Grantee Learning Logs

To form a multi-tribal power authority that will issue bonds to finance, build and operate a utility-grade wind power installation

To address food insecurity and improve health and well-being by revitalizing knowledge of traditional food practices

To test a new local collaboration model in order to break down longstanding barriers to serving quality after-school meals

The ‘NV & Me Project’ will inspire and empower residents to carry out the vision of the North Valley/New Vision 360 process through a micro-grant program and with action teams at various community levels.

United Way of Steele County will examine disparities in income, education and health among low-income residents and people of color in Steele County. They will also design and implement a collaborative, multi-sector initiative at the intersection of these disparities to create change in their community.

The 'Public Art and Community Engagement Project' will advance the development of vibrant public spaces and public art in Fargo-Moorhead to more strongly connect citizens with the community and each other.

Four Bands Community Fund, of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, will lead a reservation-wide effort to develop and implement a comprehensive workforce development program. Using a combined place- and sector-based approach, Four Bands will provide training opportunities to increase the capacity of individuals to gain meaningful employment while supporting businesses to build their capacity to effectively hire and retain qualified employees.

Northfield Promise' is a collective impact initiative designed to achieve community-level change for children and youth growing up in Northfield. By aligning all the major community institutions around a shared set of measurable benchmarks, assembling diverse action teams, collecting and sharing data, implementing action plans, and sharing progress with community stakeholders, the project seeks to ensure success for all Northfield youth.

Connector Academy and Lab,' a project of the Cleveland Neighborhood Association, will train residents to become leaders in their community and make change in their neighborhood. Residents will work together, learn from one another and support one another in creating innovative community-building projects.

The 'Champion's Initiative' uses athletics as a platform for sexual and domestic violence prevention. It will equip youth athletic coaches with the tools, knowledge, and motivation to role model respect, non-violence, and gender equity.

Renewing the Countryside II will grow the capacity of our local food system by developing a plan to make farmland more accessible to new and young farmers and supporting new and existing partnerships between food co-op members and farmers.

The Promise Neighborhood – Central Minnesota will lead community engagement and capacity building efforts to achieve educational, economic and community aspirations in the Talahi neighborhood in St. Cloud.

To foster capacity building and partnerships among cross-cultural community stakeholders, eliminating racial and socio-economic disparities

TakeAction Minnesota will engage Minnesotans to identify problems and actionable solutions for getting the most out of the new MNSure health care system.

The Vital Aging Network's Wellness 50+ program will engage and train teams of older adults in four communities across Minnesota to lead community–developed wellness initiatives.

The Fargo-Moorhead Coalition for Homeless Persons (in a formal alliance with the North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People, the West Central Minnesota Continuum of Care and multi-state community partners) will create a coordinated assessment and referral system to more effectively assess, shelter and house people who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness in their community.

To make local building codes and ordinances better, promoting greater housing stability

The Barbara Schneider Foundation will work together with four Native nations--Red Lake Nation, White Earth Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and Rosebud Sioux Tribe--to create culturally distinct programs for prevention of and intervention in mental health crisis and wellness recovery. Each Nation will identify strengths, needs, priorities and barriers to wellness, and develop a collaborative response plan for their community.

Answering the Voices' will connect individuals from the refugee and immigrant community with established residents and local decision-makers to explore community issues and develop innovative solutions for identified needs.

The REAP/Vision West North Dakota 'Plan Director Supports Project' will support volunteer and paid plan directors in 19 western North Dakota counties to implement new county or tribal strategic plans for addressing challenges caused by the oil boom and for sustaining economic viability following the boom.

Teen Up,' an initiative of Partnership Rapid City, will create online youth engagement technology, provide opportunities for youth to participate in city planning and cultivate all that youth have to offer by engaging them in service and in advisory and leadership roles throughout the community.

NEON will build a broad coalition of organizations dedicated to increasing employment and economic equality for unemployed/underemployed African American males in North Minneapolis. NEON will engage these stakeholders to build a locally-governed entity that reinforces transparency, accountability, results and shared learning about workforce development.

MAVA will convene conversations with partners, cities, volunteer managers, volunteers and citizens interested in building new strategies to engage a diverse citizenry in community problems. They will develop strategies and curriculum to train cities throughout Minnesota to grow citizen volunteerism in problem solving and public service.

To engage Native and non-Native institutions and individuals to identify community education needs

To test and implement the Minneapolis Public Schools 'Grow Your Own' program: a fast-track alternative teacher preparation and licensure program for bilingual educators and educators of color

To engage members of Tribal leadership and communities and create a clear path to homeownership for Native people and their families

To discuss land cooperative law opportunities and issues with 16 farmer-members who are currently operating under a land lease option

To educate and engage landowners, agricultural producers and water quality resource experts in an effort to improve water quality

To partner with the Rapid City Area Schools and others, examining the need to address cross-cultural understanding and relationships in their community

To develop a new model for immersion teacher training and certification with project partners and a cohort of early childhood immersion teachers who are skilled at working with children and are proficient speakers of Ojibwe

To give people of the region a 'big picture' view of the area's challenges through conversations and printed media so they are better informed when making decisions that affect their lives

To train neighborhood artists and residents how to employ art and creativity as a strategy for increasing community engagement among underrepresented groups in four intersecting neighborhoods of south Minneapolis

To further the Family Tree Clinic's Trans Health Initiative by partnering with community stakeholders to pilot an informed consent hormone access project to provide high-quality, transgender affirming and affordable health care

To create a shared community vision for the Seven Mile Creek watershed, establish a watershed council to implement the community vision and build the relationships necessary to sustain watershed rehabilitation efforts into the future

To form a statewide coalition that will increase the number of people who are equipped to work against human trafficking and sexual exploitation

To engage healthcare stakeholders in creating a public-private funding program that will support foreign-trained medical professionals in securing medical residency

To work with 22 rural towns, cataloguing their assets using the Community Capitals Framework: a conceptual model for evaluating a community's overall health and capacity for community and economic development

To develop a sustainable model for individuals in recovery from mental illness and/or chemical dependency, which will be integrated into the East Metro's Mental and Chemical Health crisis care system through the Mental Health Crisis Alliance

To co-create the Sustainable Home Ownership Project (SHOP): a workforce development initiative and homeownership system that supports a green construction industry on Pine Ridge

To foster safe and respectful learning environments by hosting conversations with the Anti-Bullying/Anti-Harassment Task Force and by creating a bystander empowerment program