Investing in Every Resident of our State

December 22, 2011

Last week Minnesota learned it was among nine states to win a “Race to the Top” education grant.

Minnesota will receive $45 million – $20 million of which is targeted to high-poverty areas in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Itasca County and on the White Earth Reservation. The rest is designated for oversight and accountability, including a new ratings system to help parents find quality child care providers.

In recent (and not so recent) years, Minnesota seems to have had more bad than good education news. And this grant is GREAT news! I say that because it will put money toward what we know works.

When kids enter school ready to learn, learn to read in 1st and 2nd grade, and read to learn by 3rd, they have a much better shot at success in school and life.

And we know how to get kids ready to learn. According to The Minneapolis Foundation, an MCF member, the Minneapolis Public Schools have seen a 13 percent increase in the number of children entering kindergarten ready to learn after just 3 years of funding. There are lots of other examples out there too.

Art Rolnick summarized it quite nicely in his post yesterday on mpr.org:

While many of us think of Minnesota as the education state, roughly half of our children do not start school healthy and ready to learn. And research shows that when kids start school far behind they don’t catch up. Many of those kids drop out of high school and are much more likely to struggle in our society. Indeed, criminologists claim that they can predict the need for prisons in the future by the number of children who are not proficient in reading by the third grade.

That last sentence astounds me!

So Minnesota, let’s match the federal money. Let’s really start investing in every resident of our state and fund early education sufficiently, so every child has access to preschool and all-day kindergarten. And every child truly has the opportunity to become a productive citizen.

Would anyone out there really rather fund prisons?

- Susan Stehling, communications associate

Photo: cc woodleywonderworks

Comments Off | awards, children, community foundations, diversity, education, government, in the news, Minnesota Early Childhood Funders Network, youth | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

North Minneapolis Recovery Fund to be Honored

November 17, 2011

National Philanthropy Day is being celebrated in Minnesota this Friday, Nov. 18.

I’m thrilled to see that Minnesota Helps – North Minneapolis Recovery Fund will be awarded the “Outstanding Contribution to Philanthropy” award. It’s a well-deserved honor that comes just six months after a tornado slammed into the north side of our city. Thus far, the fund has provided $1,337,160 to assist the residents of North Minneapolis.

Shortly after the tornado hit, local foundations and the Greater Twin Cities United Way joined together to create the fund to quickly assist those directly impacted by the storm.

The effort has been led by the following partners, almost all of them members of MCF (marked with an asterisk).

  • The Minneapolis Foundation*
  • Greater Twin Cities United Way*
  • GiveMN.org
  • Best Buy Corporation*
  • Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation*
  • CenturyTel, Inc.
  • Comcast*
  • Cummins Foundation
  • Faegre & Benson Foundation*
  • George Family Foundation*
  • The Grotto Foundation*
  • James R. Thorpe Foundation*
  • Land O’Lakes, Inc.*
  • Lunds and Byerly’s
  • McKnight Foundation*
  • North Star Fund
  • Park Nicollet Foundation*
  • Pohlad Family Foundation
  • The Saint Paul Foundation*
  • TCF Foundation*
  • US Bank – Private Client & Trust Services*
  • Wells Fargo Foundation*

Many of these partners made large donations and also matched contributions from city residents and others who answered the call for assistance. GiveMN.org waived credit card fees on donations, so 100% of every donation went to help those in need.

Thanks to all of the funding partners and to those who contributed to the fund. We all make Minnesota a better place to live.

Funds Still Available
And, funds are still available for nonprofits, faith based organizations and public entities providing support and financial assistance to those most affected by this disaster. Learn more about how to apply for funds.

-Susan Stehling, communications associate

Comments Off | awards, collaboration, community foundations, corporate, disasters, family foundations, fundraising, grantseekers, in the news, individual giving, nonprofits, private foundations | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

Headwaters Foundation for Justice Honored for Responsive Philanthropy

September 8, 2011

Headwaters Foundation for JusticeHeadwaters Foundation for Justice has received the 2011 Responsive Philanthropy Award. Given by MAP for Nonprofits and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, this annual award honors philanthropic organizations that effectively partner with grantees to mobilize resources for the public benefit.

Recipients of this award must be:

  • Responsive to citizen initiatives;
  • Recognize public policy issues and long-term strategies to fight problems; and
  • Commit substantial resources to disadvantaged people and Minnesota communities through a process of dialogue and partnership.

For nearly 30 years the Headwaters Foundation for Justice has been devoted to funding those who fight social, racial, economic and environmental injustice within communities. The work of Headwaters falls into four program areas: grant making, capacity building, donor advisory and educational programs.

Headwaters has directed close to $9 million in grants to Minnesota organizations serving low-income communities, communities of color, GLBTQ people, people with disabilities, immigrants and other historically excluded constituencies.

The foundation will receive their award in a recognition ceremony at Minnesota Council of Nonprofits 25th Annual Conference in October. You can learn more about the foundation and its activities at headwatersfoundation.org. Headwaters is one of six nonprofits to be honored. To learn about the other award recipients, visit minnesotanonprofits.org.

Comments Off | awards, social justice | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

Still Time to Vote in the 2011 Nonprofit Mission Awards

August 4, 2011

2011 Minnesota Nonprofit Awards There’s still time to vote, but it’s ticking away fast. August 5th at 5 PM is the deadline to have your say in who should win the 2011 Nonprofit Mission Awards. This year there are three categories:

  • Innovation, with Community Action Duluth, Minnesota Legal Services Coalition State Support Center, and West Central Industries as finalists
  • Anti-Racism, with American Civil Liberties Union – Minnesota and Council on American-Islamic Relations, Minnesota
  • Advocacy, with Arc Minnesota, Farmers’ Legal Action Group, Inc., and Jewish Community Action
Congratulations to all the finalists! Winners will be announced at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Annual Conference, October 6 and 7.

Comments Off | awards | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation Receives Award

July 19, 2011

A big congratulations and a pat-on-the-back are in order for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation, an MCF member. They were recently awarded the Community Leadership Award from the Charities Review Council.

The council presented the award at its Annual Forum in Minneapolis on June 21. Every year at the forum, the Community Leadership Award is given to an organization that has demonstrated a significant effort toward advancing the issues of nonprofit accountability and transparency.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation initiative that did not go unnoticed is “Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans.”  This project was created to reduce health inequities for immigrants in the U.S. while improving the health and vitality of the community as a whole. For this initiative, the foundation partnered with the Charities Review Council to build the capacity of the project’s grantees.

The collaboration gave the Charities Review Council an opportunity to experience working in immigrant and refugee communities – an area that is becoming increasingly important to their work.

Another positive result of the partnership was the development of the Council’s Accountability Standards, which will be used as a prototype to provide capacity-building services for other funders’ grantees.

The Accountability Standards encompass 27 standards the council encourages organizations to uphold, in order to earn and build public trust in charities and nonprofits – a priority it holds close to heart.

Don’t we all want to know that our donations and efforts are being put to the best use?

These standards set a high bar of accountability that strengthens nonprofits and allows them to continue making a positive difference in their communities.

“We are delighted to recognize the innovative leadership of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation. Consistent with its upstream problem-solving focus, the foundation recognizes the capacity-building value of the council’s new Accountability Standards and how the council’s hands-on, technical assistance to grantees directly contributes to funders’ programming priorities.”

-Rich Cowles, executive director of the Charities Review Council

Congratulations to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation and to the many nonprofits leading by example with high standards of accountability and transparency.

- McKenzie Mackintosh, MCF communications intern

Learn More: Transparency and accountability are values that Minnesota Council on Foundations grantmaker members cherish highly in their own work, not just in the nonprofits they fund. Learn more about how foundations and corporate givers are also committing to, and striving towards transparency and accountability in the way their organizations operate.

Comments Off | awards, collaboration, corporate, health, leadership, mcf | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by McKenzie Mackintosh

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