Blandin Foundation

EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS GRANTS

Economic Opportunity

Worthington,Minnesota :A $150,000 grant, combined with Blandin Foundation leadership training, helped launch a Biosciences Center (The Center for Information and Training of Lab Technicians). This was based on a variety of assets and partnerships including veterinary pharmaceutical companies, food processors, economic development corporation, various government entities, any empty Prairie Expo building, MnSCU, and others.
Minnesota Community Capital Fund (MCCF) and Minnesota Investment Network Corporation: Grants and investments of $250,000 and $2M respectively are being used to leverage millions of dollars of additional debt and equity capital for investment in rural Minnesota enterprises through these financial intermediaries.
Central Iron Range Initiative and the White Earth Area 7th Generation Initiative: Grants are being used to help coordinate community dialogues around economic opportunities among stakeholders that have not always had strong cooperative working relationships.
The Minnesota Project: Annual operations grants are being used to help facilitate the work of six regional Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTS) that disseminate technical assistance and organizational capacity regarding energy assets such as wind generation, ethanol, biomass, cogeneration, conservation, etc.

Educational Attainment

Dream Fund: The Blandin Foundation has joined with seven other Minnesota foundations and several national foundations to establish a $1 million fund to address structural barriers to educational attainment faced by minorities and women. In turn, the Dream Fund has awarded major grants to the Organization Apprentice Partnership and the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Race and Poverty (IRP) to address these issues on a statewide basis.
Invest Early: The Blandin Foundation has made a financial commitment of $1.5 million for up to 10 years to the Invest Early collaborative formed by four local school districts, Head Start, Itasca County, and a number of other agencies involved in early childhood education.. Launched in the fall of 2005, the program seeks to reach children under the age of five, who, due to income or other factors, may be at risk of entering kindergarten without those early skills which are so critical to success in school.

Fairness and Opportunity

Greater Minnesota Housing Fund: Seeks to support family dignity and wealth creation for working class and lower income families by creating affordable housing opportunities in Greater Minnesota. Thousands of units of new or renovated housing have been added since the organization was started in 1996.
Circles of Support: The Koostasca Community Action Program is leading a poverty reduction program in the Foundation’s local giving area that partners families in poverty with personal allies and other support groups and programs designed to move participants out of poverty.
Local Sustaining Grants: The Foundation provides nearly $1.5 million dollars in annual support to 25 programs in its local giving area, including the Bovey Coleraine Youth Center, Itasca Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Habitat for Humanity International®, Second Harvest North Central Food Bank, Advocates for Family Peace, and many others. The programs are targeted to help eliminate the root causes of inequities as well as provide direct services, such as food assistance.

Inter-cultural Competency

Itasca Community College: The College’s Grand Rapids location places it within close proximity to a number of large Native American communities. As part of the College’s efforts to create a welcoming environment where Native American students can thrive and succeed, the Foundation has helped establish an endowed chair for the Native American Studies program, to ensure the long term availability of culturally appropriate learning opportunities.
Northwest Indian Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC): The sister communities of Walker, Minnesota and Onigum, Minnesota are located within a few miles of each other on the shores of Leech Lake, yet cultural differences have often stood in the way of opportunities to cooperate. Northwest Indian OIC of Bemidji and the Walker-Onigum School District have facilitated successful efforts to bridge these differences, at the same time improving educational outcomes for Native American students.

Leadership Development

Headwaters Regional Development Commission (HDRC) works with communities in northwestern Minnesota to develop Community Stewards who agree to play a proactive role in improving the health of their communities. Strengthening personal commitment, building bridges in the community, and exploring community assets are hallmarks of their approach.
Grants to the Rural Health Resource Center and the Minnesota Rural Educators Association are being used to fund leadership efforts for rural hospitals and schools across the state.
Youth Leadership for Vital Communities (YLVC): The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce is leading an effort to train area youth in community leadership skills and engage them in critical issues facing the future of Itasca County. Students from several school districts have formed a region-wide network among the future leaders of the region.

Rural Voice

Center for Rural Policy and Development: The Center produces bi-annual Journals on critical rural topics such as education, economy, and transportation, in conjunction with policy forums. Their efforts help give voice to rural perspectives, ensuring that decision makers across the state are better informed.
Itasca Community Television, Inc. Grand Rapids (ICTV) and KAXE-FM Community Radio: Both services inform area residents about local issues while building a stronger sense of Itasca County common identity and purpose.
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR): The Foundation partners with MPR to maintain Minnesota’s only statewide system of news gathering and report. MPR has seven regional bureaus located in rural communities.