lake Avenue. Steve Laraway, Jim Warhol and Mary Dillner are the lucky winners of GiveMN.org gift codes.

52 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

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