Resource Spring 2017

Northwest Minnesota Foundation

RESOURCE

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation invests resources, facilitates collaboration and promotes philanthropy to make the region a better place to live and work.

SPRING 2017 | Number 74

Board of Directors Pete Haddeland, Chair Tom Anderson, Vice Chair Faye Auchenpaugh, Secretary Leah Pigatti, Treasurer Jody Horntvedt John Gonzalez Jon Linnell Cathy Forgit Kristin Eggerling Edie Ramstad Steven Anderson Todd Beckel

IMPACT 20/20 DAY AT THE CAPITOL On the morning of February 22nd, members of IMPACT 20/20 boarded a charter bus and set out to engage lawmakers in St. Paul about the issues affecting economic prosperity and growth in Northwest Minnesota.

IMPACT 20/20 is an influential group of Northwest Minnesota leaders representing diverse interests and working together for the region’s economic success. Established in 2008, its members have collaborated to improve economic conditions in the region by focusing on four key areas: education, workforce, broadband, and housing.

“Our goal was to highlight issues in each of the four focus areas and offer legislative solutions to help grow the economy in Northwest Minnesota,” said NMF Vice President for Programs Karen White.

BROADBAND According to the most recent data from the Minnesota Office of Broadband Technology, access to broadband at target speeds varies greatly by area in Northwest Minnesota. IMPACT 20/20 suggested a minimum $100 million biennium investment into broadband access and adoption.

• $10 million biennium investment would support efforts to increase the adoption of broadband technology by small businesses in key industry sectors, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism and by low-income groups to decrease disparities in broadband access in the home.

• A significant portion of the $100 million biennium investment would support infrastructure build-out at target speeds in rural, remote areas of Minnesota. continued on page 6

Michelle Paquin

Developing Community Assets Serving 12 Counties

Pictured: Back row, L to R: Mike St. Onge, Craig Nathan, Mark Finstad, Dick Sjoberg Front row, L to R: Tim Flathers, Nancy Vyskocil, Dawn Ganje Not Pictured: Karen White, Dennis Bona, Cam Fanfulik, Brian Wikstrom, Dan King, Sue Hilgart and Ashley Johnson

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Hello Friends,

In this edition of the Resource, you will read about many exciting things happening at the Foundation.

In most recent news, we have announced a new partnership with Northwest Technical College (NTC) and the Northwest Technical College Foundation (NTCF) to Nancy Vyskocil grow scholarship funding that helps more students prepare for careers in high-demand areas of the region’s workforce.

This partnership is especially important to me because for seven years I served as a board member for NTCF. However, my association with NTC goes back much further. In the early ‘90s I received an honorary degree from NTC. My sister, Lisa, who died in her early 30s was a graduate of the legal secretary program.

Under the agreement, the Northwest Minnesota Foundation will manage funds for seven endowed scholarships at Northwest Technical College: • Fred Breen Endowment Scholarship Fund • Paul Bunyan Vintage Auto Club Endowed Scholarship Fund • Northwest Technical College General Scholarship Fund • Northwest Technical College Automotive/ Motorsports Scholarship Fund • Northwest Technical College Building Trades Scholarship Fund • Northwest Technical College Business Scholarship Fund • Northwest Technical College Health Care Scholarship Fund

Serving on the NTCF board was a great way to honor her legacy and broaden my relationship with an esteemed organization.

The faculty and staff of NTC and the NTCF board are deeply committed to the success of the students and the college. I am delighted that the Northwest Minnesota Foundation has been selected as a partner to the College and the Foundation.

This partnership is a perfect way for us to act on our mission to promote philanthropy. Students attending the technical college will benefit from enhanced scholarship opportunities and community donors will have more opportunities to make a difference in the lives of students and the regional economy of the future. Through professional investment management the endowed funds will see increased earnings.

Ashley Johnson has been promoted and will serve as development officer/NTCF executive director. She will bring a renewed focus to building relationships and assets.

or to purchase tickets please visit www.nwmf.org,“view events”

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VITAL NONPROFITS UPDATE - FEBRUARY 16, 2017 The Northwest Minnesota Foundation launched its Vital Nonprofits Program (VNP) in September of 2016 to help organizations in the region. VNP’s goal is to combine a peer learning cohort model with training and technical assistance.

Five organizations were selected and matched with consultant guides to help drill down on the essential elements of running an organization.

Since September, the cohort has gone through strengthsbased team building and individual coaching sessions, as well as workshops on mission and vision, and planning and evaluation. This work develops personal skills for working through difficult decisions. Nate Dorr, program officer for Community Development said, “Participants actively listened to each other and brought their own skills into the discussion as they reworked their mission statements. They could address passionate issues respectfully even as others did not agree.”

This cohort program gives organizations important time and space to reflect on their work and develop a better sense of what they are fundraising for, who they serve, and how boards of directors can lead change in communities. Too often, nonprofits feel that if they just had more money they could serve their community better. Although that can be true, more money does not address roles and responsibilities of boards, it will not inherently improve evaluative thinking on community impact, and it cannot give overarching strategic direction to the organization.

“This was another great training, as always,” said Becky Bergquist, resource development director, Boys & Girls Club of the Bemidji Area, one of the cohort participants. Despite having a national brand, established programming, and a highly performing board and staff, the Boys & Girls Club is still being challenged by Vital Nonprofits. “We are asking ourselves

‘What are we passionate about? What are we the best at?’ and just talking as a group gives us all an opportunity to make our club better.”

“I really like this cohort model. It allows organizations to learn from each other,” said Al Onkka of Aurora Consulting, who has led some of the trainings. “They are asking really smart questions. And having a consultant guide matched to each organization allows us to cover more in the trainings, while the guides can help them with work outside of the workshop.”

More Vital Nonprofits trainings will occur quarterly and be open to public registrations. Training on board governance will come in May. Future workshops will address financial management, fundraising, communications, and human resources. For more information, visit the Northwest Minnesota Foundation website at www.nwmf.org.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM BUSINESS FINANCE

MICROLOANS

One loan in the amount of: $75,000 Holter Floral & Gifts Capital for building, equipment, and inventory.

Business counseling and loans are available to help entrepreneurs develop small business and self-employment opportunities. Two loans were made totaling: $44,000.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE One business from Twin Valley received a total of $250.

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ASSET BUILDING GRANTS Grants totaling $621,536 were awarded from November 2016 - February 2017 COMPONENT FUNDS TOTAL: $488,536 95 GRANTS AWARDED

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD TOTAL: $129,925 94 SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED

NATURAL RESOURCES TOTAL: $25,000

CARING COMMUNITIES TOTAL: $44,997

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Grassland Conservation Fellowship Program at Tallgrass Aspen Parkland – The Nature Conservancy

Minnesota Prison Doula Project’s Northwest Expansion – University of Minnesota, CURA

Northwest Minnesota Projects, Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee

COMMUNITY PLANNING TOTAL: $15,000

Two Generations Together – Village of Hope

TOTAL: $48,000

Respectful Communities – Peacemaker Resources

Joint Tribe, City, and County Plan for Law Enforcement Facility – Mahnomen County

Find Component Fund Grants at 4

NWMF.ORG under the Donor menu.

NMF PHILANTHROPIC SERVICES EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT THE CAUSES YOU CARE ABOUT

CHECKING, SAVINGS & INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS

YOUR IRA

It’s easy (and costs you nothing today) to support our cause!

If our organization is a beneficiary in your plans, please let us know. We would like to thank you and also make sure that your gift is used for the causes that mean the most to you.

You can find great joy and meaning in supporting the causes you care about. What causes are most important to you? You may be surprised to learn just how easy it is to partner with a charitable organization like Northwest Minnesota Foundation and help us continue our important work. Below are ways you can support NMF while benefiting yourself and your loved ones.

Consider naming our organization as a beneficiary of your IRA. All or a portion of your IRA can pass automatically to us and help further our mission. It’s easy to call your IRA administrator and ask to change or add beneficiaries to your account.

Many account providers now permit you to make beneficiary designations online.

One of the easiest ways to help us is by naming our organization as a POD (Payable on Death) beneficiary of one or more of your financial or investment accounts. By completing a simple document, you can gift any unused funds in your accounts to help us in our work.

Visit nwmf.org. Click on Planned Giving to learn more about these options and the many benefits of making a planned gift.

LIFE INSURANCE Support our cause by designating our organization as a beneficiary of a new or unneeded life insurance policy. Making this charitable gift is as easy as contacting your policy provider to complete a beneficiary designation form.

Contact Senior Development Officers Dawn Ganje, dawng@nwmf.org or Lisa Peterson, lisap@nwmf.org or call (218) 759-2057.

NEW COMPONENT FUNDS BRIAN KING MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND

DIANE ALTRINGER SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Supports scholarships to qualified students from Warroad ISD #690 who are pursuing post-secondary education through a college, university, trade school, tech school, or other accredited nonprofit technical or vocational education/training institution or program.

Supports scholarships to qualified high school students from ISD #593 (Crookston) or its successors, who are pursuing post-secondary education through a college, university, trade school, tech school, or other accredited nonprofit technical or vocational education/training institution, with a preference given to those pursuing education in trade or technology areas.

JOHN RABEL MEMORIAL MUSIC FUND Supports programs, projects, and activities that help encourage, and enhance the music education of the students at Bemidji ISD #31 Central Elementary School or its successor.

NORTHWEST TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION FUND Supports charitable, educational and public purpose activities, projects, or services benefiting or furthering the mission of Northwest Technical College Foundation or its successors.

MORRIS TAYLOR GOLF SCHOLARSHIP FUND Supports scholarships to qualified high school students from ISD #690 (Warroad) or its successors, who are pursuing post-secondary education through a college, university, trade school, tech school, or other accredited nonprofit technical or vocational education/training institution or program and who participated in the golf program.

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continued from cover

“Access to high-speed broadband for all residents and businesses is vital to the economic prosperity of the region.

Commerce, health care, and education are all dependent on high-speed broadband access.” – Dick Sjoberg, president of Sjoberg’s Inc.

EDUCATION Northwest Minnesota suffers from a mismatch of available jobs and individuals with the right skill sets for the jobs.

Currently, Minnesota ranks 47th in the nation for access to school counselors, and in 2016, due to limited funding, not a single school district in Northwest Minnesota received a grant for school counselors or student support staff. Many school districts in Northwest Minnesota do not employ a single school counselor.

IMPACT 20/20 encouraged lawmakers to increase permanent formula-based funding to independent school districts for school counselors and student support staff to improve Minnesota’s rank to the top 10% in the nation for school counselor-to-student ratio.

“I was encouraged by the deep understanding our legislators have regarding the issues our team brought forward. It gave me confidence that our advocacy was appreciated and that progress will be made in this legislative session!” – Dennis Bona, president of Northland Community and Technical College.

HOUSING Several communities in Northwest Minnesota (even towns with populations less than 3,000) have great potential for economic growth built on thriving and 6

growing businesses. Many of these businesses have open positions and could grow even more, but their potential employees are unable to find adequate housing in the communities and choose to take employment elsewhere. This housing shortage negatively impacts small communities and their businesses.

The IMPACT 20/20 team recommended: • Providing more state funding to address shortages in workforce housing in rural communities. This includes resources for multifamily housing projects, single-family housing development, modular and manufactured housing, and the rehabilitation of older housing stock in smaller communities.

• Broadening the definition of workforce housing within the DEED Workforce Housing Program to include affordable housing in addition to market-rate housing. This will allow local people to determine the mix of housing that is most viable in their community.

• Preserving existing housing stock because building all of the needed housing is not likely. Increase funding for the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Impact Fund, which is their most flexible funding tool.

“The impact shortages in workforce housing have on the ability for communities in Northwest Minnesota to grow and thrive is major. More—and more flexible—state resources could have a significant impact on communities’ ability to resolve their housing issues for their businesses and residents, resulting in more vibrant communities throughout the Northwest Minnesota region.” – Tim Flathers, executive director for Headwaters Regional Development Commission

WORKFORCE Businesses in Northwest Minnesota struggle to fill open positions, which hinders their productivity and growth. Our region’s businesses are spread over a large area and our small businesses need financial support to participate in training programs for employees. According to the 2016 State of Manufacturing report, 81% of manufacturing businesses in Northwest Minnesota note that it is difficult to attract qualified workers, an increase over 2015 and the secondhighest percentage in the state.

The IMPACT 20/20 team supports: • Incentivizing businesses to upskill incumbent workers via third-party training providers, possibly by providing tax credits to businesses that invest resources to upskill employees.

• Increasing and creating permanent funding to increase the availability and affordability of quality child care so that families can work.

• Incentivizing businesses to help bridge the gap between what families can afford to pay for quality child care and what is a family-sustaining wage for child care providers, possibly through tax credits to businesses that subsidize costs of quality child care.

“Our workforce development topic was of great interest. It tied together housing, childcare, employee retraining, and counselor need. Our emphasis on subsidized assistance in these areas struck a chord. I was very pleased with our ability to educate and the willingness of legislators to question us for clarity.” – Mike St. Onge, former manager at Titan Machinery

2017

Finalists

Bare Cloth - Keila McCracken, Turtle River - a quality ecofabric made from local wool. Bare Cloth uses the fibershed model – working directly with local farmers, woolen mills and natural dyers to source all materials from within 100 miles of Bare Cloth studios.

Stittsworth Meats - Mychal Stittsworth, Bemidji - We are currently working to bring a means of USDA inspected slaughter to Northern Minnesota though the use of a USDA approved Mobile Slaughter Unit. This will enable any local farmer regardless of size to sell their meat in a retail setting.

Bolton Bees - Chiara & Travis Bolton, Hubbard County Bolton Bees sells MN-hardy starter-colonies with genetics evolved specifically for our harsh climate. We use the process of elimination to determine which Queens will produce progeny.

We keep records about each of our 300+ hive’s performance.

Winners will be announced at the IDEA Competition Awards Banquet to be held April 25, from 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the Beaux Arts Ballroom on the campus of Bemidji State University. For more information on the IDEA Competition, go to www.ideacompetition.org.

DeanUltraThinRetainer - Todd Sandwick, Fosston - The Dean retainer solves several problems seen in standard acrylic Hawley retainers, and does so by making use of pre-existing, time-tested materials.

IDEA sponsors are: 360º Manufacturing and Applied Engineering Center of Excellence, Border State Bank, Bremer Bank Crookston and Warren, First National Bank Mahnomen, Minnkota Power Cooperative Inc., Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Northwest Minnesota Small Business Development Center, Security Bank USA, University of Minnesota Crookston, & Landsverk and Associates.

Raptor Rack - Jeremy Leffelman, Bemidji & Joel Anderson, Solway - Raptor Rack is designed to provide a quick, versatile, and robust means of fastening accessories (e.g. boxes, fishing/ camping gear, seats) to any existing UTV box or ATV rack.

Squarrel - Russ Karasch & Robert Monahan, Park Rapids The US craft distilling industry is growing at a tremendous rate. This growth has put pressures on the suppliers and the cooperage industry was hard pressed to keep up with the demand. Squarrel provides a patent pending solution efficiently using the wood to flavor the spirit with 1/3 the wood of a traditional barrel.

Northwest Minnesota’s • P R E M I E R •

ENTREPRENEUR COMPETITION

Turning great ideas into great businesses.

2017 HALL OF FAME Billy and Roger Christian, whom are the brothers in Christian Brothers, Inc.®, had skated on the frozen Warroad River since they could walk. They played in several northern Minnesota hockey rinks until they were called upon to serve their country at the 1960 Winter Olympic Games.

A short time later, they returned to Warroad with gold medals and started making hockey sticks for a living. The idea was thought up to start a hockey stick manufacturing company by Roger’s brother-in-law; Hal Bakke, to produce a line of custom American made sticks: “Hockey sticks by hockey players.” In early 1964 plans were underway for the new Christian Brothers hockey stick plant in Warroad within the newly refurbished old Milner building on Highway 11 west in Warroad.

Roger and Billy Christian, Christian Brothers, Inc.®

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NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Mailed From Zip Code 56601 Permit No.36

201 3rd St. NW • Bemidji, MN 56601

April 7 & 8, 2017 | Bemidji, MN

A hackfest is a fast-paced event where teams of creatives, coders, programmers, designers, marketers, and the like compete to design and build a technological solution to a perceived problem or need. Teams may choose any technological platform within the computer programming arena.

For more information visit: www.truenorthhackfest.com