Rosenstone noted that we have a significant and growing workforce shortage:

• There is a skills gap: Unemployment remains high, while many businesses struggle to find workers who have the technical skills they need.
• Workforce shortages will increase in the future, as Minnesota’s population ages.
• Currently, our education system does not successfully meet workforce needs.

One critical key to addressing this workforce shortage is tackling Minnesota’s racial achievement gap.

• Minnesota is becoming more diverse. In the Twin Cities, the population of color has tripled in the past twenty years. One in five residents is now a person of color. The same is true for one in four of our children – our state’s future workforce, parents, and leaders.
• The gap between the percentage of non-Hispanic white students and students of color who are proficient in reading by the end of 3^rd grade is about 25 points.
• The gap between the percentage of non-Hispanic white students and students of color who are proficient in math by the end of 11^th grade score is about 30 points.
• And the gap between the percentage of non-Hispanic white students and students of color who graduate from high school on time score is about 30 points. Just over half of students of color graduate on time.

Participants discussed ways we use these hard facts to galvanize the government, nonprofit, and grantmaking communities – and ultimately all Minnesotans – to take meaningful action to close these gaps. The work will be difficult. But Karen Kelley-Ariwoola, vice president of community philanthropy for The Minneapolis Foundation and a past board chair for MCF, called the room to action. In addressing these achievement gaps, we must all be:

• Strategic: Invest in high return upstream strategies.
• Intentional: Ask, will this close the gap?
• Inclusive: Listen to our community stakeholders.
• Outspoken
• Relentless

-Anne Bauers, MCF research manager

Students in the certified nursing assistant training program at the International Institute of Minnesota, a grantee of The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota, practice their hands-on skills.

Read the winter issue of Giving Forum – online and in your mail now – to learn more about what Minnesota grantmakers and their nonprofit partners are doing in the tough fight against poverty in our state.

Grantmakers play a variety of roles from meeting basic human needs, to creating systemic change around poverty’s root causes, to engaging the community in identifying and solving problems, to taking policy stands on matters affecting low-income residents. Whatever role foundations have chosen to play, they are working to create a brighter future for all Minnesotans.

Read this issue’s feature article to learn more about how The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota is partnering to train individuals for jobs that pay a living wage and how Greater Twin Cities United Way is improving access to health care for those who need it most. And read about how the Northwest Area Foundation funded an initiative to drive payday lenders from Montana and how The Minneapolis Foundation is working to level the playing field for all residents of the city.

- Susan Stehling, MCF communications associate

Governor Dayton at the 2012 Session Line Up

Frustration. Anger. Resignation. Compassion. Understanding. Hope.

Speakers and audience members alike expressed a full gamut of emotions at last Friday’s 2012 Session Line Up, the annual event co-sponsored by MCF and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

If you missed the politically charged event where the state’s top elected officials spoke to individuals from the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, here are a few highlights — shared in two blog posts.  Today’s is a brief look at what the Governor and top legislative leaders (listed in the order of their appearance) said about Minnesota’s current legislative agenda and the most critical issues affecting Minnesota’s future.

Tomorrow I’ll write about what we learned by listening between the lines, including how you can successfully participate in the process – without adding fuel to the smoldering partisan fire.

Governor Mark Dayton expressed his frustration about the difficulty of working with the Republican-controlled legislature. Never, he said, had he worked in an environment where “compromise is a weakness and intransigence is a virtue.” (For another perspective on polarization in our society, see my recent “Us vs. Them” post .)

MPR’s story on the event  picked up Dayton’s irritation, reporting on his comments about the pending confirmation hearing of Public Utilities Commission head Ellen Anderson.

Dayton also spoke out against constitutional amendments, which he described as bypassing the system of checks and balances of state government. If amendments come to the ballot, he said “the only check will be the wisdom of the people of Minnesota.”

Shifting gears in the Q&A, Dayton responded to a question about bonding and housing.  He stated he will do his best to keep housing and other public funding that will boost private employment in the bonding bills.

House Minority Leader Rep. Paul Thissen spoke to the importance of creating jobs and building a strong middle class, which is the key, he said, to building long-term prosperity in the state. He criticized Republicans for only talking about business. “Yes, businesses should be able to thrive…but businesses can’t thrive without the people of Minnesota.” Nonprofits, he said, should bring to the conversation their focus on making the people of Minnesota as strong and as successful as possible.

Representative Kurt Zellers, Speaker of the House, focused his remarks on reform – getting more of the dollars sent to St. Paul to the people who need them: to kids and families, and to businesses to hire more workers. He referenced the recently announced Reform 2.0 agenda, which is focused on excising outdated, outmoded and wasteful government spending.

Zellers also emphasized that this session’s bonding bill needs to focus on maintenance of the state’s infrastructure. An example cited was the upkeep of buildings on MNSCU campuses.

Senator John Marty spoke vociferously against proposed constitutional amendments that would “take away people’s rights.” He claimed that voter i.d. legislation would potentially deny votes to seniors, college students and the homeless, among others. He preached an agenda of “first do no more harm,” referencing “cruel and heartless” human services and medical assistance cuts.

Senate Majority Leader David Senjem emphasized that jobs and the economy are the number one goals of everyone at the legislature. Admitting that there was lack of agreement on how to tackle unemployment and economic sluggishness, he focused on the need to improve the tax and regulatory environment for businesses and invest in a skilled workforce.

Senjem noted that, although constitutional amendments will be taken up this session, he is not a “big fan” of budgeting through the constitution. (Much to his surprise, he got applause when noting his opposition to the Legacy Amendment.) He also expressed hope that the legislature could work with the Governor to work out a statutory solution to the voter i.d. issue, rather than advance a constitutional amendment.

Tomorrow’s Post: Being an Advocate, Not a Partisan

Senjem’s closing remarks about working with the Governor might allay some of the fears about constitutional amendments expressed at the opening of the event. Read tomorrow’s post for more about the amendments, partisanship and successful strategies to participate in the public policy sphere.

–Wendy Wehr, MCF vice president of communications and information services

The conference will shine a light on practical and innovative approaches being used to help people lift themselves out of poverty for the long term.

The break-out sessions will give attendees an opportunity to examine and question these models and the presenters. The conference will also provide opportunities for participants to connect and share information to reduce poverty.

It will explore strategies involving public policy, social entrepreneurship, affordable housing and much more.

Expect to see:

• 20+ presentations on innovative poverty reduction methods and tools
• Site tours of exceptional poverty-reduction initiatives in the Twin Cities
• Renowned keynote speakers
• An optional half-day Community-Builder Institute

If you have been part of an innovative poverty-reduction initiative and would like to share it, get your proposal ready. The call for presentations will go out in December and close on January 10, 2012.

Keep checking back at the Northwest Area Foundation website for upcoming announcements about the conference, including the roll out of the conference website with new features for networking and sharing around the work of poverty reduction.

It continued: Minnesota outperformed almost every other state in the union, earning an Opportunity Score of 81.2 out of 100. Sounds good, but based on other information I’ve read recently, I’m not sure it tells a complete story.

The achievement gap, based on race and socioeconomics, persists in Minnesota. Things are above average for some state residents and far below average for others.

Excelling in Education:

• Good News: Minnesota has one of the highest on-time high school graduation rates (87%) in the country.
• Bad News: According to an analysis of 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress results by MinnCAN, African American students remain more than three grade levels behind white students in math and more than two grade levels behind in reading. Low-income students are more than two grade levels behind wealthier peers. Only the District of Columbia has consistently had a larger gap.

Weathering the Economic Downturn:

• Good News: Minnesota’s unemployment rate is significantly lower than the national unemployment rate (7.4% vs. 9.1%, respectfully).
• Bad News: An Economic Policy Institute study recently found that the rate of unemployed African Americans in Minneapolis is three-times that of whites, the highest disparity in the country. State Demographer Tom Gillaspy said the findings are similar to U.S. Census data for all of Minnesota.

So, to my mind, the news just isn’t good enough for all of our state’s residents. Paul Wellstone put it simply, “We all do better when we all do better.”

Watch for the Winter issue of Giving Forum to learn how Minnesota grantmakers are addressing these and related issues.

- Susan Stehling, communications associate

• MN’s unemployment rate is 6.9% – 205,000 of our residents are out of work.
• Veterans’ unemployment is higher at 9.4%.
• Poverty in MN is almost 12% – twice the rate of a decade ago.
• More than half of Minneapolis’ children of color live in poverty.

But, instead of being overwhelmed by bad news, how about if each of us did a little bit to help create some good news? By not closing our eyes to the hurt and misfortune of others – by opening our eyes and our checkbooks to make things better.

I like to think of Minnesota as a place of unparalleled generosity instead of a place with an unparalleled racial achievement gap. Turns out we’re both. Let’s do what we can to grow the generosity and shrink the gap.

This is the week to do it. Wednesday, Nov. 16 is “Give to the Max Day,” and Friday, Nov. 18 is “National Philanthropy Day.”

“Give to the Max Day,” now in its third year and sponsored by MCF members like the Minnesota Community Foundation, The Mosaic Company and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, has made it very easy for each one of us to be a philanthropist. Simply, “Click. Contribute. Change your world.”

There are more than 21,000 nonprofit organizations  listed on GiveMN.org this year. Each is working to make something in our state better. Whether your preferred cause is hunger, education, animal welfare or many more, many worthy organizations are out there to support. You can search or browse the GiveMN.org site to see them all. You can also narrow your search to see organizations with matching grants, so your dollar goes further.

What if Minnesota shocked the nation by spending more on this week’s ”Give to the Max Day” than on next week’s “Black Friday”? Now that’s news I’d like to see. I’ll do my part to make things better. What about you?

- Susan Stehling, communications associate

Photo: cc opensourceway

The WCA Foundation, founded by 20 women in 1866, is Minnesota’s oldest benevolent nonprofit organization.

Today WCA Foundation is a private independent foundation, run by female volunteers who disburse human services grants of more than $500,000 annually throughout Minnesota. Two-thirds of their grants go to programs that help women achieve and sustain independence.

The group’s first project was soliciting clothing for freed slaves. By the 1920s, residences owned and operated by the organization housed approximately 1,000 of Minneapolis’s 18,000 female boarders. Then in the 1970s, they decided they could be more effective if they used their assets to support existing programs rather than run their own. Their residences were sold and proceeds were invested in three endowment funds from which grants are made today.

In this picture, WCA board members (left and right) hear from MicroGrants founder, Joe Selvaggio, and MicroGrants business owner, Mai’sah Blanton. In May 2011, WCA Foundation awarded $12,000 to MicroGrants.

- Susan Stehling, communications associate

The Foundation Center, in the 2011 Foundation Giving Trends report, found that nationwide, overall grantmaking declined 2.1 percent from 2008 to 2009. And funding for only two of ten subject areas increased during that time: education and public affairs/society benefit posted modest gains. (In 2009 in Minnesota, funding for public affairs/society benefit increased, while education funding remained flat.)

Nonprofits may now be recovering from these 2009 declines. The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that nonprofits that make up their Philanthropy 400 expect a median rise of 4.7 percent in 2011 funds raised. That beats last year’s 3.5-percent median gain. But the modest increases for the Philanthropy 400 don’t come close to erasing an unprecedented 11-percent decline in the total raised by charities on the survey in 2009.

Join the conversation: In these uncertain economic times, how can nonprofits sustain their fundraising levels? How can grantmakers support them?

- Anne Bauers, MCF research manager

Supported by $1.59 million in grants, this two-year undertaking aims to bolster Native financial institutions. Native social entrepreneurship uses business principles to build wealth and formulate solutions to social issues.

“Historically, less than one-half of one percent of philanthropic dollars is invested in Native American programs, and studies indicate that number is decreasing. This initiative seeks to invest in Native communities’ ability to reduce poverty and build prosperity,” says Kevin Walker, president and CEO of Northwest Area Foundation.

To learn more about this innovative effort, use the links below and watch for a Q&A with Martin Jennings, Northwest Area Foundation program director, in the fall issue of Giving Forum - in your mailbox soon.

Oregon Native American Business and Entrepreneurial Network (ONABEN) will lead the initiative and support an educational cohort in which the participating organizations will meet regularly to learn and share best practices.

Six additional grants have been awarded to nonprofits participating in the cohort.

• Four Bands Community Fund Inc. will create a green business development curriculum. Four Bands will work in partnership with Cheyenne River Tribal Ventures.
• Hunkpati Investments Inc. will receive a grant for its Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which seeks to stimulate economic growth on the Crow Creek Sioux Indian reservation.
• Lakota Funds will support a pilot project for a children’s matched savings program known as Children’s Development Accounts (CDA).
• Northwest Native Development Fund (NNDF) will implement its Growing into Our Footprint project to expand business training, outreach, tax preparation assistance and access to loans.
• Taala Fund of Taholah, Wash. will receive funding for the Quinault Asset Building initiative, which introduces youth to financial management and business principles, paving pathways to future prosperity.
• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation – Business Service Center will provide business and financial education as early as elementary school.

- Susan Stehling, MCF communications associate

Among the report’s top notes of concern:

• Only 29% of children who speak Spanish at home were ready for kindergarten, compared to 70% of students overall.
• Hispanic, multiracial, and Black low-income households in Minneapolis are the least likely to have affordable
  housing, with fewer than 2 in 10 paying housing costs considered reasonable.
• More than half of all the American Indian, Asian, and Black children living in Minneapolis are in
  poverty.
• Minority groups make up 40% of Minneapolis’s population but only 17% of its workforce.

While we reflect on these large disparities and how to address them, it is also worth noting the more positive indicators. Some good news:

• 76% of children speaking Somali at home were ready for kindergarten, above the city average.
• Hispanic and African students in Minneapolis Public Schools are most likely to report that their teachers make them want to learn.
• Parent satisfaction with their children’s schools was high across all racial and ethnic groups, ranging from 71% of American Indian parents to 84% of Hispanic parents.

The full report is available on The Minneapolis Foundation website. It has also been picked up by Minnesota Public Radio and the Star Tribune.