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INITIATIVE Meet the 2022-23 Initiators Fellows—eight emerging social entrepreneurs with big ideas for improving their communities By Laura Billings Coleman and Lisa Meyers McClintick
“There are so many people in small towns across Greater Minnesota who are amazing innovators, doing purpose-driven work and who are really committed to the betterment of their community.” — Chris Fastner Initiators Fellowship Program Manager
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With more than 80 applicants and ideas drawn from 53 counties and six Native Nations, winnowing the pool of Initiators Fellowship candidates every two years to a shortlist of finalists is hard work that gives Chris Fastner great hope for the future of Greater Minnesota. “Too often people assume that great innovation and good ideas can only live in urban areas, but from what we’ve seen, that’s simply not the case,” said Fastner, who manages the Fellowship program for the Initiative Foundation and its Minnesota Initiative Foundation partners. “There are so many people in small towns across Greater Minnesota who are amazing innovators, doing purpose-driven work and who are really committed to the betterment of their community.” Since 2016, the Initiative Foundation and its partners have relied on a selective process to pick the most promising social entrepreneurs in the region for an immersive leadership development experience. The program provides each Fellow with a $60,000 stipend over two years and combines that investment with mentor support, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, business start-up expertise and technical assistance to help give life to big ideas that can transform Greater Minnesota. While the program is still in its early years, the goal is to build a network of next-generation leaders equipped with the skills, connections and confidence to take on some of the toughest challenges facing the area. “When I talk about the kind of social entrepreneurs we’re looking for, I sometimes borrow a phrase from ecology,” Fastner said. “Keystone species are those that have a disproportionate impact on the rest of the landscape. So in my mind, we’re looking for keystone leaders—individuals who, because of their energy, their passion or their unique perspectives, are poised to have an outsized impact on their communities.” The eight Initiators Fellows chosen for the program’s third cohort reflect a rich diversity of backgrounds, lived experiences and ideas across Greater Minnesota, with two emerging social entrepreneurs selected from each of four regions served by the participating Minnesota Initiative Foundation organizations: the Initiative Foundation, Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Southwest Initiative Foundation and West Central Initiative. From using food waste to create more environmentally-friendly fertilizer, saving struggling rural grocery stores, and making homeownership a reality for more of Minnesota’s immigrant families, the latest crop of Fellows is focused on solving problems they’ve seen up close. While some of the Fellows are newcomers to their communities, and others have been here a while, Fastner said, what they all share is a commitment to making a greater Minnesota. “Being rooted in your community can be a big motivator because we all want to see small towns succeed.”
