Awarding $1 Million Annually

The Initiative Foundation awards about $1 million annually in grants to qualifying organizations in Central Minnesota.

The Initiative Foundation makes grants for projects and programs that advance its mission to Empower People to Build Thriving Communities and a Vibrant Region across Central Minnesota. These funds are made available through the following opportunities:

• Partner Funds: The majority of the Foundation's grantmaking is funded by donor-advised or community-based Partner Funds. Each fund has specific priority areas and varying granting schedules.
• Program Grants: The Foundation often receives grants from federal, state, or private funders to support specific programs. Recent examples include state support for evaluating innovative strategies to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species as well as pilot projects to improve access to quality, affordable child care and assistance to communities experiencing challenges due to major economic shifts. Information on these types of opportunities is typically posted on our website. 
• Innovation Funds: Innovation grants support start-up or capacity-building projects across the 14 counties of Central Minnesota. The Innovation Fund accepts applications on an ongoing basis. Quarterly awards are made through a competitive review process. Refer to the 2019 Innovation Fund Review Schedule for dates.

Eligibility

Grant applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofits, school districts, or local units of government that serve the people and communities in Benton, Cass, Chisago, Crow Wing, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wadena, and/or Wright counties. Funding requests for use outside of this area will not be considered. Individuals are not eligible to apply for grant funds.

You can verify a project's eligibility by selecting the Grant Guidelines tab above.

Once you’ve confirmed that your project fits within the guidelines, you can select the "Apply/Login" button below to to create an account, complete an eligibility quiz, submit an application, review your application history and submit grant reports.

APPLY/LOGIN

Questions?
The Initiative Foundation strives to treat applicants with courtesy and respect. Staff members are sensitive to varying levels of experience in completing applications and encourages open communication with applicants needing additional assistance.  

Current Grantees
The Financial Report Form is for organizations currently receiving a grant. Once completed, refer to the provided instructions for next steps.

Grant Guidelines

2019 Innovation Fund Grant Opportunities

The Initiative Foundation makes grants for projects and programs that advance its mission to Empower People to Build Thriving Communities and a Vibrant Region across Central Minnesota. 

Eligibility

Grant applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofits, school districts, or local units of government that serve the people and communities in Benton, Cass, Chisago, Crow Wing, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wadena, and/or Wright counties. Funding requests for use outside of this area will not be considered. Individuals are not eligible to apply for grant funds. 

Innovation Fund Grant Priorities

Innovation Fund grants seldom exceed $7,500 and are generally 50 percent or less of the total program/project budget. We typically receive three to four times more applications than we can fund, so our process is highly competitive. Priority consideration is given to projects that have local financial support. The Initiative Foundation also strives to allocate our grant resources around our entire region, so geographical diversity is a consideration in our review. Applicants are welcome to contact Don Hickman or Chris Fastner to discuss proposal design and fit prior to submission of an application.

Proposals which focus on at least one of the following areas are given priority consideration:

• Support for development of businesses and social enterprises through improved access to technical assistance, mentorship, succession planning and education efforts. The foundation is especially interested in supporting minority business ownership and/or job creation in areas of concentrated poverty.

• Help for communities to address opportunities or barriers to business growth and creation or retention of quality jobs.

• Advancement of creative activities or strategies to address the workforce shortage in communities which lead to improved skills, access to employment opportunities or professional development in growing sectors.

• Innovative community planning, design and engagement strategies to help attract and retain skilled workers and young families. 

• Support to advance economic security for vulnerable households through program or organizational capacity-building grants. 

• Support for nonprofits that deliver programs which improve the economic status of financially disadvantaged people.

For questions or assistance in submitting your proposal, contact the Grants Assistant at (320) 631-2014 or by email grants(at)ifound.org.

Ineligible Expenses

The following expenses are ineligible and will not be considered for Innovation funding: 

• Grants or reimbursements to individuals and businesses.
• Expenses incurred prior to the receipt of a grant award.
• Capital expenses (e.g., buildings, equipment, vehicles, etc.).
• Programs or projects that DO NOT directly benefit residents in the Initiative Foundation’s 14 county service area. 
• Replacement of or substitution for government funding. 
• Religious activities.
• Lobbying or campaigning for a candidate, issue or referendum vote. 
• Development or purchase of school curriculum or support for school athletic programs. 
• Out of state travel.
• Arts, health-related and media production applications are discouraged unless they directly address at least one of the priorities listed on the previous page.

Application Process

Applications 
Qualified organizations interested in applying to the Initiative Foundation are required to complete an online application. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and are reviewed quarterly

The Foundation reserves the right to decline a request for any reason including a history of inappropriately spending or closing out previously awarded funds within the allotted time. If approved, applicants are notified by email and grants will be awarded.

2019 Innovation Fund Review Schedule

The Initiative Foundation strives to treat applicants with courtesy and respect. Staff members are sensitive to varying levels of experience in completing applications and encourages open communication with applicants needing additional assistance.  

For assistance please contact us: 
Email:    grants(at)ifound.org
Mail:      405 First Street SE, Little Falls, MN 56465
Phone: (320) 632-9255 or toll free (877) 632-9255

Apply/Login

Once you’ve confirmed that your project fits within the guidelines, you can use the Initiative Foundation's online grant system to create an account, complete an eligibility quiz, submit applications, review your application history and submit grant reports. To use the system, click one of the buttons below:

Complete ApplicationAccount Login

Questions?
The Initiative Foundation strives to treat applicants with courtesy and respect. Staff members are sensitive to varying levels of experience in completing applications and encourages open communication with applicants needing additional assistance.  

For assistance please contact us: 
Email:    grants(at)ifound.org
Mail:      405 First Street SE, Little Falls, MN 56465
Phone: (320) 632-9255 or toll free (877) 632-9255

Current Grantees
The Financial Report Form is for organizations currently receiving a grant. Once completed, refer to the provided instructions for next steps.

2018 Grant Awards

3rd Quarter 2018 Grant Awards

• Inside Out Connections Coalition—Supporting Children and Families Impacted by Incarceration: $2,500 to supports children and families with an incarcerated parent by providing community resources to to enhance services to improve the social-emotional development and capacity for school success.
• Brainerd Community Action—Brainerd Lakes Area Newcomers Club: $3,000 to support efforts to attract and retain young families and skilled workers through creating a welcoming community.  This grant will serve as a challenge grant to area employers to help support the ongoing operations of the Newcomers Club hosted by the Community Action Council of Crow Wing County. 
• RiverWorks—Strategic Planning: $3,000 to facilitate a planning process to help the organization make informed decisions regarding future operations.
• Wellness in the Woods, Inc.—Strengthening Organizational Identity: $2,500 to help the organization build its brand, a key focus of the strategic plans developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's Financial Resiliency program.
• Lakes Area Restorative Justice Project—Strategic Planning: $1,000 to support a planning process that will help develop the board of directors and set direction for the near future.
• Rivers of Hope—Community Needs Assessment for Sherburne and Wright County Domestic Abuse Services: $2,500 to support a needs assessment that supports the organization in making informed and strategic decisions regarding future programming.
• Hands of Hope Resource Center—Strategic Planning: $3,000 to support an organizational planning session to determine ways to work effectively and efficiently in an ever-changing social landscape.
• Central Lakes College Foundation—Support for Innovation at Central Lakes College: $5,000 to support  small grants to staff and faculty members with innovative ideas for reducing or removing barriers to student success, increase student retention and better prepare students to meet workforce needs.
• Anishinabe Legal Services, Inc.—Strategic Planning and Organizational Development Activities: $2,500 for strategic planning and organizational development facilitation between staff and the board of directors with a goal of reviewing core values as they relate to the mission of providing civil legal services to income-eligible individuals on the Leech Lake Reservation.
• Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota—Making Brainerd, Baxter, North Branch and Chisago Lakes Communities Bicycle Friendly: $7,500 to support planning, community engagement and implementation of improved bike trails and routes in Brainerd, North Branch and Chisago Lakes.
• Boys & Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area—“We Are the Future—Nation Building” Program: $5,000 to support the "We are the Future—Nation Building" program that matches fifth-grade students with community mentors to develop social-emotional learning with the goal to increase high school graduation and college entry rates.
• LEAP, Inc.—Sisters with Sass (SWS): $2,200 to support the Sisters with Sass (SWS) program, which is a women’s mentoring program focused on empowering women through education, work and well-being.
• College Possible—Programming for Income-Eligible Students in Central Minnesota: $3,000 to support College Possible's Tech-Connected High School program that provides intensive coaching services to income-eligible students to increase college readiness and admission, addressing workforce shortages and educational disparities.
• CommunityGiving—Central Minnesota Community Foundation Annual Dinner Sponsorship: $1,000 in tribute to the contributions and accomplishments of Susan Lorenz, vital program officer who is retiring from the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.
• Central Minnesota Arts Board—Staff and Board Development: $2,500 to support recruitment and full participation by emerging and diverse leaders in the organization’s board of directors.
• Minnesota Council of Nonprofits—2018 Membership Renewal Sponsorship: $1,100 to provide annual support to this statewide affinity group which provides resources, training and information to help nonprofits work effectively. 
• Central Minnesota Housing Partnership—Strategic Planning: $4,000 to support development of a guiding plan to assist individuals and families with affordable housing over the next three years.
• The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Business Committee—PCs for People: $5,000 to support the launch of this highly successful program to serve the Leech Lake Reservation. Staff will assist young adults to "scrub" hard drives of donated, used computers and refurbish them for use by income-eligible students and families, thus teaching valuable information-technology skills and improving access to the internet.
• Big Lake School District—Early Childhood Coalition: $7,000 to support families, child care providers and other educators with activities to foster literacy, school readiness and improved access to quality, affordable child care.
• City of Menahga—Thriving Communities Initiative: $5,000 to develop and implement training, marketing and necessary materials to make local projects led by a team of champions successful. Through their participation in the Thriving Communities Initiative (TCI), citizens of Menahga were able to identify opportunities to enhance their community. After seeking input from both public and private interests, several key priorities were identified: creating a tiny village to serve as a business incubator; conducting a business retention and expansion survey; and establising a community garden.
• East Central Regional Development Commission—Mille Lacs Lake Area Scenic Byway Start Up: $5,000 to support planning, public engagement and promotion of the Mille Lacs Lake Area Scenic Byway, a federally designated route recognized for its beauty, ecology and value to the tourism sector.
• Economic Development Authority of the City of St. Cloud—Economic Adjustment and Recovery Coordinator Project: $5,000 to assist with local matching funds toward an application to Federal Economic Development Administration (Federal EDA) for a $97,500 Economic Adjustment Assistance grant to help the city and surrounding region undertake economic recovery efforts from the permanent closure of the Electrolux home freezer manufacturing plant and dislocated workforce of 900 that is scheduled for end of year 2019. 

2nd Quarter 2018 Grant Awards

• Mille Lacs Health System—Cavity-Free Little Panthers, Phase III: $2,000 to support dental care programming for children birth to age five and to provide access to diagnostic and treatment services for children from income-eligible households.  
• CommunityGiving—Jugaad Leadership Program: $5,000 to equip emerging leaders with the knowledge, skills and resources to be effective in leading change at the grassroots level. 
• Minnesota Council on Foundations—2018 Membership: $7,600 to support advocacy for and promotion of ethical and responsible charitable giving and to maintain resources for grantmaking, creating and sharing information for and about grantmakers.  
• Sherburne County—Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Skilled Employees: $4,000 to educate  regional employers on successful programs and resources to develop, attract and retain their skilled workforce. 
• City of Manhattan Beach—Community Planning: $1,000 to support public engagement in identifying a shared community vision, considering opportunities and barriers to action and specific steps to help the city adapt to changing tax base and demographics. 
• Central Minnesota Taskforce on Battered Women—Building Capacity by Increasing Staff Engagement: $2,750 to support staff training and development, using the book "Daring Greatly" and associated curricula. Project will encourage staff engagement, explore how to manage the stress associated with addressing domestic violence and otherwise develop strategies for advancing the organizational mission. 
• City of Nisswa—Gull Lake Trail: $2,500 for the preliminary engineering costs to establish a final trail route. The grant will also support public engagement meetings. 
• City of Melrose—Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan: $2,500 to support development of a bicycle and pedestrian network in Melrose to improve quality of life for its residents. This will be joint effort between the city of Melrose, the school district and CentraCare Health. 
• Freshwater Education District—Reading For the Future in Todd County: $1,500 to help young people discover the joy of reading and work to build a more literate community and nation, one child at a time. This project will target income-eligible households to improve English language skills. 
• Salem Lutheran Church—Director Transition Project: $4,000 to support planning for and implementation of a leadership transition plan for the organization.
• Employment Enterprises, Inc.—Training Culturally Diverse Unemployed Community Members as Direct Support Professionals: $5,000 to recruit and provide work skills training to members of the Little Falls-area immigrant community plus diversity training for staff to meet workforce needs in a tight labor market.
• United Way of Central Minnesota—Great River Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) Program: $10,000 to cultivate future entrepreneurs which will help develop the community's next generation of leaders. The project will initially work with 25 high school students from St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids-Rice, Sartell-St. Stephen and Cathedral high schools. The project will help teach business and leadership skills through exposure to 60-plus businesses, which will help develop mentorship and retain and cultivate local talent.
• Regents of the University of Minnesota—Workampers as a Resource to Address Regional Workforce Needs: $2,500 to explore opportunities and concerns associated with workampers, which are managed seasonal campgrounds utilized as a potential solution to affordable housing for hospitality workers in Cass and Crow Wing counties.
• Community Grassroots Solutions—Informational Sessions Connecting Programs: $5,000 to support to assist St. Cloud immigrant and refugee women and girls in securing and retaining employment.
• Sprout MN, LLC—Central Minnesota Meat Processing and Regional Branding Project: $1,500 to support a feasibility analysis for a mobile meat-processing facility based in Morrison County. 
• Promise Neighborhood of Central Minnesota—Open House and Capacity: $5,000 to support a strategic fund development plan to increase financial capacity to continue offering community programs that support income-eligible children and families in St. Cloud's Talahi neighborhood. 
• Someplace Safe—Financial Resources for Job Seeking, Job Training and Educational Opportunities: $2,000 to provide support for Wadena-area crime victims who are accessing resources to increase their employability.
• New Hampshire Charitable Foundation—Sponsorship Grant for Community Foundation Opportunity Network: $2,500 to sponsor coordination and logistical support for this national affinity group seeking to build social capital in underserved communities.  The group is inspired by Dr. Robert Putnam’s landmark 2015 book, “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis,” which challenges notions about fairness, the future of American communities, the basis of income inequality and long-term economic and social sustainability.
• The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Business Committee—Early Childhood Programs: $1,500 to support a student from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Regional and Urban Affairs to conduct a literature review of mental health, academic and social emotional benefits of exposure to natural spaces to support programming for young children.
• Blandin Foundation—Sponsorship Grant for Border to Border Broadband: Transforming Minnesota Conference: $1,000 to support the Border to Border Broadband: Transforming Minnesota Conference, which is hosted by the Blandin Foundation and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Office of Broadband Development.
• LION Community Enrichment Programs, Inc.—Stay Kool: $2,000 to provide leadership and "soft skills" training for young African American men in the Greater St. Cloud secondary educational systems.
• Alzheimer's Association Minnesota North Dakota Chapter—Board Recognition Grant for Ashish Vaidya: $1,000 to support services, information and advocacy to people with dementia, their families and health care providers. This grant is awarded in recognition of the service of Dr. Ashish Vaidya to the Initiative Foundation's Board of Trustees.
• Mille Lacs Health System—1,000 Books Before Kindergarten: $7,500 to support literacy by providing opportunities for children from birth to age 5 and their parents or caregivers to read together. In addition, a class for older preschoolers will help prepare them for kindergarten and enhance development in the areas of social-emotional development.
• City of Hackensack—Hackensack Game Changers: $5,000 to support community volunteers overseeing beautification, wayfinding and additional local leadership development as recent alumni of the Thriving Communities Initiative (TCI) training.
• Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Todd County—Save the School by Creating Affordable Senior Housing in Eagle Bend: $4,000 for a regional market survey for the redesign and repurpose of the vacant Eagle Bend High School. The intention of this project is to demonstrate the potential to successfully construct and operate a local senior housing complex.
• Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corporation—River to Rail Launch and General Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corporation (BLAEDC) Support: $10,000 to support the River To Rail Initiative, which provides coordination for many community development projects within the Mississippi River and the Northern Pacific Center corridor.
• Cass County Economic Development Corporation—Membership: $1,500 to provide annual support for job creation and workforce development.
• GPS 45:93—Innovative Career Initiative: $10,000 to support identifying and implementing a career exploration program for secondary students that best fits workforce needs in Pine, Isanti, Chisago, Kanabec and Mille Lacs counties.
• Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce Education Association—Destination Downtown Contest 2.0: $5,000 to support a second year of the Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce’s successful Destination Downtown contest by filling one or more storefronts and restoring the positive buzz that is essential to revitalization. 
• Isanti County Broadband: $5,000 to build on the foundation laid by the Isanti County broadband feasibility study by formalizing organizational partnerships and refining technology and financial plans.

1st Quarter 2018 Grant Awards

• Mille Lacs County—Cavity-Free Birth to Age 5 and Pregnant Mothers: $18,000 to increase education and awareness of early preventative dental health and provide access to dental services for our under-served population by contracting with Children's Dental Services to provide mobile dental clinics to four separate communities within Mille Lacs County.
• St. Cloud Rotary Foundation—Pathways 4 Youth, LLC, Youth Opportunity Center: $5,000 to contribute to startup costs for the Youth Opportunity Center (called “Pathways 4 Youth”) to help youth experiencing homelessness (ages 16-23) manage trauma in their lives, stabilize their environment and provide access to health and career skills services. 
• Christian Social Services, Inc.—Big Lake and Monticello Food Shelf Collaborative —Exploratory Phase: $2,500 to fund work with a facilitator to assist two food shelf boards and their executive directors as they explore collaborative opportunities to efficiently serve residents. 
• Canvas Health—Mental Health Telemedicine for the Region 7E Workforce: $5,000 to help the workforce of east central Minnesota with chemical and/or mental health issues preventing them from getting, maintaining or excelling in a job while learning about telemedicine options for improving their ability to work. 
• United Way of Central Minnesota—Sponsorship Grant for Times Media 5 Under 40 2018 Winners: $500 in general operating support as part of the Foundation's sponsorship of the St. Cloud Times/Times Media 5 Under 40 program, which honors St. Cloud-area emerging leaders. 
• NJPA—Sponsorship Grant for 2018 Student Recognition Banquet: $1,000 to provide sponsorship for event honoring scholarships for outstanding students in the National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) service area of Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties. 
• Friends of Career Solutions—Learn and Earn: $5,000 to provide training and apprenticeship opportunities to support young adults (ages 18-24) to complete their GED while also gaining applied workplace experience with a sponsoring St. Cloud-area employer. 
• Northland Foundation—Sponsorship Grant for Annual Conference: $500 to provide support for Minnesota Council on Foundations annual conference. 
• Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota—Emergency Childcare to Support Vulnerable Parents in Our Workforce: $5,000 to reduce the incidence of maltreatment of young children and provide relief to parents in crisis by offering emergency child care within a network of licensed child care providers. 
• Lakewood Health System—Project Regional Health and Wellness Center: $2,500 to support an analysis to assess whether the populations around Lakewood Health/Staples-Motley can financially sustain a regional health center. 
• Cass County Economic Development Corporation—Pine River Housing Study: $1,500 to support an evaluation of affordable housing in Pine River with a goal of creating access to quality, affording options as a strategy to attract and retain young, skilled workers. 
• Hilltop Regional Kitchen—Hilltop Regional Kitchen Community Outreach: $2,500 to support communications and community outreach to support a 10 percent increase in the number of home-delivered and/or bundled meals delivered to seniors and home-bound individuals in Todd and Morrison counties. 
• Community Giving—Sponsorship for 2018 Community Pillars Event: $4,000 to support costs associated with hosting the annual Greater St. Cloud Community Pillars Forum. 
• Winthrop Economic Development Authority—Sponsorship Grant for the Broadband Coalition Event: $500 to support a collaborative of nonprofits and locals units of government, convened by the Blandin Foundation, to support education and advocacy for broadband access in Greater Minnesota. 
• Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation—Sponsorship Grant for Annual Corporate Investment: $7,500 to renew annual commitment to this investor-supported organization of community leaders that are dedicated to enhance and expand economic opportunities in the St. Cloud area. 
• Gateway Institute for Research and Development—Technical Skills for Business Plan Writing: $4,000 to deliver computer basics training to help New American entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs build skills for successful business planning. 
• Aitkin County Soil and Water Conservation District—AIS Bait Bucket Water Refill: $3,000 to work with 20 bait shops and resorts to create incentives for anglers to use local bait water as a strategy to prevent the spread of invasive species.  This grant is supported in part by funding recommended by Minnesota's Outdoor Legacy Fund as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. 
• Citizen's League—Piloting Civic Governance as an AIS Best Management Practice: $5,000 to support a collaboration with the Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Alliance to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species by providing coaching, work plan development and project coordination between state and local governments, local stakeholder groups (sportsmen, lake associations, property owners, tourism and/or fishing professionals) in Ramsey and Cass counties to model pathways for local engagement for maximum impact.  This project is funded by the Minnesota's Outdoor Legacy Fund as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. 
• Vermilion Lake Association—Advanced Boat Access Traffic Analysis: $31,775 to significantly increase inspection efficiency and coverage by more accurately predicting arrivals and exits at each public access, each hour of the day, for the entire boating season. A flexible, fast-reaction scheduling methodology will be developed to complement ability to predict traffic.  This project is funded by the Minnesota's Outdoor Legacy Fund as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. 
• Carver County Water Management Organization—Vegetation Control as AIS Prevention Measure: $2,000 to evaluate the use of aquatic vegetation control as a prevention measure to reduce the spread of zebra mussels via aquatic vegetation in Lake Waconia, Lake Minnewashta and two additional lakes. This project is funded by the Minnesota's Outdoor Legacy Fund as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. 
• Itasca County Soil and Water Conservation District—A Multi-Region Resort Ambassador AIS Prevention Partnership: $210,000 to serve three regions—Cass County, Itasca County and the Lake Vermilion area—to align resorts in an aquatic invasive species inspection and prevention process. This project is funded by the Minnesota's Outdoor Legacy Fund as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.  
• City of Big Lake—Gap Analysis Studies: $3,000 to determine if the city of Big Lake can support a nationally recognized hotel and associated reservation system. This grant will also partially fund an analysis of commercial/retail opportunities that could diversify the regional economy and outline key strategies for workforce development. 
• City of North Branch—North Branch Minnesota Design Team Initiative: $5,000 to support a Minnesota Design Team visit to the city of North Branch in an effort to identify key redevelopment opportunities and utilize current infrastructure. 
• Brainerd School District—Love and Logic Parenting Classes: $8,000 to support the expansion of Love and Logic Parenting Classes in the Essentia Health service area, designed to offer ideas for raising responsible and respectful children. 
• United Way of Central Minnesota—Early Learning Events & Materials: $12,000 To provide “Read, Talk, Play” toolkits to increase parent/caregiver understanding about the role they play in early literacy skills. To promote the value of reading, 200 books will be distruted to families of children birth to age 5 at an upcoming St. Cloud Rox baseball games. Rox players will read to children on the field prior to the game. 
• Wright County Community Action, Inc.—Improving Wright County Poverty Data through Needs Assessment: $5,000 to support Wright County Community Action's Community Assessment Project to better understand the community's strengths, common themes and overall health to ensure the needs of low-income residents are being addressed. 
• Central Minnesota Sustainability Project—Garden Leadership Program: $5,000 to support leadership and job skills development among immigrant women. 
• Region 5 Development Commission—Downtown Brainerd Revitalization: $5,000 for events, activities and marketing to support businesses and downtown vitality during the reconstruction scheduled along Brainerd's 6th Street (old Highway 371). 
• New Pathways, Inc.—"Path to Home" Fund Development Strategies in East Central and North Central Minnesota: $5,000 to support efforts to reach new donors who will contribute to provide emergency shelter and secure, stable housing for families experiencing homelessness. 

2018 Partner Fund Grant Awards

3rd Quarter 2018 Grant Awards

Three Rivers Community Foundation 

2nd Quarter 2018 Grant Awards

Three Rivers Community Foundation

• Sherburne County Area United Way—True Color Fashion Show: $1,500  
  

Greater Pine Area Endowment 

Staples Motley Area Community Foundation 

• City of Staples—Boulevard Banners: $1,000
• Central Lakes College (Staples Campus)—Agricultural & Energy Center's Field Day: $1,000  
• Wadena County—Rides for Staples Summer Recreation Program: $750  
• Staples Motley Area Arts Council—Prairie Fire Childrens' Theatre’s Oz: $1,000  
• Staples Area Food Shelf—Operating Support: $1,000  
• Staples All Veterans and Community Park Association—Safe Passageway to the Veterans Park: $2,000  
• LEAP, Inc.—Christmas Celebration: $1,500  
• LEAP, Inc.—Community Event Support: $2,000  
• Old Wadena Society—Rendezvous & Folklife Festival: $1,250  
• Central Minnesota Boys Choir—Sioux Falls, S.D., Tour 2018: $750  
• Faith Lutheran Church—Back to School Fair: $1,000  
• City of Motley—City Parks Project: $1,995  
• City of Motley—Converse Park Project: $2,000  

CMBA Tools for Schools Presidents Fund 

Cuyuna Lakes Education Foundation 

• Operating Support: $4,000  

The 482 Education Foundation Little Falls 

The following grants will support the Little Falls School District: 

• Waders for Water Analysis: $710  
• Ukuleles: $1,000  
• Flexible Fidget Seating: $1,200  
• Enhanced Thinking Through Social, Emotional Learning: $1,500  
• High Efficiency Welders: $1,500  
• Flyer Back Pack: $1,500  
• Flexible Seating for a Blended Language Arts/Science class: $1,200  
• Flexible Learning Space: $1,200  
• Teacher Mindfulness Course: $1,500  
• Rooted in Reading Books: $1,201.65  
• DSLR Cameras: $1,000  
• Pathway to Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry: $1,500  

Pillager Education Foundation 

The Pinckney Family Fund 

• Little Falls School District—Spotlight Jazz Award: $1,785  

Fish Trap Lake Association Fund 

• Fish Trap Lake Property Owners Association—Aquatic Invasic Species Signage at Public Landing: $2,176.33 

Land & Waters Presidents Trust Fund 

• Trout Lake Camps—Extend Shoreline Buffer: $2,000  

The Patrick & Jane Mitchell Family Fund 

• Great River Educational Arts Theatre—General Operating Support: $2,000  
• United Way of Central Minnesota—Operating Support: $1,000  
• Africa Jam—General Operating Support: $1,000  
• Andra Heart Foundation—General Operating Support: $1,000  
• St. Cloud State University Foundation—Baseball Program: $1,000  
• Cold Spring Area Youth Sports Association—Field of Dreams Project: $2,000  

Anderson Brothers Family Fund 

• Brainerd Community Action—Support for the Burlington House: $3,000 

Veterans Art Monument Fund

• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Association—Veterans Art Monument: $2,000 
• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Association—Veterans Art Monument: $2,900  
• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Association—Veterans Art Monument: $5,400  

Sauk Rapids-Rice / Youthrpise Grant Fund 

• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Compass Program: $27,419.91  

Innovative Schools Project Fund 

• Bertha-Hewitt School District: $7,500  
• Wadena-Deer Creek School District: $7,500  
• Verndale School District: $7,500  
• Brainerd Public Schools Foundation: $7,500  
• Pioneer Elementary Parent Teacher Organization: $7,500  

Oakland Cemetery Project Fund 

• Maintenance and Upkeep: $1,500 

1st Quarter 2018 Grant Awards

Rum River Community Foundation

• City of Milaca—Milaca's Annual Bluegrass Festival: $300
• Milaca School District—Give Me Five Youth Mentoring Program: $350
• Zion Lutheran Church—Youth Canopy Tent: $250
• City of Milaca—Rec Park Playground Improvements: $400
• Milaca School District—Milaca Community Special Olympics: $350
• Pease Christian Reformed Church—Operation Community Connect: $700
• Trinity Lutheran Church of Milaca—Milaca Wolves Snack Pack Program: $1,000
• Milaca Area Pantry—March Awareness Campaign: $350

Central Minnesota Builders Association Tools for Schools President’s Fund

• St. Cloud Area School District—Tools for Schools: $2,221.98
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Tools for Schools: $11,500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Tools for Schools: $9,750
• Sartell—St. Stephen School District—Tools for Schools: $2,000

Josh Richardson Family Fund

• Elk River School District—Welcome Center: $9,850

Manufacturing Fund of Central Minnesota

• Region 5 Development Commission—Technical Assistance Project: $5,000
• Enterprise Minnesota, Inc.—Melrose Metals Project: $5,000

Cuyuna Lakes Education Foundation

• Crosby-Ironton Public Schools Foundation, dba Cuyuna Lakes Education Foundation—Operating Support: $4,000

Albany Area Education Fund

The following grants will support the Albany School District: 

• Buddy Reading Program: $350
• STEAM for Fourth Graders: $390
• MakerSpace Project for Avon Elementary: $500
• Interactive Notebooks for Fourth-Graders: $99
• Octoball Court at Avon Elementary: $500
• STEM for First-Graders: $376
• Educational Robots for School Readiness: $285

Pinckney Fund

• Little Falls School District—Supporting Young Musicians: $2,180

Paula & Chad Becker Fund

• Browerville Public Schools—Athletic Department Equipment: $5,000

Alternative Sources of Energy Fund

• Milaca School District—Science Enrichment for Milaca High School: $1,350

Patrick & Jane Mitchell Family Fund

• ROCORI Area Dollars for Scholars—Scholarships: $500
• St. Cloud Area Family YMCA—Capital Campaign: $1,000

Mark Wood Foundation

• Little Falls School District—Mentorship Program: $5,400

Lake Region Conservation Fund

• Hillman Area First Response Team—Operating Support: $500
• Sullivan Lake First Responder—Operating Support: $500

Minnesota Christian Writers Scholarship Fund

• Faith Lutheran Church—Writer's Scholarship: $1,000

Veterans Art Monument Fund

• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Association—Veterans Art Monument: $12,600
• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Association—Veterans Art Monument: $4,300
• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Association—Veterans Art Monument: $1,400

SRR ISD47/Youthprise Grant

• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Compass Program: $28,652.50

Wadena Regional Wellness Center Fund

• City of Wadena—Wadena Regional Wellness Center: $3,546
• City of Wadena—Wadena Regional Wellness Center: $29,649

NJPA Innovative Schools Fund

• Wadena-Deer Creek School District—Innovative Classroom Grant Project: $5,000

Past Grant Awards

4th Quarter 2017 Grant Awards

• College Possible—Programming for Low-Income Students in Central Minnesota: $5,000 to offer a variety of virtual and in-person support to help low-income high school students consider and gain college admission and then remain and succeed once there.
• Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce Education Association—Board Recognition Grant for Bridges Career Academy: $1,000  to support career exploration and training in Central Minnesota. This gift is made in recognition of the service of Reggie Clow as a member of the Initiative Foundation Board of Trustees.
• Vasaloppet USA—Board Recognition Grant: $1,000 to support general operations at Minnesota's premier cross-county ski and event center, operating continuously since 1973. This gift is made in recognition of the service of Pat Gorham as a member of the Initiative Foundation Board of Trustees.
• Amherst H. Wilder Foundation—Minnesota Compass: $5,000 to provide annual support to Minnesota Compass (www.MnCompass.org), an accessible website that provides data and resources about topics that include early childhood, children and youth, economy, education, immigration, population demographics and workforce. Minnesota Compass can also provide detailed data profiles for rural geographies, including cities and towns of 1,000 or more residents, and will be expanding the data and tools available to Greater Minnesota residents in the coming year.
• Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest—Sauk Rapids-Rice Workforce Readiness Initiative: $2,500 to expand the delivery of Junior Achievement activities into more  grade levels in the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District to support career exploration.
• Baptist General Conference—Education and Career Advancement for Poverty  Reduction: $5,000 to support young adults in Pine and Kanabec counties through career exploration, academic mentoring and support from caring adults.
• Avivo—Central Minnesota Career Education Programs: $8,000 to support the Skills for Success program, serving adults, and Focus Forward after-school elective, serving high school students. Participants gain essential English, computer and business communication skills and employment services. Adults also receive employment support and job retention services. High school students receive career exploration and college entrance test preparation to increase their options after graduation.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota—Board Recognition Grant: $1,000 to support the Boys and Girls Club, which provides programs and services to promote the development of youth by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. This gift is made in recognition of the service of Rita Sobania as a member of the Initiative Foundation Board of Trustees years and her contributions to various committees for more than 30 years. 
• Cuyuna Range Youth Center—Youth Development: $2,500 to support workforce development programming for Crosby-area youth.
• Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration—Enhancing the Skills of Volunteer Engagement Leaders: $2,500 to support the formation and development of a Central Minnesota district advisory council to support, guide and engage volunteer managers across the region.
• University of St. Thomas—Institute for Executive Director Leadership: $5,000 to support participation of local nonprofit leaders in a 10-month program that provides opportunities to increase leadership skills and enhance organizational capacity.
• Volunteers of America of Minnesota—Our HOME Supportive Housing: $5,000 to support transitional housing and supportive case management for eight or more families. These services will help stabilize family living situations and assist them in obtaining more permanent, affordable housing.
• WACOSA— True Friends: $2,500 to support a unique, customized training experience for staff, board and clients with a focus on enhancing leadership skills and equipping new leaders with concepts and techniques to incorporate into their work with clients.
• Terebinth Refuge—Fundraising Consultant and Marketinge: $4,000 to support development and implementation of a strategic fundraising plan to help Terebinth Refuge become self-sustaining.
• Tri-County Action Program, Inc.—Central Minnesota Free Tax Program: $5,000 to support the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program that provides free tax services to income-eligible families in the Saint Cloud area.
• Cornerstones Center, Inc.—College-Link: From Transition to Success: $4,000 to support the College Link program that provides coaching and college admission assistance to high school seniors to increase college enrollment among immigrant and refugee students.
• Faith in Action for Cass County— Planning for the Future: $5,000 to support program evaluation, review of community needs, and strategic planning to encourage managed growth and services that are mission-aligned and coordinated with other service providers and businesses.
• The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Business Commitee—YouthBuild: $5,000 to support programming which helps disconnected youth ages 16-24 receive hands-on training in construction which leads to their National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER) credentials. Students may also obtain high school diplomas or GEDs leading to employment and/or post-secondary education.
• Mille Lacs Health System—Partnership for Community Literacy: $2,000 to increase access to books and parental reading in homes of children residing on the Mille Lacs Reservation with the goal of increasing early literacy activities.
• Greater Twin Cities United Way—Early Funders Coalition Sponsorship: $1,000 to support Start Early Funders Coalition.
• Cambridge Isanti School District—Early Childhood School Readiness & Literacy Outreach: $5,000 to provide various early literacy and school readiness opportunities in the community that enhance parent engagement with children birth to five. This also supports training for area child care providers to build relationships and enhance knowledge relating to school readiness.
• Minnesota Fathers and Families Network—Healing the Home:  Child Poverty and the Role of Fathers: $1,000 to provide sponsorship to the annual Minnesota Fathers and Families Network Conference on Feb. 6-7 in Saint Cloud.  This year's theme is "promoting healthy father, child and family relationships through informed practice, public policy and systems change.”
• Morrison County—Educational Opportunities for 3-year-olds: $3,000 to provide information on school readiness to parents of 3-year-old children at well-child checkups in Morrison County. This is designed to increase parent and caregiver knowledge of the importance of preschool education and ultimately increase the number of young children prepared for school.
• Wadena County—Supporting and Enhancing Early Childhood Education in Wadena County: $7,540 to increase parent engagement by offering opportunities for families with young children to learn about the lifelong significance of early childhood care and education. The grant will also help engage child care and foster care providers as partners in early childhood education and offer a county-wide early literacy event to increase school readiness.
• Regents of the University of Minnesota—Tourism Lodging Workforce Study: $4,250 to support a qualitative analysis of the current and future workforce challenges facing the tourism sector in Cass and Crow Wing counties. The analysis will examine regional models and develop recommendations for a long-term strategy for staff recruitment and retention to maintain tourism as part of the region's economy.
• City of Little Falls—Promotional Workforce and Tourism Virtual Reality 360-Degree Video: $2,500 to develop, produce and market promotional videos using 360-degree cameras for virtual reality content. The videos will feature Little Falls attractions, employers and events, and is designed to attract and retain workforce to the community.
• City of Eden Valley—A Renewed Leadership Vision for Eden Valley: $1,000 to connect with past, present, and potential Eden Valley for Progress (E4P) members by hosting a "Get to Know Us" event.  The purpose is to help the city expand the local network of new and emerging civic leaders.
• City of Hackensack—Bringing the Heart of the Hackensack Community Together: $1,000 to host a community event incorporating a historical look at the city of Hackensack. The TCI team members will invite participants to discuss what they would like the next 20 years to look like in the community. During this event, information will be provided about the Thriving Community Initiative (TCI) team's goal to partner with grassroots leaders interested in engaging in community development.
• City of Milaca—Painting a New Vision for the Milaca Community: $1,000 to engage new and emerging leaders in conversations about the community. In addition, the Thriving Community Initiative (TCI) team will host a community painting evening event at the Milaca Arts Center to lift up a new vision for the community.
• City of Menahga—TCI Phase I Funding: $1,000 to gather feedback from community members about the city and invite new and emerging leaders to engage in the Foundation's Thriving Community Initiative (TCI) program.
• City of Saint Joseph—East Park Canoe Access/Picnic Area: $2,500 to engage residents in the redesign of a local canoe access at the East Park and picnic area.
• The National Loon Center Foundation, Crosslake—Business Planning for a National Loon Center: $5,000 to develop a sustainable business plan for the National Loon Center (NLC), a community-driven project that focuses on loons and their unique relationship with the region's freshwater ecosystem, fish and wildlife management, environmental stewardship, trails, tourism, recreation and education.
• A Place for You—Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's social enterprise training.
• Paws & Claws Animal Shelter—Financial Resiliency Through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's social enterprise training.
• Isanti County Historical Society—Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $2,600 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's social enterprise training.
• Pine Habilitation and Supported Employment, Inc.—Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $3,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's social enterprise training.
• Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services, Inc.—Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Round Six Program Participation: $5,000  to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's sixth round of social enterprise training.
• Flight Expo, Inc.—Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Round Six Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's sixth round of social enterprise training.
• Happy Dancing Turtle—Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Round Six Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's sixth round of social enterprise training.
• Tri-County Community Action, Inc. —Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Round Six Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's sixth round of social enterprise training.
• Big Lake Community Food Shelf, Inc. —Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Round Six Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's sixth round of social enterprise training.
• STEP—Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Round Six Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's sixth round of social enterprise training.
• Advocates Against Domestic Abuse—Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Foundation's social enterprise training.
• National Park Service Voyageurs National Park—Restoration of Wetlands Impaired by Invasive Cattails: $360,000 to support pilot prevention and control strategy for non-native invasive cattails in partnership with the Bois Forte and Fonde Du Lac Bands of Ojibwe, including mechanical and hand removal of the hybrid invasive cattails. Additionally, the use of enhanced muskrat populations as natural biocontrol for sustained management of restored wetlands needs to be evaluated. This project is funded through a grant from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, as recommended by the Minnesota Legislature.
• Koronis Lake Association—Starry Stonewort Management Project in Stearns County: $57,000 to support experimental management designed to control and contain the infestation of Starry Stonewort and prevent its spread to other lakes in Minnesota. This grant is supported by funds provided by the Outdoor Heritage Council as recommended by the Minnesota Legislature.
• Wildlife Forever—Preventing the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species: $238,320 to support the deployment of CD3, a prototype of a self-contained, vandal-resistant cleaning station to prevent the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species. This is in partnership with Wildlife Forever (a national nonprofit with offices and staff in Minnesota), Big Sandy Lake Association (Aitkin County), Three Rivers Park District and Hennepin County, and Forest Lake Watershed District (Chisago County), St. Louis County. Minnesota Sea Grant and the University of Minnesota AIS Research Center are educational partners that will assist Wildlife Forever in promoting awareness of station locations and proper use.
• Greater Lake Sylvia Association—Greater Lake Sylvia Association AIS Prevention Strategies: $80,000 to replace "at the ramp" monitoring for Aquatic Invasive Species with an innovative Regional Inspection and Decontamination Site (RAIDS). Mandatory regional inspection provides much greater potential for the pilot lakes at a lower price point than multiple single landing inspection programs. In addition, regional inspections are one-tenth the cost to operate than landing inspections.
• City of Becker—Preliminary Engineering Report for Industrial Park Transportation Improvements: $20,000 to support a preliminary engineering report for Becker Industrial Park transportation improvements.
• Sherburne County—Rail Impact Study: $40,000 to provide matching funds for a rail spur feasibility analysis that would support new or expanding businesses in the Becker Industrial Park. One goal of this project is to diversify the local economy to help offset the impact of a reduced workforce needed at the Sherburne County Energy Station ("Sherco") as Units 1 and 2 are decommissioned in the coming decade.  This grant is supported in part by special funding from The McKnight Foundation Climate and Energy program.
• Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corporation—Launch Unified Fund and General Support: $10,000 to support the launch of the BLAEDC Unified Fund by providing underwriting and back office support to help deploy previously stagnant low-interest lending funds.
• Cass County Economic Development Corporation—Walker Area Workforce Strategic Planning: $2,750 to support strategic planning for economic and workforce development in partnership with the Walker Area Chamber of Commerce and Brainerd-based Small Business Development Center.
• Benton Economic Partnership, Inc. —Economic Development Initiative: $10,000 to support Benton County-based businesses in creating or expanding internship and apprentice programs to help attract, retain and develop skilled workforce.
• Leech Lake Financial Services—Building Collaborative Partnerships for Entrepreneurial Development: $10,000 to foster business creation by delivering entrepreneurship training and support services to the greater Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe community.
• Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA)—Accelerating Minority Business Growth in Central Minnesota: $5,000 to deliver one-on-one technical assistance to accelerate the growth existing minority-owned businesses in Central Minnesota.
• Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation—Greater St. Cloud Regional Portal and JobSpot Enhancement: $10,000 to enhance the job opportunities and key employee recruitment capabilities of the GreaterStCloud.com and JobSpot online tools.
• Economic Development Authority of the City of St. Cloud—Somali Food Business Outreach Program: $5,400 to deliver culturally appropriate food-safety training and technical assistance to new immigrant food businesses in St. Cloud.

3rd Quarter 2017 Grant Awards

• Braham Area Schools ISD #314—School Board: $1,550 to provide Minnesota School Boards Association professional development training for the District 314 school board.
• Arc of Minnesota—Job Training and Placement for Disabled Persons in St. Cloud: $5,000 to support an interagency alliance to provide self-directed tools and assistance to job seekers with significant disabilities and their families to help navigate known obstacles to competitive employment.
• Christian Social Services, Inc.—Monticello Help Center Capacity-Building and Expansion Plan: $2,500 to support contracted technical expertise and training necessary for service expansion efforts.
• Wright County Community Action, Inc.—Implementing Raising a Reader for At-Risk Children in Wright County:$4,000 to expand the "Raising a Reader" program, a research-based literacy program. The program is designed to increase school readiness and parent-to-child bonding by creating a culture of literacy in the home.
• Morrison County United Way—Imagination Library Program:$3,000 to support the distribution of Imagination Library books to children from birth to age 5. The goal of this project is to support school readiness by encouraging families to read with their young children.
• Stearns-Benton Employment & Training Council—CareerONE Coleman: $5,000 to prepare unemployed individuals who have “aged out” of high school with the skills needed to fill manufacturing positions. The program focuses on literacy skills leading to a diploma while enhancing work readiness and encouraging continued education.
• Cloverleaf Youth Partnership, dba Cyber Cafe—Computer Coding Class Training: $1,000 to support skills training for youth.
• Central Minnesota Housing Partnership—Affordable Housing Initiative: $4,000 to develop at least one housing project that meets growing workforce needs in the Staples area. The goal of affordable housing is to help stabilize low- to moderate-income families who work within the area or are moving to the area for jobs.
  
• Main Street Family Services—Staff Training Support: $4,500 to increase the number of staff who can deliver and teach the "Circle of Security," an international training program rooted in secure attachment research. This program is designed to increase nurturing and safety in families and help parents learn new skills.
• Minnesota Council of Nonprofits—Sponsorship Grant for Membership Renewal: $1,100 membership renewal.
• Blandin Foundation—Sponsorship Grant for Border to Border Broadband Conference: $1,000 to sponsor the Blandin Foundation's Oct. 25-26 Border to Border Broadband Conference at Maddens on Gull Lake. The event will showcase a variety of approaches that rural communities have developed to expand broadband’s impact, leverage investments, and bridge the digital divide.  
• CommunityGiving—Jugaad Leadership Program: $5,000 to provide underrepresented community members with the knowledge, skills and resources to become effective leaders at the grassroots level.  Activities include a seven-month series of speakers who train participants to understand community issues, build relationships, become familiar with nonprofit boards and committees and network with others.
• Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization—Capacity Building for La Cruz Community Center: $7,500 to La Cruz Community Center to help new Americans integrate to the St. Cloud area by providing mentoring and tutoring for students, summer youth engagement events and English as a Second Language classes to parents. 
• Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce Education Association—Bridges Career Institute for Region Five for High School Internship and Apprenticeship Models: $5,000 to identify high school juniors and seniors from Brainerd, Pequot Lakes, and Crosby-Ironton schools and match them for summer 2017 employment in manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare and information technology. 
• City of Little Falls—Little Falls Downtown Revitalization II: $3,000 to support civic engagement in the development of public art as a strategy to foster a revitalized downtown area.
• Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless—Stearns County RideShare Demonstration Project: $4,000 to support participating local agencies in providing RideShare services to individuals who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. This helps them access employment, education and other services necessary to improve their lives and enhance self-reliance.
• Productive Alternatives, Inc. (PAI)—Removing Barriers, Because Work Matters: $4,000 to provide a challenge match to support the transportation of adults with disabilities to and from work, job interviews and skills training. Many businesses that have had difficulty retaining a skilled workforce have discovered that adults with disabilities often have a strong interest in productive employment.
• Salem Lutheran Church —Salem WEST Social Enterprise Improvements: $2,500 to provide technology improvements for the Deerwood-based social enterprise which generates support for the organization's social services.
• Goodwill Industries, Inc.—St. Cloud Area Financial Services Training Program: $4,000 to support an eight-week program that provides individuals with experience in the financial service, call center and customer service fields. The program offers additional support to help participants obtain employment upon program completion.
• Essentia Health Foundation—Reach Out & Read Brainerd Lakes Area: $2,750 to increase engagement of parents and children in early literacy. Through this program, medical providers can provide information to parents about the importance of reading to children and provide free children’s books at their well-child exams. 
• ServeMinnesota—Family Child Care Reading Corps: $5,000 to deliver the Reading Corps model in licensed family child care settings. This program is designed to increase kindergarten readiness skills and family engagement while increasing the capacity of child care provider to to sustain high-quality learning environments.
• Jack's Basket—Donation in Honor of Jordan Witt: $500 to support families as they welcome babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome.
• Big Lake School District—Big Lake Area Early Childhood Coalition: $7,000 to increase literacy-rich opportunities for families with young children, especially those living in poverty, by offering story times in various Big Lake parks. The grant will also help increase training and collaboration opportunities for early childhood professionals to support children in their school readiness skills. 
• Pine River-Backus School District—Fostering Partnerships: $6,500 to provide community events and Love and Logic parenting classes, which are tailored towards families with young children. This program works to increase parent engagement and kindergarten readiness skills in young children.
• City of Little Falls—Trunk Highway 27 Memorial Bridge Railroad Crossing: $2,500 to support a feasibility study of the railway crossing on Trunk Highway 27, which has hurt business growth on the western side of Little Falls. This study will analyze the alternatives to minimize this barrier.
• City of Pequot Lakes—Pequot Lakes Thriving Communities Initiative (TCI): $5,000 to support projects resulting from the city's participation in the Thriving Communities Initiative (TCI) program, including: creation of a trademarked community brand, design of a new skateboard park, coordination of a community website to assist visitors and residents, and revisions to the city's current comprehensive plan to include elements from the TCI Initiative.
• City of Avon—Avon Strategic Plan: $1,000 to support a strategic planning process to bring together public and private sectors in the creation of a roadmap to diversify and strengthen the local economy. Areas of focus will include workforce development and attraction, economic competitiveness, community resources and assets. 
• Fairview Township—Gull Lake Trail: Phase 3-1, Fairview Township: $2,500 to support the township's planning efforts to connect existing trails in East Gull Lake with a future trail in Lake Shore. 
• Wildlife Forever—Preventing the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species: $17,1550 to Wildlife Forever, a national nonprofit with offices and staff in Minnesota, which will partner with CD3, LLC, to deploy a prototype of a self-contained, vandal-resistant cleaning station to prevent the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species. Partners include: Big Sandy Lake Association (Aitkin County), Three Rivers Park District, Hennepin County, Forest Lake Watershed District (Chisago County), St. Louis County, Minnesota Sea Grant, and the University of Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center.
• National Park Service Voyageurs National Park—Restoration of Wetlands Impaired by Invasive Cattails: $31,000 to support pilot prevention and control strategy for non-native invasive cattails, including mechanical and hand removal of the hybrid invasive cattails. This is in partnership with the Bois Forte and Fonde Du Lac Bands of Ojibwe, and is funded through a grant from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, as recommended by the Minnesota Legislature.
• Greater Saint Cloud Development Corporation—Annual Corporate Investment: $7,500 to renew our annual commitment to this member-supported organization of community leaders that are dedicated to enhancing and expanding the economic opportunities of the St. Cloud region.
• Central Lakes College Small Business Development Center (SBDC)—Small Business Growth and Success Initiative: $10,000 to support consulting services which provide assistance in business plan development, loan application preparation, financial projection analysis, market feasibility assessments, and other guidance to help local businesses grow.

2nd Quarter 2017 Grant Awards

• Princeton School District - Early Childhood Preventive Dental Services: $1,500 to support early childhood dental screenings to improve kindergarten readiness and promote positive health and developmental outcomes.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota - Career Development Program: $5,000 to provide a range of services to help club members explore career opportunities and develop skills essential for workforce success.
• Kimball Area School District - Robotics Program: $2,000 to support participation of adult chaperones in the Kimball Robotics Club participation in national competition.
• Great River Family Promise - Board and Staff Development: $1,500 to support staff and board training to maximize service delivery while positioning the organization for greater sustainability in Elk River.
• Wright County Community Action, Inc. - Staff Development: $2,500 to support staff development initiatives that foster a positive, inclusive culture and increase staff retention and engagement while improving customer service.
• Sherburne County Area United Way - Issue-Focused Training: $5000 to support a planning process to align with United Way’s worldwide issue-focused standards.
• Promise Neighborhood of Central Minnesota - St. Cloud Neighborhood Development: $5,000 to improve efficiency and effectiveness through board and staff development in the areas of fund development, volunteer coordination and data management to better serve disadvantaged youth in the greater St. Cloud area.
• The Yes Network – I Have a Dream: $5,000 to support the “I Have a Dream” program that provides intensive support to 35 elementary students and their families to improve long-term physical and mental health outcomes.
• Foundation for Essential Needs - Central Minnesota Food Shelves: $5,000 to support the expansion of FFEN's capacity-building work to help Central Minnesota food shelves provide more and better services while positioning themselves for greater sustainability in Cass, Crow Wing, Kanabec and Mille Lacs counties.
• Minnesota Planned Giving Council - Sustainability for Central MN Nonprofits Through Planned Giving: $2,500 for under-served nonprofit professionals in Central Minnesota to learn about and engage in planned-giving discussions to increase their financial sustainability.
• City of Wahkon - Veterans Park Feasibility Study: $2,500 to complete a project analysis that includes preliminary drawings, cost estimates and solutions to restore natural shoreline vegetation at the new park location.
• Enterprise Minnesota, Inc. - The 2017 State of Manufacturing: $1,500 to support the May 2017 State of Manufacturing briefing and tour of the Integrated Science and Engineering Laboratory Facility (ISELF) at St. Cloud State University.
• Saint Cloud Area School District - Play Area for Pre-School Children: $2,000 to provide a Dramatic Play Area at Talahi School to serve 3- and 4-year-olds. The play area is designed to offer hands-on learning opportunities such as planting a seed, nurturing it and harvesting the vegetables.
• St. Cloud State University - Opening Doors and Building Bridges: $10,000 to address the social and emotional needs of young children in the greater St. Cloud area through collaborations with organizations that serve immigrant and refugee populations. Funding will support two co-learning events that bring together immigrant and refugee families and early childhood professionals along with community training about healthy social and emotional development.
• Crow Wing County United Way, Inc. - Imagination Library: $4,000 to support the distribution of Imagination Library books to children birth to 5 years old to support school readiness and to encourage families to read with their young children.
• Licensed Family Child Care Association of Morrison County - Home-Based Preschool Literacy Project: $3,000 to provide early literacy kits to families with young children to increase at-home reading.
• Chisago County EDA - Chisago County Affordable Housing Study: $2,500 to develop a feasibility study and action plan to create the type of housing and financing needed to attract and retain skilled workers, provide an affordable option and keep seniors close to home.
• City of Melrose - Housing Study: $3,250 to support a city housing study—one of the more significant barriers to attracting and retaining workers and young families following a September 2016 downtown fire that destroyed an entire city block.
• Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services, Inc. - Financial Resiliency Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in Round Six of the Initiative Foundation’s Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Happy Dancing Turtle - Financial Resiliency Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in Round Six of the Initiative Foundation’s Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• STEP - Financial Resiliency Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in Round Six of the Initiative Foundation’s Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Tri-County Community Action, Inc. - Financial Resiliency Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in Round Six of the Initiative Foundation’s Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Flight Expo, Inc. - Financial Resiliency Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in Round Six of the Initiative Foundation’s Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Big Lake Community Food Shelf, Inc. - Financial Resiliency Program Participation: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in Round Six of the Initiative Foundation’s Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District - Rapid Response to Aquatic Invasive Species: $10,400 to employ a new treatment protocol to maintain herbicide concentration at the level required to kill Eurasian watermilfoil, an aquatic invasive species. This project is funded with grant support from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.
• Wildlife Forever - Preventing the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species: $126,400 to Wildlife Forever to deploy with its partners a self-contained, vandal-resistant cleaning station prototype to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. This project is funded with grant support from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.
• National Park Service Voyageurs National Park - Restoration of Wetlands Impaired by Invasive Cattails: $120,000 to support prevention and control strategies for non-native invasive cattails in partnership with the Bois Forte and Fonde Du Lac Bands of Ojibwe. This project is funded with grant support from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.
• Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District - Enhanced Skills Development for AIS Program: $28,000 to provide aquatic invasive species training in conflict resolution, techniques to de-escalate confrontations, and basic precepts in lake science and ecology. This project is funded with grant support from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.
• Isanti County - High-Speed Internet Feasibility Study: $5,000 to conduct a county-wide high-speed internet access feasibility study.
• Cass County Economic Development Corporation - Annual Support: $1,500 to build the capacity of the Cass County Economic Development Corporation to build businesses and create jobs.

1st Quarter 2017 Grant Awards

• Mille Lacs County - Mille Lacs County Cavity Free Birth-5 and Pregnant Mothers: $17,500 to support education and access to preventative dental health to children under the age of five.
• Children's Dental Services, Inc. - Dental Care and Education for Central Minnesota Children: $5,000 to maintain essential and accessible dental treatment for 300 of Central Minnesota's most vulnerable children.
•  Volunteers of America of Minnesota - Our HOME Supportive Housing in South Mille Lacs Lake Area: $5,000 to support 24-hour supportive housing that provides necessary services to help up to eight families develop more stable living situations.
• Lakes Area Interfaith Caregivers - Support Services for Brainerd Lakes Area Seniors: $5,000 to support services that allow seniors to age in place and avoid unnecessary or premature nursing home and assisted living placement.
• New Pathways, Inc. - Operating Support: $500 to support transitional housing services for Central Minnesota families experiencing homelessness.
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud - Operating Support: $500 to support its Central Minnesota foster grandparent program.
• Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest - Operating Support: $500 to support Junior Achievement's work in the Greater St. Cloud Area.
• National Joint Powers Alliance - Sponsorship for 2017 Student Recognition Event: $1,000 to provide sponsorship for this event honoring scholarships for outstanding students in the National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) service area of Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties.
• Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation - On the Grow Portal and JobSpot Enhancement: $7,500 to support improvements to GreaterStCloudJobSpot.com, a regional job portal to help retain and attract skilled workers to the region.
• Rural Renewable Energy Alliance - Community Trust-Owned Solar Benefiting Income-eligible Minnesotans: $1,500 to help build a solar energy business model that serves Minnesota's poorest residents.
• RESOURCE - Skills for Success: $5,000 to support the Skills for Success program that aims to build skills that enhance job and educational opportunities for new Americans in the St. Cloud area.
• Tri-County Action Program, Inc. - Central Minnesota Free Tax Preparation: $5,000 to support the coordination of Tri-Cap's VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program that provides free-tax return preparation and e-filing services to income-qualified individuals in Central Minnesota.
• Community Giving - Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation Spirit of Hope Fund: $5,000 to establish a challenge match for community donations to provide essential services for families in need.
• Community Giving - Staffing for Create CommUNITY and Jugaad Leadership Program: $10,000 to support recruitment and training of up to 20 emerging leaders from communities of color in the Greater St. Cloud Area.
• Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation - St Cloud Rotary Richard C Wilson Community Outpost: $2,500 to support Greater St Cloud Public Safety Foundation in development of a southside COP House (Community Oriented Policing) to increase community-police engagement and reduce crime.  
• Nonprofits Assistance Fund - Capacity-building Training for Central Minnesota Nonprofits: $8,000 to provide nonprofits across the Initiative Foundation service area access to a variety of financial and management training opportunities.
• Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota - St. Cloud Circle of Parents: $4,000 To provide parenting resources and a free weekly support group for parents who may be in danger of abusing or neglecting their children.
• Stearns-Benton Employment & Training Council - Peer Career Counseling: $5,000 to recruit and train diverse college students to serve as peer mentors for high school students engaged in career exploration.
• Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota - Emergency Childcare to Improve Self-Sufficiency and Employment Opportunities: $4,000 To reduce the maltreatment of young children and provide relief to parents in crisis by offering emergency childcare within a network of licensed child care providers in the community.
• GiveMN - General Operating Support: $1,000 to help cover administrative costs associated with hosting the www.GiveMN.org website which serves as an online giving portal for many nonprofits throughout Minnesota.
• St. Cloud State University - SCSU Winter Institute K-12 Teaching Workshop: $2,000 to market and deliver the Winter Institute Economic Education event to Central Minnesota K-12 educators.
• Minnesota Council on Foundations – Minnesota Food Funders Network Contribution: $1,000 to provide administrative support for an affinity group of funding partners interesting in helping support family-owned farms, sustainable agriculture and healthy food systems.
• Happy Dancing Turtle - Eureka! TEDx Gull Lake 2017: $2,500 to deliver a regional TEDx event to increase community engagement, highlight technology, advance workforce opportunities and inspire community partnerships.
• Tusen Tack - Sustainable Governance of Tusen Tack/Braham Community Event Center: $2,500 to assist Tusen Tack's Board in making an orderly transition to a sustainable business operations model for the Braham Event Center.
• City of St. Cloud - St. Cloud Parks and Recreation Master Planning: $2,500 to support public input and engagement in updating the St. Cloud parks master plan.
• BestPrep - Minnesota Business Venture for Central Minnesota: $3,000 to deliver the Minnesota Business Venture (MBV) leadership and business skills development program program for high school students.
• Milestones - Inside Out Connections Coalition; Supporting Children/Families Impacted by Incarceration: $5,000 to plan a regional training about children of incarcerated parents to increase awareness, provide resources and develop and maintain a network of support for families and returning citizens.
• Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity - Brainerd Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity “ReStore” Job Transition Training: $5,000 to support a job training program for Minnesota Teen Challenge graduates that provides employment and a local reference to help them find long-term work.
• Salem Lutheran Church - Salem WEST Fire Response Planning: $5,000 to support strategic planning assistance to help Salem WEST rebuild and reorganize following a March fire at its Deerwood facility.
• Milestones - Caring for a Lifetime Learning Event: $2,500 toward an annual educational event attended by more than 300 self-employed child-care providers, small business owners and childcare centers.
• Cambridge-Isanti School District - Cambridge-Isanti Early Childhood Coalition: $5,000 to support school readiness skills by providing early learning check-out materials such as books, toys and games).
• Mille Lacs Health System - 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten in Onamia Area: $7,500 to increase access to literacy materials through the "1,000 Books before Kindergarten" program.
• Freshwater Education District - Reading For the Future in Todd County: $3,460 to support the Reading for the Future (RFF) project that will disburse books to 500 children ages birth to age 5 at least three time per year.
• Princeton School District - Princeton Early Childhood Coalition: $7,000 to collaborate with local agencies and businesses to enhance literacy, increase father involvement and foster teen-parent involvement.
• United Way of Central Minnesota - Early Learning Access, Materials & Events in Greater St. Cloud: $12,000 to improve parent and caregiver involvment by providing toolkits designed to foster literacy.
• Pine City School District - Early Childhood Standards and the Dragon Wagon: $5,000 toward training initiatives about the Minnesota Department of Education’s early childhood standards and to help fund the Dragon Wagon (mobile preschool) kindergarden readiness and literacy efforts.
• Brainerd School District - Brainerd Lakes Area Early Childhood Coalition: $10,000 to provide trainings on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and for continued support of the school district’s cradle-to-career efforts.
• City of Fifty Lakes - The Landing: $2,895 toward an economic development project to encourage small businesses and entrepreneurs to explore operating in a shared location with shared advertising and other services.
• A Place for You - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through the Initiative Foundation's next-stage social enterprise training.
• Isanti County Historical Society - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through the Initiative Foundation's next-stage social enterprise training.
• United Cerebral Palsy of Central Minnesota - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through the Initiative Foundation’s next-stage social enterprise training.
• Advocates Against Domestic Abuse - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through the Initiative Foundation's next-stage social enterprise training.
• Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through the Initiative Foundation’s next-stage social enterprise training.
• Employment Enterprises, Inc. - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through the Initiative Foundation's next-stage social enterprise training.
• Pine Habilitation and Supported Employment, Inc. - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise 2.0: $5,000 to advance goals developed through the Initiative Foundation's next-stage social enterprise training.
• Wildlife Forever - Preventing the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species: $80,000 to assist Wildlife Forever in the deployment of a self-contained, vandal-resistant cleaning station to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. 
• National Park Service Voyageurs National Park - Restoration of Wetlands Impaired by Invasive Cattails: $60,000 to support a pilot prevention and control strategy for non-native invasive cattails.
• Rural Minnesota CEP, Inc. - Workforce Training for Disabled Adults: $5,000 to provide a work-transition support for individuals in Todd, Wadena, Morrison Cass and Crow Wing counties who experience employment challenges due to disabilities.
• City of Wyoming - Community Economic Strategic Plan: $2,500 to develop a strategic economic development plan for the city of Wyoming.
• Kanabec County EDA - Kanabec County EDA Satellite SBDC Office Formation and Mora Industrial Park Shovel-Ready Certification: $4,500 to assist the Kanabec County Economic Development Authority in the establishment of a Small Business Development Center office and to obtain shovel-ready certification for the Mora Industrial Park.
• Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation - Micro-finance Feasibility Study for Greater St. Cloud: $2,000 to explore the creation of a peer-to-peer micro-lending program to support new Americans and other entrepreneurs in the Greater St. Cloud Area.
• Northern Technology Initiative dba GPS 45:93 - Strengthening Economic Development in Region 7E: $8,200 to facilitate a new round of Economic Gardening (helping existing businesses move to the next stage) and to support pilot-project training for an economic development board member.

4th Quarter 2016 Awards

• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe - Early Education Oral Health Improvement Project: $6,640 for  early education programming to provide fluoride varnishing treatments to young children.
• City of Pine City - Hotel Market Feasibility Study: $2,500 to complete a professional hotel market study in support of a regional or national chain hotel in the Pine City area. 
• St. Cloud Area School District - Experience Books for Blind/Visually Impaired Children: $2,500 for supplies to help blind/visually-impaired children learn to read by creating storybooks from their own life experiences.
• Central Minnesota Taskforce on Battered Women - Children Exposed to Violence Initiative: $4,000 to support children who suffer from physical, developmental and psychological effects as a result of exposure to trauma and violence.
• City of Cambridge - Engaging Business Owners for Downtown Revitalization: $5,000 to evaluate, prioritize and implement Minnesota Design Team recommendations following its April 2016 visit to Cambridge.
• Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center - Youth Workforce Development in Brainerd, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Joseph and Elk River: $2,500 to support the expansion of the Youth Energy Summit program, an effort to develop S.T.E.M. skills, critical thinking and entrepreneurial strategies to help students develop projects that conserve or generate (renewable) energy.
• Dreams United/Sueños Unidos - Celebrating the Diversity of Long Prairie Residents: $2,500 to support the 10th annual Cinco de Mayo celebration in Long Prairie--a cultural festival that features diverse cuisine and host local vendors and musicians.
• Kanabec-Pine Community Health - Flood Recovery Project: $5,000 to help drive donations to the Kanabec County Flood Relief Fund, a program that assists vulnerable individuals and households with needs related to July 2016 flooding.
• Community Aid of Elk River (CAER) - Car CAER Vehicle Repair: $3,500 to support a vehicle repair program to support income-eligible families in the Elk River area.
• Goodwill Industries, Inc. - St. Cloud Area Youth Workforce Development: $4,000 to provide classroom and on-the-job training to economically disadvantaged youth.
• City of Melrose - Area Fire Relief Fund: $5,000 for disaster relief to individuals and businesses affected by a September fire in downtown Melrose that destroyed a number of historic buildings that housed businesses and apartments.
• Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - Strengthening Central Minnesota's Nonprofits: $1,100 to provide annual support to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, an organization that provides resources, training and information to help nonprofits operate efficiently and reach their goals.
• Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation - Talent and Innovation Summit: $5,000 to provide sponsorship for the 2016 Innovation Summit, an event highlighting innovative events and activities happening in and around the Greater St. Cloud area.
• Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe - Leech Lake Area YouthBuild Program: $5,000 to support program costs associated with Leech Lake Area YouthBuild construction training program.
• All Parks Alliance for Change - Support for Affordable Housing: $3,000 to train and educate policy makers and residents of manufactured home parks to ensure that these communities are recognized and preserved as an affordable housing option in Minnesota. 
• Hands Across the World - Take Ten Program - Crucial Conversations in Greater St. Cloud: $4,000 to fund proactive conversations with students that are aimed at preventing bullying and reducing racial tensions in schools.
• Second Harvest North Central Food Bank, Inc. - Kids-Packs-to-Go Backpack Program: $2,500 to provide approximately 15,795 nutritious food packs to children who are at risk of going hungry during long weekends and school vacations. 
• City of Wahkon - Feasibility Study for Veterans Park: $2,500 to complete a professional analysis of the city's Veterans Park project, including: preliminary drawings, cost estimates and solutions for restoring the area's natural vegetation.
• Someplace Safe - Wadena Advocacy Program Support: $2,500 to provide individuals and families victimized by crime and abuse with support services such as temporary housing, food and clothing.
• Eden Valley Area Library - Strategic Planning: $1,200 to support a community-driven strategic planning process to improve library services.
• Wellness in the Woods, Inc. - Central Minnesota Peer Respite Program: $4,000 to support a pilot program to train and employ 10-12 Central Minnesota peer recovery specialists to support and advise individuals experiencing mental health crises.
• City of Crosslake - Design Team Implementation Project: $2,500 to implement prioritized community development projects recommended by the Minnesota Design Team.
• Open Doors For Youth - Elk River Area Connections Program: $4,000 to help homeless youth and link them to educational, employment, health and housing support services.
• Hands Across the World - Support for New Americans in Greater St. Cloud: $1,000 to support programs which help new Americans learn English, explore educational opportunities, gain job skills and integrate into the Greater St. Cloud community. This award is made to honor the service of Linda Eich DesJardins as a member of the Initiative Foundation Board of Trustees, including her role as past board chair (2007-2016).
• Central Lakes College Foundation - Scholarship for Native American Students: $1,000 to provide scholarship support to advance the education of a Native American student enrolled at Central Lakes College. This gift is made in recognition of the service of John J. Babcock as a member of the Initiative Foundation Board of Trustees (2014-2016). 
• Staples Motley Beyond Poverty - Circle of Support Project: $3,000 in general operating support for the "Not on My Block" methamphetamine forum and community connection day.
• Community Grassroots Solutions - Informational Sessions Connecting Programs/Services to the Community: $5,000 to support informational sessions in St. Cloud that build the capacity of Somali women who are interested in full- or part-time employment.
• Brainerd Housing & Redevelopment Authority - Brainerd Riverfront Business Plan: $5,000 to support the development of recreational access and amenities along the Brainerd riverfront.
• Little Falls School District - Weekend Food Backpack Program: $2,500 to provide nutritious food packs to about 50 children who are at risk of hunger during long weekends and school vacations. 
• City of Montrose - Economic and Community Development Planning: $2,000 to update Montrose's comprehensive development plan by gathering community input on quality of life and economic development opportunities.
• Big Lake Community Food Shelf, Inc. - Big Lake Community Food Shelf Space Expansion Project: $2,500 to support the planned relocation of the Big Lake community food shelf to a larger and more efficient space.
• University of St. Thomas - Institute for Executive Director Leadership: $5,000 to underwrite scholarships for Central Minnesota nonprofit leaders to attend the St. Thomas Institute for Executive Leadership.
• Staples Economic Development Authority - Staples Comprehensive Plan: $2,500 to facilitate community discussions centered on the creation of a new city development plan.
• Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce Education Association - Brainerd Downtown Business Competition: $5,000 to aid in the revitalization of downtown Brainerd through the creation of a business competition.
• Service Corps of Retired Executives (Central Minnesota Chapter) - Central Minnesota Score Education & Outreach Project: $3,000 to develop comprehensive marketing, social media and training seminars for Central Minnesota small businesses.
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud - Transitional Housing: $5,000 to support the efforts of Domus, a program which supports women and children as they transition from chemical dependency treatment centers, mental health care facilities, domestic abuse shelters and homeless shelters. 
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud - Strengthening Families in Mille Lacs County: $5,000 to support cross-cultural community engagement and education while supporting paths to individual, family and community resilience.
• Isanti County - Isanti County Trail and Bikeway Master Plan: $5,000 to retain a consultant and collect community input on a master plan to develop an interconnected trail system.
• Minnesota Council on Foundations - Annual Support: $5,850 to provide annual support to the Minnesota Council on Foundations, a statewide affinity group which provides resources, training and information to help nonprofits excel.
• Morrison County - Literacy Kits for Families: $3,000 to provide early literacy kits to families with young children to encourage reading and increase parental engagement.
• Wright County Community Action, Inc. - Raising a Reader Program: $5,000 to develop a research-based literacy program designed to increase school readiness and parent-child bonding opportunities by creating a culture of literacy in the home.  
• Greater Twin Cities United Way - Start Early Funders Coalition Supportive Funding - 2017: $1,000 to provide annual support to this 26-member philanthropic coalition that provides funding, research, program development, public policy and grant-making to support and improve early childhood efforts in Minnesota.
• Wadena County - Early Childhood Coalition: $7,345 for families with young children to learn about the lifelong significance of early childhood care, education and consistent parental engagement.
• Pre-K through Grade 3 Alignment Efforts:
• St. Cloud Milestones: $7,500 to plan and coordinate family engagement events that will bring together professionals and families to discuss opportunities, challenges and strategies for implementing stronger family engagement.
• Monticello School District: $2,500 to coordinate a birth to age 8 system to educate families about the importance of teaching children early through reading, language experiences and exposure to various opportunities.
• Pierz School District: $3,150 to support a collaborative teacher effort to decrease the need for special education services and shrink the achievement gap by improving mathematical skills and increasing reading abilities.
• Pine City School District: $1,500 for school personnel and community partners to attend the Pre-K- through Grade 3 Leadership Institute to improve school readiness and align educational policies and practices.
• Cambridge Isanti School District:  $2,500 to increase parent engagement by purchasing and distributing learning materials that support literacy and healthy social emotional development.  
• Rocori School District: $2,500 to support the efforts of the First School On-Line program, a module-based program that increases the capacity of educators to align literacy techniques and engagement across grade levels.
• Wadena-Deer Creek School District: $2,500 for attendance at curriculum alignment sessions designed to facilitate a smooth transition for children from pre-kindergarten to kindergarten.
• City of Milaca - Preparing for Natural Disasters: $2,000 to develop a plan and coordinate disaster response professionals, nonprofits, service clubs and faith communities to provide immediate and long-term relief in the event of fire, flood, tornado or other disaster.
• Financial Resiliency Through Social Enterprise 2.0 Participants: 
• Helping Hands Outreach: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's next-stage social enterprise training.
• Paws & Claws Animal Shelter: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's next-stage social enterprise training.
• Rural Renewable Energy Alliance: $5,000 to advance goals developed through participation in the Initiative Foundation's next-stage social enterprise training.
• Central Lakes College Foundation - Small Business Technical Assistance Support: $10,000 to provide trained consultants who will offer one-on-one sessions to help guide small business owners in business planning, financial projections, marketing consultation and other technical assistance.
• Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corp (BLAEDC) - Workforce Attraction Website Update: $10,000 help the Brainerd Lakes Area Development Corporation redesign its website and use live-feed data and social media marketing to better meet the mission of attracting workforce and new business to their region.
• Economic Development Partnership of Wright County - Wright County Commercial Broker Event: $2,500 to build awareness of business startup and expansion opportunities in their region.

3rd Quarter 2016 Grant Awards

• Princeton School District - Early Childhood Preventative Dental Services: $3,000 to provide dental education and fluoride varnishing at all Princeton Early Childhood screening events family nights and the early childhood fair.
• Mille Lacs Health System - Cavity Free Little Panthers in Onamia: $8,500 to provide an oral health screening in conjunction with the early childhood screenings, including fluoride varnish. 
• Mille Lacs County - Mille Lacs County Public Health Cavity Free Birth to Five: $10,000 to improve access to preventative dental health care using fluoride varnish at school and other screenings provided by Mille Lacs County Public Health nurses.
• Isle School District - Dental Awareness in Isle Early Childhood: $1,500 to purchase fluoride varnish and retain a dental provider to provide treatment up to four times in the school year to enrolled children ages 0-5. 
• College-Link - New American Students Connect to Higher Education in Greater St. Cloud: $5,000 to support high school students interested in obtaining a college or university degree. This work includes practical assistance with test preparation, admission application(s), financial aid, etc. 
• St. Cloud State University Foundation - Memorial for Dr. Earl Potter: $1,000 in remembrance of exceptional service to the Initiative Foundation in his capacity as a trustee (2007-2016), to the university and to our region.
• Southwest Initiative Foundation - Sponsorship of Minnesota Council of Foundations: $416 to support the Jan. 19-20, 2017, annual conference, "Philanthropy in Action," at the Radison Blu in Minneapolis.  
• Funders Network for Smart Growth & Livable Communities: $5,000 to sponsor the 2017 National Conference in St. Paul. This sponsorship is a combined contribution from each of the six Initiative Foundations which serve all of Greater Minnesota.
• New Hampshire Charitable Foundation - Community Foundation's Opportunity Network: $2,500 to sponsor coordination and logistical support for this national affinity group seeking to build social capital in under-served communities.  
• United Way of Central Minnesota - Better Together - Feeding Greater St. Cloud: $5,000 to support engagement across communities, neighborhoods and cultures while preparing meals for food shelves, charities and community groups that serve individuals experiencing food insecurity throughout Central Minnesota.
• Central Minnesota Jobs & Training - Community Economic Development Strategy for Benton, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright Counties: $7,000 to retain professional expertise and engage the public in updating the U.S. Economic Development Authority reviewed five-year plan.  
• Amherst Wilder Foundation - Minnesota Compass Support: $4,000 to maintain and enhance Minnesota Compass (www.mncompass.org), a website which presents summary statistics, and tracks and analyzes trends in areas that affect the quality of life in Greater Minnesota.  
• Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation - Sponsorship of Manufacturing Tour of Greater St. Cloud: $2,000 to support coordination and promotion of the Oct. 8 St. Cloud Area Tour of Manufacturing events and activities.
• Big Lake School District - Big Lake Early Childhood Coalition: $7,000 to increase literacy-rich opportunities for families with young children, especially those living in poverty.
• Morrison County United Way - Dolly Parton Imagination Library: $4,000 to support the distribution of Imagination Library books to children from birth to 5 years old; intended to support school readiness by encouraging families to read with their young children.
• Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota - Emergency Child Care - Benton and Stearns: $4,000 to provide 300 income-eligible children a safe and temporary place to go when their parent/caregiver is dealing with a crisis.
• Foley School District - PreK-Grade 3 Alignment: $2,350 to align Parent Aware-approved preschool cirriculum with current Kindergarten through Grade 3 programs. 
• Pine River-Backus School District - PreK-Grade 3 Alignment: $1,300 to increase quality and continuity of education within the PreK-3rd Grade time frame, designed to support staff in forming relationships and collaborations that will help children develop the skills needed to succeed in school.
• Pine City School District - PreK-Grade 3 Alignment: $2,350 to increase coordination and collaboration between professionals in both the private and public sectors of Pre-K to Grade 3 education and care, designed to align educational standards, literacy plans and professional development opportunities.
• Brainerd School District - PreK-Grade 3 Alignment: $2,350 to provide training to preschool and child care providers on a Parent Aware-approved early childhood assessment tool to asses school readiness.
• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe - PreK-Grade 3 Alignment: $2,350 to support planning and implementation of the PreK-Grade 3 collaboration between Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Isle and Onamia School Districts and Nay Ah Shing School.
• City of Sandstone - Thriving Communities Implementation Project: $10,000 to carry out projects developed though the Thriving Communities Initiative program, including: expanding Arts in the Park; school and community youth events and training; an analysis of a historic downtown building; and a wayfinding project to better identify community amenities for residents and visitors.
• City of Fifty Lakes - GoNorth Thriving Communities Initiative: $10,000 to support goals developed through the GoNorth Thriving Communities Initiative process that includes Emily, Fifty Lakes, and three adjacent townships.
• LEAP, Inc. - Staples Thriving Communities Implementation: $10,000 for the following projects: housing; encouraging entrepreneurship; small business expansion and formation;  improving community amenities; and creating a skilled workforce.
• City of Staples - Disaster Preparedness Project: $4,000 to plan and install backup generation capacity for the emergency response center as part of the long-term recovery team project.
• Sherburne County - Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy: $7,000 to update the 2013 Region 7W Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) so that the four-county region can maintain eligibility for grant funds from the Federal Department of Commerce while maintaining a common economic development strategy that will benefit all participants in the process.
• Gateway Institute for Research and Development - Business Planning for Somali Entrepreneurs in St. Cloud: $5,000 to provide an introduction to key skills and resources for New Americans interested in starting or expanding businesses. 
• BestPrep - Entrepreneurial Training for Youth in Greater St. Cloud: $3,000 to provide scholarships to a residential summer entrepreneurship program hosted at St. Cloud State University and Saint John's University for Central Minnesota high school students.
• City of Sartell - Update Development Plan for Heavy Development Zone: $7,000 to support public input and professional land-use guidance for heavy industrial-zoned land within the city.  
• Stearns-Benton Employment & Training Council - Immigrant-Workforce Connections for Greater St. Cloud: $5,000 to support training for employers interested in hiring new Americans plus assistance for immigrants seeking employment opportunities. 
• Northern Technology Initiative dba GPS 45:93 - Economic Development Strategic Plan for East Central Minnesota: $2,500 to retain an economic development consultant for the development of a strategic plan that identifies opportunities to create and/or retain quality jobs align GPS 45:93 resources with the structure needed to achieve measurable progress. 

2nd Quarter 2016 Grant Awards

• New Pathways, Inc. - Shelter and Support Services in Central Minnesota: $5,000 to provide shelter and support services to homeless children and families in Central Minnesota.
• Boys & Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area - Cass Lake Boys & Girls Club Career Launch Program: $5,000 to support the Career Launch program that provides essential tools and skills to better prepare youth to obtain future employment.
• The Yes Network - St. Cloud Yes Network: $4,000 to support the 'Future Search' facilitated communal dialogue in five St. Cloud low-income neighborhoods, aimed at empowering residents to collectively work to achieve shared goals to improve their communities.
• MInnesota Council on Foundations - Minnesota Food Funders Network: $1,000 to provide administrative support for a group of funding partners interesting in helping support family-owned farms, sustainable agriculture and healthy food systems.
• International Mountain Bicycling Association - Trail Development in Cuyuna Range: $5,000 to develop new trails in the Cuyuna Recreational Area to support area youth and economic development.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota - Youth Mentoring in St. Cloud Area: $5,000 to provide mentoring opportunities between youth and adults in Central Minnesota with a special focus on youth residing in low-income, single-parent homes.
• Cuyuna Range Youth Center - Youth Development in Crosby: $5,000 to deliver an after school program which provides activities and a safe space for area youth.
• Cornerstones Center, Inc. - Capacity-Building: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so they may better serve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• Kinship Partners, Inc. - Pathways to Mentoring: $5,000 to support school-based youth mentoring programs and follow-up community-based mentoring in Crosby, Pequot Lakes, Staples/Motley and Pillager schools in 2016.
• Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans - Greater St. Cloud Veterans and Families: $2,500 to provide direct assistance to at least 225 veterans and their families.
• College Possible - College Access and Support for Income-Eligible Students: $5,000 to support programming to help eligible high school students prepare and apply for college and persist through to graduation once they are accepted.
• Mid-Minnesota Women's Center, Inc. - Brainerd Lakes Area: $5,000 to support training in crisis intervention work skills for Center and partner organization staff.
• Rural Renewable Energy Alliance - Leech Lake Reservation Workforce Training: $5,000 to help two tribal members obtain their "Registered Unlicensed Electrician" certification so they can assist in the installation of solar panels at the Leech Lake Tribal College. The Legislative Citizens' Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) has awarded $490,000 to support the capital expenses associated with this project.
• Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest - Growing Entrepreneurs in Stearns County: $5,000 to expand programing into five new schools: Albany, Avon, Sartell, St. Joseph and Sauk Rapids. Funds will be used to support operations, enhance networks and build new partnerships with local community leaders.
• Saint Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation - High School Mentors: $4,000 to support 80-hour internships for students of color to gain workforce experience and explore career opportunities. 
• Higher Ground Church - Greater St. Cloud Summer Learning Program for Vulnerable Children: $1,500 to explore community engagement, the arts and higher education through a healthy, safe and interactive learning environment while providing quality care and educational programming.
• Community Giving - Grassroots Leadership Program Support: $5,000 to deliver a series of civic leadership and engagement workshops that support people of color living and/or working in the St. Cloud area.
• Green Card Voices - Stories from the New American Community in Greater St. Cloud: $5,000 through the creation of a series of videos featuring local immigrants and/or refugees to enhance cultural awareness and create more welcoming communities.
• Chisago County EDA - ABC Competition Project: $4,000 to support the coordination and evaluation of the next phase of the National ABC Community Development Process for the cities of Taylors Falls, Shafer, Center City, LIndstrom and Chisago Lakes. 
• Employment Enterprises, Inc. - Morrison County Glass Recycling Program Improvements: $4,000 to help streamline a glass recycling program to increase efficiency, effectiveness and safety and to provide jobs for adults with disabilities.
• Arc Midstate - Advancing Skills & Leadership in Person-Centered Planning: $3,500 to support Arc's efforts to become a 'go-to' training resource for organizations developing person-centered approaches to service delivery for people with disabilities.
• City of Big Lake - Housing and Comprehensive Plan Update: $4,000 to retain a consultant, conduct research and solicit public input for a housing feasibility study and action plan and subsequently update the city's Comprehensive Plan to support affordable and workforce housing.
• Hackensack Senior Citizens Center, Inc. - Strategic Planning and Community Engagement: $2,500 to support engagement of service recipients and the broader community to update the center's strategic plan and business model.
• Saint Cloud State University - SCRUBS Camp for Health Care Careers: $5,000 to support a collaboration with St. Cloud Technical and Community College and area high schools to provide students an opportunity to explore career options.  
• Second Harvest Heartland - CentraCare Food Support for Greater St. Cloud: $4,000 to connect income-eligible St. Cloud-area patients living with diabetes and/or heart disease to healthy food as a means to reduce hunger, increase health and reduce care costs.
• Leech Lake Financial Services - Business Assistance/Financial Literacy Intern: $4,000 to provide general operating support to retain a finance/business summer intern to assist with origination and underwriting of business and consumer loans and to support clients via the Credit Building Loan Program designed to help residents gain greater access to conventional banking services.
• City of Saint Cloud - Development of River Walk Master Plan: $5,000 to secure consulting, planning and engineering services to develop a physical design and to support construction for enhanced public access along the Mississippi River, connecting downtown St. Cloud, Hester Park and the Lake Wobegon Trail.
• Pine River-Backus School District - Structural Analysis for Solar Schools Project: $2,000 for structural and equipment analysis needed to assess and configure a solar panel project proposed for the school.  
• Quality Innovations & Resources Corporation - Parenting the Love and Logic Way: $2,500 to provide and market "Parenting the Love and Logic Way" classes to offer healthy, natural-consequence teaching opportunities.
• Pine City School District - Pine City Area Early Childhood Coalition Strategic Planning: $1,500 to develop an updated strategic plan and subsequent action plan that will represent the needs of children birth to age 5 in Pine City.
• Essentia Health Foundation - Reach Out and Read - Brainerd Lakes Area: $2,750 to increase engagement of parents and children in early literacy through interactions with health care providers through Reach Out and Read—a program that trains and supports medical staff who provide books to children and offer parents advice about the importance of reading to their children.
• Pine River-Backus School District - Pine River-Backus Early Childhood Coalition: $8,500 To develop an updated strategic plan that will represent the needs of children birth to age 5 in the Pine River-Backus area. The grant will support Love and Logic parenting classes; community events for families with young children; and increase parent engagement and planning to align the PreK-Grade 3 system to enhance kindergarten readiness and reading levels by the third grade.
• Saint Cloud State University - Thrive Early Childhood Coalition: $10,000 to address the social and emotional needs of young children by building strong collaborations with organizations that serve immigrant and refugee populations; coordinating co-learning events with immigrant/refugee families and early childhood professionals; and to survey the community and update/reformat a resource directory for parents with young children.
• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe - PreK-Grade 3 Alignment: $2,350 to support ongoing planning and implementation of the PreK-Grade 3 strategy work in collaboration with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Isle and Onamia school districts and Nay Ah Shing School.
• Saint Cloud Neighborhood Coalition - Creating Welcoming and Viable Neighborhoods: $20,000 to work with up to 10 core neighborhoods to do neighborhood cleanups; build connections between homeowners and renters; and work with the city to host neighborhood gatherings to address positive crime prevention and ordinance enforcement.  
• Camp Vanasek, Inc. - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Program Participation: $7,500 To conduct a business planning process and advance goals developed during participation in the Initiative Foundation's Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Koronis Lake Association - Starry Stonewort Management Project in Stearns County: $50,000 to support experimental management designed to control and contain a Starry Stonewort infestation of Koronis Lake. This grant is supported by funds provided by the Outdoor Heritage Council as recommended by the Minnesota Legislature.

1st Quarter 2016 Grant Awards

• Central Lakes College Foundation - Diversity in the Dental Workforce in Central Minnesota: $45,000 to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of students working towards dental careers in Central Minnesota. Learn more ...
• St. Cloud Technical and Community College - Diversity in the Dental Workforce in Central Minnesota: $45,000 to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of students working towards dental careers in Central Minnesota. Learn more ...
• Lakes Area Restorative Justice Project - Crow Wing County Safer Saner Schools Project: $4,000 to grow the Safer Saner Schools project that uses restorative practices to address negative behaviors and increase student engagement and success.
• Cloverleaf Youth Partnership dba Cyber Cafe - Wadena Area Youth Programming: $2,500 to support art and computer coding classes for area teens to promote positive, constructive out-of-school activities.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota - St. Cloud Area Youth Employment Program: $5,000 to deliver Career Launch program, designed to empower youth in gaining skills in order to obtain future employment.
• University of St. Thomas - Nonprofit Leadership Development in Central Minnesota: $5,000 to provide scholarships for up to five participants from Central Minnesota to attend nonprofit leadership training.
• Lakes Area Interfaith Caregivers - Services for Seniors: $5,000 to support services that enable seniors and adults with disabilities to remain living in homes of their choosing.
• A Place for You - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so they may better serve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• Saint Cloud State University - Development of Cyber Security Education Partnership: $5,000 to support the creation of a statewide cyber security initiative to educate and train qualified professionals from higher education, industry and government.
• Family Pathways - Backpack Food Program for Isle Elementary: $3,500 to provide supplemental food packs to about 50 children who are at risk of hunger during weekends and school breaks to improve school performance and reduce behavioral and health issue related to insufficient nutrition.
• Bridges of Hope - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so they may better serve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest - Connecting Youth to Morrison County Leaders: $3,500 to support local educators whose mission is to prepare students to be successful adults. The program will reach 750 Morrison County students during the 2015-2016 school year.
• Promise Neighborhood of Central Minnesota - Leadership Opportunities for St. Cloud Talahi Families: $5,000 to provide supportive services, enhance economic stability and cultivate leadership opportunities for up to 75 program participants/families.
• Chisago County Economic Development Authority - Renewable Energy Options: $5,000 to support energy audits, technical assistance and financing options to provide access to energy conservation and solar power options for nonprofit, private and public sector partners.
• Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation - Economic Recovery from Madelia Fire: $2,000 to support community and economic recovery efforts from the fire which devastated the commercial district of Madelia in early February.
• Wadena-Deer Creek School District - FIRST Robotics: $1,000 to provide a challenge grant to help secure private sector sponsors for the district's robotics team.
• Community Giving - Conversation on Race: $5,000 to bring together diverse members of the Greater St. Cloud community to discuss issues of racism and encourage a united call to action to create a welcoming community.
• Helping Hands Outreach, Holdingford - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so they may better serve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• Unity Family Healthcare - Community Health Needs Assessment: $1,000 to support a community survey and stakeholder interviews with residents of Morrison, Todd and Wadena Counties to explore healthcare needs and opportunities.
• Faith In Action for Cass County - Capacity Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so they may better seve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• Great River Family Promise - Capacity Building Support for Elk River Nonprofit: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so they may better serve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• Mid-Minnesota Women's Center, Inc., Brainerd - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so they may better serve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• Paradise Community Theatre Association, Inc., Mora - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so they may better serve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• CentraCare Health Foundation - Greatest Needs Fund: $500 in recognition and honor of the 5 Under 40 program and its 2015 award winners.
• Seven County Senior Federation, Mora - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so that they may better serve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• Tusen Tack, Braham - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts so they may better serve their community and fulfill their charitable purpose.
• Big Lake Backpack Buddies - Backpack Food Program for Youth: $2,500 to provide supplemental food packs for more than 200 students who are at risk of hunger during weekends and school breaks to improve school performance and reduce behavioral and health issue related to insufficient nutrition.
• Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - Greater Minnesota Nonprofit Summit in St. Cloud: $1,500 to bring together Central Minnesota nonprofits on May 5 at River's Edge Convention Center to provide training and resources.
• Child Care Choices, Inc. - Caring for a Lifetime Learning Event: $1,000 to support a one-day educational event for more than 300 self-employed family childcare providers, small business owners and childcare centers.
• Princeton School District - Princeton Area Early Childhood Coalition: $7,000 to expand family outreach, increase learning opportunities and to organize a Princeton Early Childhood Fair.
• Wadena County - Wadena County Early Childhood Coalition: $1,585 to support an updated strategic plan to support the needs of child from birth to age 5 in Wadena County.
• Big Lake School District - Big Lake Area Early Childhood Coalition: $2,200 for a community strategic planning process designed to begin a new early childhood coalition in the Big Lake area with a goal of benefitting young children and their families.
• Freshwater Education District - Reading for the Future: $3,000 to support a Staples-area literacy project that will distribute books three times a year to 500 children from birth to age 5.
• Brainerd School District - Brainerd Lakes Area Early Childhood Coalition: $15,000 to continue "Cradle to Career" work to address the social-emotional needs of children, birth to age 5. Goals include Adverse Childhood Experiences training; merging Inside-Out Connections and Early Childhood Coalition initiatives; expanding a pre-kindergarten assessment tool to other community early learning providers; and offering Love and Logic parenting classes.
• Staples Economic Development Authority - Housing Study: $3,250 to complete an assessment of new and rehabilitated housing opportunities.
• Rockville Area Sportsmans Club - Public Service Recognition Project: $1,000 to recognize past and current community members who served in the military or emergency services and to foster a culture of public service.
• Rush City - Thriving Communities Initiative Implementation: $10,000 to enhance a Shop Local campaign; promote events through technology; increase community educational offerings; and raise funds for a community LED sign to enhance communication with citizens.
• Little Falls - Thriving Communities Initiative: $10,000 to carry out community projects identified through the Little Falls Town 101 Thriving Communities Initiative process. Projects include making the industrial park shovel ready; tourism marketing; implementing an initiative to retain and attract downtown businesses; supporting a youth/business mentorship program; and using city park space to grow local foods.
• Birthline, Inc. - Online Learning Beta Testing Grant: $1,000 to support nonprofit capacity-building efforts and beta testing of ifoundtraining.org, an online learning tool of the Initiative Foundation.
• Community Grassroots Solutions - Online Learning Beta Testing Grant: $1,000 to support nonprofit capacity-building efforts and beta testing of ifoundtraining.org, an online learning tool of the Initiative Foundation.
• Helping Hands Outreach - Online Learning Beta Testing Grant: $1,000 to support nonprofit capacity-building efforts and beta testing of ifoundtraining.org, an online learning tool of the Initiative Foundation.
• Oasis Central Minnesota, Inc. - Online Learning Beta Testing Grant: $1,000 to support nonprofit capacity-building efforts and beta testing of ifoundtraining.org, an online learning tool of the Initiative Foundation.
• Open Doors for Youth - Online Learning Beta Testing Grant: $1,000 to support nonprofit capacity building efforts and beta testing of ifoundtraining.org, an online learning tool of the Initiative Foundation.
• Opportunity Matters, Inc. - Online Learning Beta Testing Grant: $1,000 to support nonprofit capacity building efforts and beta testing of ifoundtraining.org, an online learning tool of the Initiative Foundation.
• Salem Lutheran Church - Online Learning Beta Testing Grant: $1,000 to support nonprofit capacity-building efforts and beta testing of ifoundtraining.org, an online learning tool of the Initiative Foundation.
• A Place for You - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Program Participation: $7,500 for the development of a business plan to advance goals developed during participation in the Initiative Foundation's Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Bridges of Hope - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Program Participation: $7,500 for the development of a business plan to advance goals developed during participation in the Initiative Foundation's Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota, St. Cloud - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Clearwater-Clear Lake Food Shelf - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Todd County Developmental Achievement Center, Inc. - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Brainerd Restoration - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Central Minnesota Jobs & Training, Monticello - Capacity-Building: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Children's Day Montessori, Inc. - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Community Grassroots Solutions - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Salem Lutheran Church - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Isanti County Historical Society - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Program Participation: $7,500 for the development of a business plan to advance goals established during participation in the Initiative Foundation's Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Morrison County Animal Humane Society - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Program Participation: $7,500 for the development of a business plan to advance goals established during participation in the Initiative Foundation's Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• Oasis Central Minnesota, Inc. - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Program Participation: $7,500 for the development of a business plan to advance goals establshed during participation in the Initiative Foundation's Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program.
• RiverWorks - Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise Program Participation: $7,500 To conduct a thorough business planning process and advance goals developed during participation in the TOP Financial Resiliency through Social Enterprise program,
• Brainerd Baxter Youth Center - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Kinship of Morrison County - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Rivers of Hope - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Eradicating Achievement Gap & Learning Empowerment, Inc. - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Central Minnesota Taskforce on Battered Women - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Community Aid of Elk River (CAER) - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Great River Arts Association - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Let's Go Fishing - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Paul Bunyan Arboretum - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Pearl Crisis Center - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• PORT of Crow Wing County, Inc. - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Ski Gull, Inc. - Capacity-Building Support: $4,000 to support capacity-building efforts to better serve the community and fulfill the organization's charitable purpose.
• Crow Wing County - Wakeboarder Outreach Campaign: $67,588 to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) through a media campaign that targets younger recreationalists. Learn more ...
• Kandiyohi County - Centralized Inspection and Decontamination Station: $48,000 to support a centralized site where boaters can book an appointment to have their watercraft inspected for aquatic invasive species. Learn more ...
• Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District - Enhanced Skills Development for Aquatic Invasive Species Program: $17,769 to train aquatic invasive species (AIS) inspectors in conflict resolution, techniques to de-escalate confrontations and basic precepts in lake science and ecology. Learn more ...
• Wildlife Forever - Multimedia Access and Signage Project: $37,760 to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) by the use of geo-fencing (pushing messages to smart phones within a defined geographic area) to share best practices, locations of decontamination or inspection services and other resources. Learn more ...
• Anderson Center - Scholarships for Executive Training: $10,000 to increase accessibility to training that supports new and expanding businesses.
• Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation - Downtown Business Improvement District: $7,000 to explore the creation of a business improvement district and to assess the structure, function and efficiencies of the St. Cloud Downtown Council and Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation.
• Central Lakes College Foundation - Growth Curve Specialist Certification: $1,000 to learn about tools that improve profits, performance and productivity that will help companies develop leadership skills, identify root causes of critical issues and execute on growth initiatives.
• Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation - Support for Regional Economic Development: $7,500 to renew annual commitment to this investor-supported organization of community leaders dedicated to enhancing and expanding St. Cloud area economic opportunities.

Past Partner Fund Grant Awards

4th Quarter 2017 Grant Awards

Three Rivers Community Foundation

• Elk River School District—Evening of the Arts: $2,000
• Land of Lakes Choirboys of Minnesota, Inc. —Elk River Area Concert Series: $1,000
• Main Street Family Services—Staff Training Support: $1,650
• True Friends—Elk River Area Financial Assistance: $1,750
• Youth Investment Foundation—Timber Bay in Elk River: $3,500
• Elk River School District—Early Childhood Family Education to Strengthen Family Ties: $2,200
• Thumbs Up High 5K—5K Event Sponsor: $2,000
• Friends of the Mississippi River—Elk River Community Stewardship Project: $1,100
• The Reel Hope Project—Adoption Video Project: $4,000
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud—Healthy Eating for Seniors in Elk River Area: $2,000
• 728 Cadets, Inc. —Elk River Area Marching Arts Scholarships: $2,000
• Rivers of Hope—Violence Intervention & Prevention Program for Elk River Area Youth: $4,000
• Sherburne County Area United Way—Community Connect Event: $1,300
• Great River Family Promise—Elk River Area Aftercare Services: $3,000
• Sherburne History Center—Elk River History Programs: $1,000
• Spectrum High School—College Readiness Program in Elk River: $2,500
• Open Doors For Youth—Elk River Area Youth Resource Center: $2,500

 Delano Area Community Foundation 

• City of Delano—Fresh Produce at Delano Senior Center: $1,000
• Delano Area Council for Arts and Culture—Arts & Cultural Community Event: $1,000
• Delano Area Council for Arts and Culture—Community Fundraising Concert: $500
• Ridgeview Foundation—Reach Out and Read Program: $800
• City of Delano—Aquatic Wheelchair Project: $800

 Longville Area Community Foundation

• Longville Area Community Foundation—Operating and Grantmaking Support: $5,850

Rum River Community Foundation

• Pine County Agriculture Society—Pine County Fair Economic Impact Study: $1,000

Greater Pine Area Endowment 

• Legal Aid Service of Northeast Minnesota—Housing Counseling & Training in Pine City: $2,500
• Pine City School District—Truancy Prevention Project: $2,750
• Pregnancy Resource Center of Pine City—Networking Group for Moms: $2,011
• Pine City Athletic Association—Jerseys for Youth Hockey: $,2500

 Morrison County Area Foundation 

• Flyer Athletic Boosters—Community and Volunteer Engagement: $1,000
• Morrison County United Way—Volunteer and Community Involvement: $750
• Little Falls School District—Flyer Pride Back Pack Program: $750
• Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest—Community and Volunteer Engagement: $750
• Northern Pines Mental Health Center—Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: $500

 Staples Motley Area Community Foundation 

• LEAP, Inc.—Hooked on Fishing Program for 4^th-Graders: $2,000
• Lakewood Health System—Regional Health and Wellness Center Feasibility Study: $2,000
• Staples Area Women's Chorus—Her Voice, Her Song Choral Festival: $2,000
• Staples Motley School District—Creating College Access Project: $1,500
• Staples Motley School District—Staples Area Family Center Improvement Project: $2,000

 Josh Richardson Family Fund

•  Elk River School District—Welcome Center Project: $9,550

Kurpius Family Fund

• Central Lakes College Foundation—Living Legacy Garden: $1,250

Sauk Rapids-Rice Education Foundation 

• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Project-Based Learning for Math Students: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Living History Lyceum for 6^th-Graders: $320
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Sensory Room Update for Rice Elementary: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Finding Buried History at Rice Elementary: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Career Exploration for Middle School: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Project Based Learning for Math Students: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Communication & Team-Building Activities for High School: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Artist in Residence for Adult Diploma Students: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Interactive Technology for Physical Education: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—American Government Focus Project for High School: $350
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Interactive Techonology for 2^nd-Graders: $200
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Alternative Seating for Alternative Learning: $250
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Flexible Seating in Compass: Alternative Learning Program: $300
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Students Will Focus When They Can Get Their Wiggles Out: $160
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Learning Systems for Kindergartners: $200
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Music Enhancements to Physical Education: $300
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Behavior & Sensory Regulation Tools: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Cooking Skills for Elementary Students: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Downhill Skiing for 5^th-Graders: $500
• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Individual Passion Project for 9^th-Graders: $420

 Minnesota Pioneer Park Fund

• Minnesota Pioneer Park—General Support: $900

Cuyuna Lakes Education Foundation

• Cuyuna Lakes Education Foundation—General Operating Support: $5,000

Lake Region Christion Education Fund

• Lake Region Christian School—Annual Event Support: $780

Lakes Area Medical Development Association Fund

• Essentia Health Foundation—Take Heart Program: $4,500

Edeburn Family Fund

• First United Methodist Church of the St. Cloud Region—Capital Campaign Support: $3,334

Pinckney Fund

• Little Falls School District—Project Bandaid: $1,000

Paula & Chad Becker Fund

• CentraCare Health Foundation—Regional Community Well-Being Center: $5,000

Gaalswyk Family Fund

• Lakes Area Pregnancy Support Center—General Operating Support: $700
• Youth Investment Foundation—Timber Bay Camp: $700

Mitchell Family Fund

• United Way of Central Minnesota—Operating Support: $1,000
• St. Cloud State University Foundation—SCSU Baseball Program: $1,000
• Great River Educational Arts Theatre—General Support: $1,000
• Cold Spring Area Youth Sports Association—Field of Dreams: $2,000
• Africa Jam—Program Support: $1,000
• Andra Heart Foundation—General Support: $1,000

John & Bonnie Schlagel Endowment

• Animal Humane Society—Animal Care at Coon Rapids Location: $1,000
• Cambridge-Isanti Dollars for Scholars Foundation—Scholarships: $2,500
• Family Pathways Refuge Network Shelter—Domestic Abuse Program: $3,500
• Family Pathways—Food Shelf Program: $2,500
• University of Minnesota Foundation—Veterinary Medicine Scholarship: $2,000
• Tres Islas Orphanage Fund—General Operations and Animal Care: $2,800
• Anoka Ramsey Community College Foundation—Scholarship in Memory of Evan Stein: $1,000
• Cambridge Community College Center Foundation—2018 Cambridge Scholardazzle Sponsor: $1,000
• Isanti County Humane Society—Animal Care: $1,000
• Mayo Clinic—Alzheimer's Program Donation: $2,000
• Minnesota Safe Ride—Sober Cab Program in Kanabec and Pine Counties: $3,000
• New Pathways, Inc.—Housing for Homeless Families: $3,800
• Pine Technical & Community College—Scholarships: $2,500

Anderson Brothers Family Fund

• Brainerd Rotary Foundation—Pillager STRIVE Youth Mentoring Program: $1,000
• Brainerd Baxter Youth Center—Brainerd Baxter Youth Center: $500
• Salvation Army—Brainerd: $700
• Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota—Radiothon to End Child Abuse: $500

Hanowski Family Fund

• Little Falls Sports Arena, Inc.—Blue Line Club: $900

Shawn Grittner Memorial Fund

• Holy Family Church Belle Prairie—Holiday Gift Program: $1,050

Veterans Art Monument Fund

• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Association—Veteran's Art Monument: $2,000
• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Association—Veterans Art Monument: $2,800
• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Association—Veterans Art Monument: $4,200

SRR ISD47 / Youthprise Grant

• Sauk Rapids-Rice School District—Operation Support: $9,096

Melrose Area Relief Fund

• City of Melrose—Close out Melrose Area Relief Fund: $13,687

Wadena Regional Wellness Center Fund

• City of Wadena—Wadena Regional Wellness Center: $7,883

NJPA Innovative Schools Foundation

• Crosby-Ironton School District—Operating Support: $250
• Brainerd School District—Operating Support: $750
• Upsala Area School District —Operating Support: $250

Oakland Cemetery Fund

• Oakland Cemetery Association—Oakland Cemetery Maintenance and Upkeep: $1,500

3rd Quarter 2017 Grant Awards

Longville Area Community Foundation Endowment

• City of Longville—City Park Support: $1,891.15

Morrison County Area Foundation

• Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota—St. Francis Music Center: $500
• Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest—2017-2018 Classroom Support: $200
• Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest—Financial Literacy for Morrison County Students: $800
• Royalton School District—Royalton Greenhouse Project: $1,000
• Great River Arts Association—Community Arts Education and Visual Arts Exhibition: $500
• Morrison County United Way—Imagination Library: $1,500
• Oasis Central Minnesota, Inc.—Emergency Housing Support: $2,000
• Pierz School District—Collaborative Learning Enviornment: $1,000
• Horizon Health, Inc.— In Harmony Child Care: $1,000
• Swanville School District—Automotive Career Exploration Project: $1,750

Cuyuna Lakes Education Foundation

• Cuyuna Lakes Education Foundation—Grants and Operations: $3,000

Little Falls Education Foundation 

• Little Falls School District—Reading Comprehension Resources for Students: $1,500

Lake Region Christian Education

• Lake Region Christian School —Scholarship and Classroom Enhancements: $11,398