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

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

The event will recognize 12 local winners of the prestigious Jefferson Awards for Public Service.

Among the 12 are the following MCF members who will be recognized for their notable corporate volunteer efforts:

• Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America
• Medtronic Inc.
• Securian Financial Group Inc.

Also at the event, in the spirit of community giving, the Business Journal will collect old cell phones for the nonprofit, Cell Phones for Soldiers.

For more information or to RSVP, see the Business Journal’s website.

- Susan Stehling, communications associate

Outstanding Community: The City of Wadena. The city was selected because of their community development work and recovery and rebuilding efforts after a June 2010 tornado.

Outstanding Enterprise: Larson Boats of Little Falls. Founded in 1916, Larson Boats started by manufacturing small wooden boats.  It has since survived the economic recession, while retaining 170 jobs, and has established itself as an internationally-known company.

Outstanding Generosity: Jack & Betty Thomas of Hackensack. The couple started Mann Lake Ltd in 1983 and has set up a real estate gift so that proceeds will help build the first modern animal shelter and training facility in Cass County.

Outstanding Nonprofit: Stearns-Benton Employment and Training Council of St. Cloud. This organization coordinates education and training for dislocated workers while working with local employers to address critical workforce needs.

The four will be featured at the Initiative Foundation’s “inspiRED” event, scheduled for October 28 in Nisswa. Details are available on their website. Congratulations to these worthy winners!

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.

• 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

In 2012 NCL is challenging cities across the country to increase the number of low-income children reading on grade level by the end of third grade.

NCL will focus the award on communities that develop strategies for locally-owned community solutions in three areas that have real potential to drive improvements in grade-level reading:

• school readiness,
• attendance
• and summer learning.

Educators and researchers have long recognized the importance of mastering reading by the end of third grade, yet two-thirds of U.S. schoolchildren do not reach that benchmark. And children who don’t read by the end of third grade and live in poverty are six times more likely to fail to graduate from high school.

How Communities Can Apply
Communities interested in applying for the All-America City Grade-Level Reading Award must submit a Letter of Intent to NCL by Friday, October 14, 2011, to be eligible to receive valuable technical assistance and support to develop a plan from a growing national network of staff, consultants, funders, and other cities involved in the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. The plan will be the centerpiece of the application.

The 2012 award will recognize best mobilization. The 2015 award will spotlight impact.

For more information on the grade-level reading award and the steps to apply, communities should visit the NCL’s AAC Award Blog: www.allamericacityaward.com.

- MCF webmaster

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.

The awards were presented  at the Nancy Latimer Convening for Children and Youth on June 29 in St. Paul to: Initiative Foundation in Little Falls; Northland Foundation in Duluth; Northwest Minnesota Foundation in Bemidji;  Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation in Owatonna; Southwest Initiative Foundation in Hutchinson; and West Central Initiative in Fergus Falls.

The awards recognize the foundations’ leadership, vision and commitment to enhancing the social and emotional development of infants and young children through the Minnesota Thrive Initiative. The initiative, a statewide effort created and implemented by the MIFs, is groundbreaking work to strengthen local support networks to ensure the social and emotional well-being of children from birth through five, with an emphasis on the first three years. The awards honor the MIFs for these specific accomplishments:

• Recognizing the importance of early social and emotional development to educational success and lifelong well-being
• Creating innovative grassroots systems – from promotion and prevention to intensive intervention – to foster the healthy development of infants and children
• Working across sectors and fostering local leadership and action
• Sharing lessons among communities and professionals to implement new approaches and practices
• Raising public awareness and deepening understanding of infant and early childhood mental health
• Modeling collaboration, commitment, and creativity
• Inspiring others to work to make life better for young children – and the adults who care about them.

“This year’s awards recognize the extraordinary leadership and commitment of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations in creating this innovative, grassroots system to ensure the social and emotional well-being of our youngest children. Their work is a vivid reminder that communities, professionals, and families can collaborate to make a profound difference for children.”  - Denise Mayotte, executive director of the Sheltering Arms Foundation and chair of the Minnesota Early Childhood Funders Network steering committee

About the Minnesota Initiative Foundations

This year, the MIFs celebrated their 25^th anniversary. They were created in 1986 as a partnership between The McKnight Foundation and the citizens of Greater Minnesota. Each of the six foundations was set up as independent nonprofit philanthropic organizations with local boards of trustees.

About the “Nancy” Award

The Minnesota Early Childhood Funders Network created the “Nancy” Award to honor the legacy of Nancy Latimer, longtime senior program officer at The McKnight Foundation and a lifelong advocate for children and families.

June 29 Nancy Latimer Convening for Children and Youth Focuses on Building the Early Childhood Systems Necessary to Help Children Thrive

This year’s annual convening and award presentation was Wednesday, June 29, at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, St. Paul. The keynote presentation – “Straw, Stick, Brick: A Conversation About Building a Strong Early Childhood System” – was given by Barb Yates, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education and executive director of Resources for Child Caring, and Karen Cadigan, research fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Early Education and Development and policy director of the Children, Youth and Family Consortium.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

“John’s strategic, multi-faceted and outcome-oriented approach to philanthropy exemplifies the work of an engaged philanthropist,” adds Brad Brown, executive director of Social Venture Partners Minnesota (SVP).

For his work, John Larsen will receive the 2011 Engaged Philanthropist Award, a joint effort of Minnesota Community Foundation and SVP Minnesota that recognizes the most innovative and effective engaged philanthropists. The award, launched in 2010 with the late Winston Wallin receiving the inaugural recognition, will be presented at SVP Minnesota’s annual Engaged Philanthropy Conference on June 16, 2011, in Minneapolis.

Larsen is an original funder and a visionary behind Project 515, an organization with a mission to ensure that same sex couples and their families have equal rights and considerations under Minnesota law.  Project 515 has approached the issue of full equality for same sex couples through multiple avenues, including business outreach, education, research, advocacy and media.

Larsen serves as trustee and administrator of the John Larsen Foundation, a member of the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF). The foundation is a private grantmaking organization with a mission to better the lives of individuals and families, both traditional and non-traditional.  Program priorities derive from the active, passionate involvement of family board members in their own communities. Primary areas of focus are arts and humanities, community enhancement, education, environment, human rights and human services.

Larsen was a six-year member of MCF’s board of directors, is a current member of the strategic planning committee, and a leader of MCF’s LGBT Funders network. Larsen also serves on the board of directors for Project 515 and has volunteered with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus, Headwaters Foundation for Justice and Together Minnesota. Earlier this year, Larsen was recognized with PFund Foundation’s First Annual Power of Philanthropy Award.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate