A Year Like No Other

ECONOMY

Expanding & Empowering

Meet some of Minnesota’s most promising social entrepreneurs.

Pg. 8

COMMUNITY

A Place for Community Step inside a St. Cloud cultural mall.

Pg. 22

GENEROSITY

Honoring Their Son

Brainerd family creates memorial for outdoors enthusiast.

Pg. 46

A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER

Central Minnesota confronts the COVID-19 crisis.

Pg. 14

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DEPARTMENTS

6 Initiatives:

Regional Highlights

Get the latest highlights from the 14-county area.

8 Economy: Expanding & Empowering

Meet Minnesota’s most promising social entrepreneurs.

10 Business:

for Everyone Building toward a more inclusive Central Minnesota.

22

46

Community:

Generosity:

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Construction continues at each of ISD 181’s school buildings. The $205 million project includes renovation, remodeling, and right-sizing throughout the district as well as the new Baxter Elementary (pictured).

Dear Friends,

As president of the Initiative Foundation, I have the pleasure of sharing my thoughts with you in every edition of IQ Magazine we publish. Producing IQ, however, is a team effort, and in this edition I’ve invited a key member of our editorial team to share her reflections on 11 years of observing and reporting on Central Minnesota. Thank you, Elizabeth!

—Matt Varilek

In the spring of 2010, I drove from my home in Minneapolis to Little Falls to interview for the managing editor position of IQ Magazine. On Highway 10, I passed Treasure City, a souvenir shop I remembered from my childhood. Back then, I’d stared longingly out the bus window on my way to summer camp in Aitkin. This time, I couldn’t spare even a minute to browse. I didn’t want to be late.

The 2008 Recession had dealt a crippling blow to journalism, the profession I’d loved since I graduated from college in 1987. I dearly wanted to tell people’s stories and put them into the context of the larger world. But a nonprofit that focused on rural economic development wasn’t a natural fit for me, a fact that Matt Kilian, the then marketing and communications manager at the Initiative Foundation, pointed out as he looked at my resume. Why, he asked, would I want a contract assignment to edit IQ?

I was born and raised in Minneapolis and had also lived in New York City, Boston and Chicago. Although I was a devoted city dweller, I was also a proud Minnesotan. I told Matt that I didn’t want to be the kind of person who experienced Greater Minnesota as a tourist passing by a souvenir shop on my way to a vacation. I hoped that working with the Initiative Foundation would help me better understand and advocate for my state.

During these past 10 years, I have been fortunate to see firsthand what is special about Central Minnesota. I’ve toured Pine Technical & Community College and learned about satisfying and in-demand careers that don’t require a four-year degree. In the wake of the 2010 Wadena tornado, I interviewed disaster preparedness experts who help rebuild communities. I’ve visited pop-up clinics where grandparents borrowed cars to drive 60 miles to get dental care for their grandchildren. In every town I’ve been to, people are devoting their lives to making the future brighter for the next generation.

Thank you,

As we make progress toward overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, the people of Central Minnesota remind me that we are naturally resilient. And while this is my last issue of IQ Magazine—I am writing a memoir and working on other book projects—I will miss reporting and shaping these stories. From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful that I’m connected and no longer feel like a tourist in this special region.

Elizabeth Foy Larson, MANAGING EDITOR

VOLUME 33, SPRING 2021

Initiative Foundation

President | Matt Varilek

Marketing & Communications

Director | Bob McClintick

Marketing & Communications

Specialist | Allison Norgren

Editorial

Managing Editor | Elizabeth Foy Larsen

Writer | Laura Billings Coleman

Writer | Lisa Meyers McClintick

Writer | Gene Rebeck

Writer | Andy Steiner

Writer | Maria Surma Manka

Art

Art Director | Teresa Lund

Photographer | John Linn

Photographer | Michael Schoenecker

Illustration | Chris McAllister

Advertising

Advertising Director | Brian Lehman

Advertising Manager | Sonja Gidlow

Advertising Manager | Lois Head

Advertiser Services | Julie Engelmeyer

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Email info@ifound.org to subscribe or to make subscription inquiries.

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IQ Magazine

Elizabeth, for your contributions to Central Minnesota!

“The work we do really makes a difference.”

— Mitchell McCallson, Sourcewell employee

At Sourcewell you will:

Be innovative and bring ideas to life

Make an impact in your community

Enjoy a culture built with intention and purpose

Engage in leadership training and development

CASS

Regional Investment Highlights

WESTERN

NORTHERN

CROW WING

MORRISON COUNTY | A Walk in the Park for Royalton Dogs

Royalton dogs now have a place to run and play, thanks to a grant from the Morrison County Area Foundation, a Partner Fund of the Initiative Foundation. Hunter Malikowski spearheaded the creation of a fenced-in, two-acre dog park on East Centre Street as part of his Eagle Scout project. Scout volunteers and Hunter’s family joined in to build dog agility features and benches a win for dogs and dog lovers alike!

TODD COUNTY | Cardinal Pride Goes on Display for Staples-Motley Athletes

Cardinal pride is on display for all to see with the installation of a multi-directional sign at the intersection of First Avenue Northeast and Highway 210 in Staples. The sign celebrates Staples-Motley athletic achievements: 28 team and 62 individual state high school championships! The installation was supported by a grant from the Staples-Motley Area Community Foundation, a Partner Fund of the Initiative Foundation.

WADENA COUNTY | Fellow to Research Power of Art and Economy in Wadena

Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will look different in each community. The Wadena Economic Development Authority and Little Round Still, a craft distillery, have an idea: focus on bringing more art to Wadena to attract residents and to spur economic development. With support from an Initiative Foundation grant, a fellow with the nonprofit Lead for Minnesota will research ways to bring more artisan businesses to town, highlight downtown and help local students experience more of the arts.

CASS COUNTY | Community Volunteers Rally Behind Gull Lake Trail Project

Completion of the Fairview Township portion of the Gull Lake Trail has had its twists and turns, yet community volunteers continue to see the project through. With the cost to finish the remaining 7.8-mile stretch coming in high, planners hope to complete 4.1 miles of the trail this summer and surface the remaining section when funds are available. Initiative Foundation grants have helped to support efforts to connect to the existing trail system.

CROW WING COUNTY | Helping Healthcare Heroes Heal

Healthcare workers have been true heroes throughout the pandemic, risking their wellbeing to care for others. The Sourcewell Region 5 COVID-19 Relief Project, a new Initiative Foundation Partner Fund, awarded a grant to Essentia Health Foundation to support wellness resources, snacks and cards of encouragement for about 400 healthcare workers. To date, the fund has awarded $44,000 to hospitals and nonprofits throughout the five-county Sourcewell region.

MILLE LACS COUNTY | Reinvigorated and Ready to Make a Difference

Thanks to renewed local commitment, the Mille Lacs Area Community Foundation is primed to make a difference. Formerly known as the Isle Area Community Foundation, the fund was started in 2006 with a single $9,000 gift. Not long after its creation, the board disbanded and the fund quietly grew to $20,000. Six community members recently came together to establish priorities and guidelines, and today the fund is ready to award Mille Lacs Lake area grants!

MILLE LACS

WADENA TODD MORRISON

BENTON

SHERBURNE

WRIGHT

PINE KANABEC

ISANTI

CHISAGO

STEARNS

TODD: The Cardinal Pride installation in Staples. (Photo courtesy of Jerry Pruitt)

“The Initiative Foundation really helped our organization through a tough time when a majority of our revenue was lost due to COVID. A generous grant helped us survive 2020 and focus on re-opening in 2021.”

– Emily Marshall YMCA Camp Miller, Sturgeon Lake

BENTON COUNTY | BIPOC-Led Organizations Receive Boost, COVID Training

Six St. Cloud area nonprofits received training and a $5,000 boost through their participation in a four-month Nonprofit Academy training program with a focus on COVID-19 recovery. Formerly known as Financial Resiliency, the Initiative Foundation’s Nonprofit Academy program helps local nonprofits thrive so they can do their best for the communities and people they serve. Congratulations to the Nonprofit Academy graduates, and a special thanks to the Otto Bremer Trust for supporting this program!

SHERBURNE COUNTY | New Jugaad Leadership Cohort Under Way

The Jugaad Leadership program kicked off a new cohort in March to serve the Greater St. Cloud area. The seven-month leadership initiative seeks to empower and encourage people of color and those in underrepresented groups to get involved in their communities. Supported by the Initiative Foundation, the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and United Way of Central Minnesota, among others, the program has graduated nearly 50 St. Cloud-area leaders since it was founded in 2015.

STEARNS COUNTY | Enterprising Individuals Amp Up Entrepreneurial Endeavors

Since 2018, some 80 aspiring entrepreneurs have participated in the Initiative Foundation’s Enterprise Academy, the centerpiece of which is a 12-week educational course to get their business idea on the fast track. Originating in the St. Cloud area to support underserved communities, the program has since expanded to serve students in the Brainerd and Mille Lacs Tribal Economy areas. Upon successfully completing the course, entrepreneurs have ongoing access to lending and technical support.

WRIGHT COUNTY | True Friends Camp Training Fills Employment Gaps

True Friends Camp has a fresh approach to seasonal staff recruitment and training in its effort to lead 25,000-plus children and adults with disabilities through summer camp and other services. About 300 staff members annually assist with a variety of programs at the Annandale-area camp. Updated recruitment and training techniques, supported by an Initiative Foundation grant, helped the camp provide the right supports while also creating a larger pool of qualified workers to fill regional employment gaps.

CHISAGO COUNTY | Viking Vittles Tackles Food Insecurity for Kids

Viking Vittles, coordinated by Trinity Lutheran Church in North Branch, is tackling local food insecurity by distributing take-home food to North Branch-area students for weekends and summer months. With grant support from the Initiative Foundation, an average of 125 backpacks containing two breakfasts, lunch and snack items were distributed weekly during summer 2020. A Care Closet has been added where kids can shop for food and other essential items to bring home.

ISANTI COUNTY | Hotel Becomes Home for Those in Need

For those experiencing homelessness, the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly challenging. Prior to the pandemic, New Pathways in Cambridge had been supported by faith communities to house families in local churches. When the pandemic shut down churches, New Pathways turned to local hotels. Supported by the Memorial Hospital Foundation, an Initiative Foundation Partner Fund, New Pathways was able to offer hotel housing to 11 families.

KANABEC COUNTY | Child Care Providers Trained for Success

A group of Kanabec County providers received free child care and business finance training through First Children’s Finance by participating in the Initiative Foundation’s Child Care Solutions program. With support from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Initiative Foundation is working with communities and counties to develop innovative solutions to address the shortfall of nearly 15,400 child care slots needed to meet family demand in Central Minnesota.

PINE COUNTY | Volunteers Create Improved Space for Recreation

Thanks to hard-working volunteers and generous grant support from the Greater Pine Area Endowment, a Partner Fund of the Initiative Foundation, Pine City’s Hilltop Recreation Area has a new year-round multipurpose facility with a warming house, bathrooms, locker rooms and a storage area to add to its outdoor skating facilities. When the project is complete, there will also be a covered outdoor area for basketball, hockey, pickleball and more.

SOUTHERN EASTERN

STEARNS: St. Cloud Enterprise Academy students in March 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PINE: The Hilltop Recreation Area in Pine City has a new multipurpose facility.

economy

Expanding & Empowering

Northwest Minnesota Foundation joins the Initiators Fellowship, expanding support for social entrepreneurs to 53 Minnesota counties and six tribal nations.

By Bob McClintick | Photography by Michael Schoenecker

When Rachel Stone applied for the Initiators Fellowship back in 2019, the founder of P’s & Q’s Etiquette, which serves Moorhead-area students, had her doubts that she had the stamina—and the right stuff—for an intensive two-year social enterprise program.

Fast forward, and the 2020-2021 Fellow will tell you that mustering the courage to apply was the best thing she could have done for her and the elementary, middle and high school students she guides in leadership skills, resilience, goal-setting and conflict resolution.

“The Initiators Fellowship program has been amazing,” Stone said. “Whatever you think you lack, they are here to support you. The training, the activities, the cohort, the people that surround you ... for a long time I felt like I was alone out here. But I feel such support having this program, and I know that this is exactly what I needed.”

Stone and her six peers are in the final year of the 2020-2021 Fellowship, which currently includes the regions served by three Minnesota Initiative Foundation: the Initiative Foundation in

Central Minnesota, Southwest Initiative Foundation and West Central Initiative. The Initiators Fellowship Program is an innovative leadership development opportunity that provides two years of intensive mentorship, cohort learning and a $30,000 annual stipend to promising entrepreneurs who are on a mission to solve social challenges through the marketplace.

As Stone and her cohort move toward completion of the program, the Initiative Foundation and its partners are ramping up recruitment efforts for the 2022-2023 cohort, which will expand to the Northwest Minnesota Foundation region.

“We are excited to bring this unique opportunity to Northwest Minnesota,” said Michael Neusser, vice president for operations at the Northwest Minnesota Foundation. “We know our region has many social entrepreneurs working to make a difference in our communities, and this is just one more way that we’re able to support them in that mission.”

The expansion allows the program to serve eight Fellows—two from each region—drawn from an area that includes 53 counties and six tribal nations, or a full two-thirds of Greater Minnesota.

LEFT TO RIGHT, TOP TO BOTTOM:

Jonathan Friesner

Hamdia Mohamed

Anne O’Keefe-Jackson

Alise Sjostrom

Rachel Stone

Marc Van Herr

Erin Schutte Wadzinski

“If you want to start a business to achieve something good, that tells us you’re already the kind of applicant we’re looking for.”

“It’s my hope—and a broadly shared dream—that 10 years from now, in 2030, we will look back across the 2020 to 2030 timeframe and celebrate five groups of successful and diverse social entrepreneurs,” said Rick Bauerly, a trustee of the Initiative Foundation and founder and CEO of Granite Partners, a St. Cloud private investment and holding company that has invested more than $4 million in direct financial support and stock donations in support of the Fellowship. The program also is supported by a seven-year, $1.4 million investment from the Bush Foundation and ongoing support from Sourcewell, a key Central Minnesota partner of the Initiative Foundation.

LOFTY GOALS

Bringing new purpose-driven businesses, revenue-generating nonprofits or social benefit corporations to Greater Minnesota is just part of the program, said Chris Fastner, program manager for the Initiators Fellowship, which launched in the Initiative Foundation region in 2016. “The other part of it is to develop these Fellows as leaders in rural and Greater Minnesota so they can continue to make a difference. We feel that the right individual, supported at the right time and in the right way, can have an outsized impact on their Greater Minnesota community.”

The need is great, especially when you consider that retiring baby boomers are leaving leadership voids in many rural communities and that owning a small business can be a risky proposition. “According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 50 percent of small businesses will fail over five years,” Fastner said. “That’s an unfortunate figure. However, if we develop strong leaders in our communities, they’ll go on to do good, purposeful work for the rest of their lives.”

Initiators Fellows from the 2018-2019 cohort illustrate the program’s impact. Originally looking for ways to turn her passion for public health and diabetes advocacy into a career, Fellow Quinn Nystrom built a successful business as a national expert on diabetesrelated issues and made a point of drawing public awareness to the high price of insulin when she was a candidate for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional district. Initiators Fellow Annie Deckert built her consulting business to help fill empty storefronts in Minnesota’s small towns before signing on as the first chief executive officer

of Greater Fergus Falls, the nonprofit economic development organization in her hometown.

Like Stone, other 2020-2021 Fellows are making equally impressive contributions. Hamdia Mohamed of Victory Plus Housing, for example, is working to provide sober housing in Central Minnesota by providing safe, secure and clean residential properties and an array of additional supports. And Erin Schutte Wadzinski is focused on increasing access to affordable and highquality legal representation for immigrants and refugees from all financial backgrounds residing in Southwest Minnesota through her Kivu Immigration law firm in Worthington.

“The Initiators Fellowship gave me the extra boost I needed to launch my social enterprise,” Schutte Wadzinksi said. “The networks, the mentorship and the support from the Fellowship really have been the most important to me.”

APPLY, SHARE THE OPPORTUNITY

Applications for the 2022-23 cohort of Initiators Fellows will be accepted from May 24 through June 15. Though it’s a rigorous process, culminating in a day-long October selection process at St. John’s University from among 15 finalists, Fastner says the biggest hurdle many applicants face is simply seeing themselves as potential leaders.

“If you have an idea for a purpose-driven business, and you’re already working a full-time job, you’re probably finding you just don’t have the time and the bandwidth to make progress,” he said. But with the help of the Fellowship’s $60,000 stipend over two years, “you can make the time to start moving ahead, meeting with mentors, and expanding the networks you’re going to need to succeed. If you want to start a business to achieve something good, that tells us you’re already the kind of applicant we’re looking for—the kind of person who can make positive change in your community.”

3 To explore the Initiators Fellowship, visit fellows.greaterminnesota.net. Questions not answered there can be emailed to initiators@ifound.org.

A Region for Everyone

Working together to make Central Minnesota more inclusive helps to bolster the region’s future.

By Gene Rebeck | Illustration by Chris McAllister

There’s a lot to be said for “Minnesota Nice.”

“Minnesota Nice is rooted in what we perceive as being polite, helpful and caring,” said Alfred Walking Bull, a storyteller and communications leader for Team Dynamics, a Minneapolis-based strategy firm that helps its clients become more equitable and just workplaces.

But how nice does it look to people who weren’t raised in “Minnesota Nice”?

“In predominantly white spaces, we view conflict as something to be resolved, and resolved quickly, because it makes us uncomfortable,” said Walking Bull. But in the Lakota culture in which he was raised, “we understand that conflict comes because you care about something. It’s not something that needs to be brushed away.”

Addressing differences in conflict, communication and culture is

something more and more Central Minnesotans are prioritizing. As the region’s non-white population grows, the Initiative Foundation is building its own competencies while seeking to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts among its friends and partners. “It’s a complex task,” said Lynn Bushinger, chief financial and operating officer at the Initiative Foundation, “but the fundamental reason for it is simple: If the region is to continue to grow and prosper, it needs everyone to work and to live together.”

Embracing Change

As the Initiative Foundation seeks to better serve an increasingly diverse region, it has been working with Team Dynamics to improve staff members’ understanding and appreciation of cultural difference. “Team Dynamics has been helping the Initiative Foundation continue to change, grow, and reflect our region, and to develop solutions that

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION: How nice does Minnesota look to people who weren’t born and raised here?

business, continued from page 10

will help the region support community and economic sustainability,” said Don Hickman, vice president for community and workforce development at the Initiative Foundation.

Currently, people of color make up about 10 percent of Central Minnesota’s population, and that is projected to increase. With Minnesota facing a generation-long worker shortage, the only demographic that is growing in working-age people is people of color.

Developing programs and services that address the needs of all regional residents is not a new goal for the Initiative Foundation, though Hickman noted that “we have gotten more intentional about it in recent years.” Among the Foundation’s programs is the Initiators Fellowship, which seeks to help participants develop social enterprise ventures and help them grow as community, regional and statewide leaders. Over the years, the program has actively sought to make its pool of fellowship candidates more diverse.

The Enterprise Academy is the Foundation’s program that is most specifically focused on communities of color and diversity, according to Jeff Wig, vice president for entrepreneurship at the Initiative Foundation. To assist non-majority participants interested in starting their own businesses, the Foundation partners with organizations such as the Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization, which works primarily with East African communities. The Foundation also works with Higher Works Collaborative, which focuses on African Americans.

“These organizations are our cultural navigators,” Wig said. In addition to helping the program identify potential entrepreneurs, “they also help us deliver our programming in the most culturally intelligent way we can, and to avoid cultural missteps.”

As the Enterprise Academy grew, the Initiative Foundation worked to develop loan programs to support underrepresented communities, especially at the startup stage. These loans tend to be smaller, more high-touch and may have little in the way of traditional collateral. The Foundation also has developed Islamic-acceptable funding. Many Muslims follow the Islamic faith’s prohibition against charging fixed interest on a loan. Islamic finance is based on shared risk and shared profit, so the Foundation has worked with experts to design loan products that meet this need.

“We think this is a critical long-term strategy,” Wig said. “A fully inclusive business community needs to be built from the ground up, and that includes lending a helping hand to motivated entrepreneurs from all backgrounds.”

Not everyone aspires to run a business. But immigrants to the region are seeking work, and businesses have jobs to fill. Understanding cultural differences has become crucial as companies and organizations seek to hire more people of diverse backgrounds. But in Central Minnesota, many of those companies’ employees grew up in areas with little or no ethnic diversity.

“It’s really up to companies to bridge that gap,” said Hudda Ibrahim, founder of Filsan Talent Partners, a St. Cloud-based diversity and inclusion consulting firm that helps employers attract, train and retain

employees of color. “What I see all the time is that people have the right intention to hire people, but then there can be culture clashes.”

Employers seeking to hire and retain Somali Americans, for instance, need to “help their employees understand a bit about Somali culture,” including religious holidays, rules for dress and prayer times. At the same time, Somali Americans also need to understand the company’s culture.

Establishing these values as company priorities is key. “When employees see that the CEO is really invested in diversifying the workplace and ensuring that everyone is on board, people will and do pay attention,” Ibrahim said. “They’re more open to having a dialogue instead of debating issues.” The objective is not to force assimilation. Instead, “you are helping people integrate into a unified workplace.”

Talk and Learn

One of the Initiative Foundation’s partners in building its diversity, equity and inclusion consciousness and capacity in Central Minnesota is the Region Five Development Commission in Staples.

“To be economically competitive, we needed a diverse workforce,” said Cheryal Hills, executive director for the Staples-based Region Five Development Commission. Until recently, the five-county region her organization serves (Crow Wing, Cass, Morrison, Todd, and Wadena counties) didn’t have a common platform they could use to help residents explore cultural differences and learn about ways to live and work together.

In 2018, Region Five established Welcoming Communities advocacy groups, which have paved the way. The eight community groups have more than 50 members. They have met quarterly for the past 18 months to engage in DEI learning, as well as to develop projects to bridge cultures and be more truly welcoming to diverse communities in the region.

Region Five also has launched a “Justice System Consortium” with the Initiative Foundation as an advisor. Membership includes LGBTQ+ residents, persons living with mental health challenges, low-income people, limited English speaking community members and BIPOC residents. The goal is to bring together the concerns of law enforcement along with those of all communities in the region to improve police-community relations and develop innovative approaches to law enforcement that are respectful of community concerns. The consortium grew out of the Advocacy Groups. “We would never want anyone to present us as experts in this field,” Hills said. “We’re learning as we go.”

People are hungry for these kinds of conversations and learning opportunities, said Dawn Espe, Region Five’s regional development planner.

“It’s a slow, thoughtful process to try to meet people where they’re at and being sure you’re not instilling fear into them,” Espe said. “It’s about recognizing that we all have different needs and come from different places.” Call it the new Minnesota Nice.

A YEAR like no OTHER.

As Central Minnesota recovers from the COVID-19 crisis, the Initiative Foundation doubles down on its mission to strengthen the region it has served since 1986.

By Laura Billings Coleman Photography by John Linn

urrounded by thousands of surface miles of lakes, boreal forests and natural beauty, the community of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (LLBO) also lies in the middle of a food desert, with few options for door-step deliveries or quick trips to the grocery store.

“With the lay of the land up here, and no major metropolitan areas around, most folks have to drive upwards of 50 miles just to get the basics,” said Mike Auger, LLBO’s director of gaming operations. “As the COVID-19 pandemic started up, we decided we needed to tackle the problem of food insecurity in our community, because it was also one of the ways we thought we could keep our elders safe at home.”

In March, the Leech Lake Band Emergency Management Team launched the COVID-19 Food Initiative, distributing 700 boxes of pantry staples around the region. “The only qualification for getting the food box was needing it,” said Auger, who oversaw the distribution operation. “We didn’t care if you were a band member, or if you were white, or what your income was. We just got the food out where we thought people could use it.”

As the statewide shutdown continued, and organizers learned more about the community’s needs, LLBO’s COVID-19 Food Initiative grew more ambitious, activating nearly 100 volunteers and working with a nutritionist to ensure that every box contained a healthy range of shelf-stable foods and personal products to nourish families at home. Working with CARES Act funding from the state of Minnesota, supply chain support from Teal’s Market, the local grocery store, and grant funding from the Initiative Foundation and other partners, LLBO has continued its commitment for a full year, delivering nearly 16,000 boxes of food around the region since the start of the pandemic.

“Our goals at the start were just getting through the immediate future,” said Auger. “Like everyone last March, we never anticipated that we’d still be doing this the following March.” He credits collaborations with Second Harvest Heartland, the state of Minnesota and a host of other partners for helping the band “cut through red tape and make a huge difference to people during a tough time. Food security was an issue before the pandemic, but now that the problem’s been brought to the surface, I think we’ve seen there are solutions that can help solve it. I hope that’s the lesson we’ll take from this after the pandemic ends.”

“Like everyone last March, we never anticipated that we’d still be doing this the following March.”

MIKE AUGER (above): ”Most folks have to drive upwards of 50 miles just to get the basics.”

ESSENTIAL NEEDS

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s COVID-19 Food Initiative is one of more than 1,400 nonprofits and businesses the Initiative Foundation helped to fund in 2020, the biggest and the busiest year in the organization’s 35-year history. “We were founded in the wake of the farm crisis, so we pride ourselves on being prepared for challenges, but it would be an understatement to say this is not the year we had planned,” said Don Hickman, Initiative Foundation vice president of community and workforce development. While the Foundation stepped up its grantmaking, nearly quintupling the dollars it awards in a typical year, the needs across the region were even greater.

“We have a long history of funding capacity building and strategic planning and things that will set communities up for longterm success, but this year, for the first time, we decided we had to directly fund the service of essential needs,” said Hickman. “With grant requests outstripping available resources by more than a 10:1 ratio, we had to make some tough choices and focus on the needs that were most acute.”

For instance, as communities with meat processing plants emerged as COVID-19 hot zones, the Initiative Foundation reached out to underserved communities in Cold Spring, Long Prairie and Melrose by hiring two bilingual disaster response specialists to ensure that employees, often from Latino and Somali communities, had the information they needed to stay safe in the workplace and to access other essential services during the pandemic. The effort resulted in the delivery of nearly $1.2 million in support to the designated communities. (See our underserved communities story on page 28.)

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

My husband and I own Wild About Birds in Waite Park. We would like to thank you for the generous grant you gave us. The money helped us save our business. Wild About Birds is dear to our hearts because we are bird lovers and our customers are dear to our hearts

Thank you,

Tom and Karon Scherer

COVID-19 RELIEF Small Business Relief Grants

The Initiative Foundation partnered with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to distribute 766 small business relief grants throughout Central Minnesota. Each $10,000 grant helped a local business weather the effects of the pandemic.

FOR THE BIRDS: Tom and Karon Scherer, owners of Wild About Birds in Waite Park, were the recipient of a small business relief grant through the Initiative Foundation.

CASS

CROW WING

MILLE LACS

W ADENA

TODD MORRISON

BENTON

SHERBURNE

WRIGHT

PINE

KANABEC

ISANTI CHISAGO STEARNS

Since the onset of the pandemic...

1,400+ Businesses & nonprofits financially supported

$4.1M LOANS, LENDING ACCOMMODATIONS

$1.2 million in new loans

$2.85 million in adjusted loan terms

$10M GRANTS

$7.76 million in small business and cultural mall relief grants

$410,000 to child care, early childhood

$378,000 to nonprofits

$238,000 via Partner Fund relief

$1.05 million in CARES Act funding distributed on behalf of Pine County $

$14.2M TOTAL IMPACT

With hundreds of small businesses forced to close during the shutdown or to find new ways of meeting customers, the Foundation also administered $7.66 million in small business relief grants in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), which helped to provide $10,000 grants to 766 small businesses in the region. The effort, funded by federal CARES Act dollars, also included a special allocation of $110,000 for a St. Cloud cultural mall and its tenants. (See related story on page 22.)

The Initiative Foundation funded 1,400 businesses and nonprofits in 2020—the biggest and the busiest year in the organization’s 35-year history.

With a serious child care shortage already in place, and essential service workers pressed for solutions, the Initiative Foundation also helped to fund a new accelerated early childhood certification program at Pine Technical & Community College, one of several “one year to a new career” programs that have surfaced to help reactivate workers laid off during the shutdown. These programs also solve labor shortages that were a problem before the pandemic.

All totaled, the Initiative Foundation infused more than $14.2million in relief efforts throughout Central Minnesota.

“It’s remarkable that the economy is doing as well as it is in spite of a global pandemic, and for that I think we can thank lots of diligent entrepreneurs, and the fact that governments and the philanthropic community are stepping up. It’s taken everyone working together to take on this challenge,” said Initiative Foundation President Matt Varilek.

FUTURE SOLUTIONS

The last year of shut-downs, school closures and supply chain challenges have also revealed trouble spots in Central Minnesota’s economy. “Even though the economy is strong in aggregate, it also reflects some pretty vast disparities,” Varilek said, noting that while hospitality and personal service businesses have been devastated by the pandemic, other sectors like construction, outdoor recreation and some manufacturing have seen big gains. “Some businesses in the region have had their best year ever, while others are in danger of going away for good.”

Jeff Wig, the Initiative Foundation’s vice president for entrepreneurship, agrees. “When the shutdown started there was a shock and awe phase last spring and summer that has given way to an adjustment phase as people found new ways of doing business.” For instance, favorite local restaurants revved up websites and offered deliveries and curbside pick-ups, while other operations make quick pivots, like Brainerd’s The Teehive, a custom T-shirt

D isco ver

the seasons in Staples!

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MAKE A GROUND-BREAKING DECISION

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A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

shop that quickly began producing face masks and other personal protective garments. While the Paycheck Protection Program and other small business loan programs have offered a lifeline to many small businesses in the region, “giving people additional loans for emergency use is not always what they want,” Wig said. “There are many other businesses that have decided it’s not worth it to stay open and lose money, but they’re looking for a way to grow forward as we start to emerge from the COVID-19 tunnel.”

Child care surfaced as another major challenge, as homes or centers closed or reduced class sizes and parents took on teaching duties at home. “Problems with finding or hanging onto child care is the single biggest factor affecting an employee’s productivity and the single biggest reason for absenteeism. The pandemic made that painfully clear,” said Marnie Werner, vice president for research and operations at the Center for Rural Policy and Development. “If you were having problems with child care, particularly in rural communities, you might be able to fall back on grandma or an aunt in a pinch, but with COVID, you can’t rely on your older relatives, which cut off that avenue for patching the problem.”

I think this year has really clarified how much child care is part of the infrastructure that supports economic growth.”

With widespread vaccine distribution now within view, Varilek says a strong recovery for the region will also depend on following the public health lessons we’ve learned over the last year. “The health of Central Minnesota’s economy and the coronavirus are closely connected,” he said. “Fortunately, this virus is beatable and we’ve learned how to operate our economy more openly than we did in

“Some businesses in the region have had their best year ever, while others are in danger of going away for good.”

the early days. But getting to the next stage of the new normal is going to depend on as many of us as possible getting vaccinated just as soon as we can.

In a tight job market, employers could replace a child-care challenged employee with a new hire. But there are more unfilled jobs than skilled workers in the region, a trend that’s continued through the pandemic. “Businesses are starting to realize and understand that they do have to get involved in solving this problem,” said Werner. “And for policy makers and the public in general,

“We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves in terms of our expectations about immediately getting together in large groups, traveling for work and leisure and other things we’ve missed during the pandemic, but the fact we’ve been able to maintain the economic strength we’ve seen during this year gives me great optimism,” he said. “If we’re doing as well as we are with all of these pandemic constraints in place, just imagine where we can be in the future.”

BACKING BUSINESS: From Gustaf’s Up North Gallery in Lindstrom (upper left) to Jordie’s Trailside Cafe in Bowlus (upper right) to Lupulin Brewery in Big Lake (lower left) and GroShed located in Emily (lower right), grants distributed by the Initiative Foundation helped bring relief to regional small businesses.

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A Place for Community

When COVID-19 threatened the livelihood of the small businesses in St. Cloud’s Global Center mall, a grant program offered a lifeline.

By Elizabeth Foy Larsen

Located on the corner of 33rd Avenue and 3rd Street North in St. Cloud, the Global Center mall bustles with almost 27,000 square feet of businesses that cater to New Americans. In addition to an electronics store and a phone repair shop, three restaurants serve everything from shawarma and falafel to hot chicken wings. Clothing stores sell scarves, long skirts and hijabs. Business owners are predominantly from Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Pakistan.

“The mall is a place our community can call their own,” said Nasir Khan, one of the mall’s co-owners, who also co-owns the popular New York Gyro restaurants—one of which is located in the Global Center.

The COVID-19 pandemic threatened to undo that success. Thankfully, a glimmer of hope arrived last June when the state approved the Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants program, which had an option specifically geared to businesses located in cultural malls. Qualifying facilities needed to be privately owned retail spaces with at least 25 tenants selling products with an ethnic

cultural emphasis. The program was supervised by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and administered in Central Minnesota by the Initiative Foundation.

A Knack for Business

Originally from Pakistan, Khan moved to St. Cloud when he was a teenager and his dad accepted a professorship at St. Cloud State University (SCSU). After graduation, his father wanted him to pursue academia, but Khan felt drawn to business, starting first with a computer company. In 2015, Khan and two partners were looking for a New York Gyro location, their second, when they toured a large building that for years housed the former O’Hara’s Brew Pub & Restaurant. Their dream was to buy the entire building and turn the rest of the space into a cultural mall to serve the needs of the Central Minnesota immigrant community. They closed on the building in 2017 and by 2020 Global Center was fully occupied. Then COVID-19 arrived in Central Minnesota.

“The pandemic was the worst thing that could have happened to America, and even the world,” said Khan, who notes that he

GLOBAL CENTER: Business owners in the St. Cloud cultural mall are predominantly from Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Pakistan.

“This mall is where we connect to our culture. This is where we exchange information and come together and have conversations as a community about how we can help, support and motivate each other.”

was worried not just for his own businesses but also his tenants’ livelihoods. “When they come to you and say ‘I cannot pay rent this month’ and you have had a relationship with them for two or three years, you really feel for them.” Khan said that he worked with his tenants to stretch out rent payments in installments. In March and April 2020, he says rent payments dropped to almost zero. The shutdown also put a stop to all events, which were another revenue stream for the mall.

Enter the Connector

In addition to being unable to pay rent, some tenants couldn’t afford to restock their shelves or meet payroll demands. Their situation was looking dire, but a sense of cautious optimism emerged when the state announced its cultural mall grants program, which required that 50 percent of the award be used for rent forgiveness.

While the grants offered the promise of financial assistance, the logistics of applying were daunting. “Our New American entrepreneurs typically have a harder time accessing this kind of funding,” said Jeff Wig, vice president for entrepreneurship at the Initiative Foundation. “Language barriers and a lack of familiarity with governmental institutions can present obstacles.”

To bridge the gap, the Initiative Foundation hired Ibrahim Abdi, owner of Somane Associates, a tax preparation company located in the Global Center. Abdi also is a professional “connector,” which is a kind of go-to for immigrants to learn about and navigate resources and opportunities in their new home. Abdi was born in Somalia and raised in Kenya. He moved to St. Cloud in 2010 to study economics at SCSU. When the grants were announced, Abdi worked with the mall owners and tenants to complete their applications.

“This mall is where we connect to our culture,” Abdi said. “This

is where we exchange information and come together and have conversations as a community about how we can help, support and motivate each other.”

In August the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced that Global Center and its tenants would be awarded $110,000. The mall received $10,000 and the rest was divided amongst 16 individual tenants, primarily for rent relief but also for operating expenses. Out of dozen awards, Global Center was the only cultural mall outside the Twin Cities to receive funding.

Checks started arriving in December, a wait that Khan described as painfully long, but worth it. “No one will forget 2020,” he said. “There were a lot of people hurting.”

GLOBAL EXPERIENCE: Mall owner Nasir Khan (left) oversees nearly 27,000 square feet of retail space that cater to New Americans.

DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS: A Smart, Simple Way to Give

EASY, LOW-COST, FLEXIBLE GIVING

A donor-advised fund provides a flexible and easy-to-establish vehicle for giving charitably to the causes that matter most to you.

AN INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE

A donor-advised fund is like having your own foundation. The fund can be invested for growth, which permits you to make annual gifts of income and principal.

GETTING STARTED IS EASY

‘A

call,

a meeting and we had it in place.’

When the owner/management team at Artesian Homes was searching for a creative, win-win philanthropy solution, they turned to Financial Advisor Kurt Nelson of Stifel in Baxter. Ellen McGregor and Trish Danielowski shared their desire to capture tax advantages while not making all donation decisions at one time. Nelson looked to the Initiative Foundation for options.

The result was the creation of the Artesian Homes Charitable Fund, a donor-advised Partner Fund hosted by the Initiative Foundation. Artesian Homes gained a tax deduction for creating the fund and benefitted from a streamlined process for making grant recommendations. The arrangement enabled Kurt Nelson, Vice President— Investments at Stifel, to keep the funds under management.

“With the establishment of the Artesian Homes Charitable Fund, they have created a win for everybody involved: Artesian Homes, Stifel, the Initiative Foundation and, most importantly, the greater community,” Nelson said.

“A call, a meeting and we had it in place,” Danielowski said.

Donor-advised funds can be created with gifts of cash, securities, real estate or other assets. To explore the benefits of donor-advised funds and how your financial advisor can retain management of your fund, visit ifoundgiving.org

SE, Little Falls, MN 56345 | (877) 632-9255 | ifound.org

Ellen McGregor of Artesian Homes (center) with Stifel Financial Advisor Kurt Nelson (right) and Initiative Foundation external relations officer Mike Burton.

The Community Builders Circle is comprised of businesses and individuals who contribute $1,000 or more per year to support the Initiative Foundation’s General Endowment or programs. When you become a Community Builders Circle member, you widen the circle of the Initiative Foundation’s work, driving economic progress and community vitality in Central Minnesota.

INDIVIDUALS

$2,000+

• Anderson Brothers Construction Company

• Arvig Communication Systems

• Bremer Bank

• Clow Stamping Company

• Compeer Financial

• Connexus Energy

• Crow Wing Power

• DeZURIK, Inc.

• East Central Energy

• Falcon National Bank

• Farmers & Merchants State Bank Charitable Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation

• First National Bank of Milaca

• Granite Partners Fund

• Great River Energy

• Little Falls Chamber of Commerce

• Long Prairie Packing Company

• McDowall Company

• Microbiologics, Inc.

• Schlagel, Inc.

• Sherburne State Banks & Sentry Banks

• Sourcewell

• Stearns Electric Association

• St. Cloud Hospital / CentraCare Health System

• US Bank Foundation

$1,000+

• American Heritage National Bank

• American National Bank of Minnesota

• BankVista

• Benefit Innovations

• Bush Foundation

• Cambridge Medical Center on behalf of Allina Health System

• Citizens State Bank of Waverly

• CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

• Consolidated Telecommunications Company

• DAYTA Marketing

• Edelweiss Cabinetry

• First Bank & Trust

• First National Bank North

• First State Bank of Wyoming

• First Western Bank & Trust

• Frandsen Bank & Trust, Baxter, Crosslake, Nisswa, Foley, Braham, Forest Lake & Pine City

• Harvest Bank

• LINDAR / Avantech

• Marco Technologies, LLC

• MINPACK, Inc.

• Monroy Law Office, PLLC

• Neighborhood National Bank

• NOR-SON, Inc.

• Park Industries, Inc.

• Pequot Tool & MFG., Inc.

• Pine Country Bank

• Schlenner Wenner & Co, St. Cloud

• Stearns Bank NA

• The Bank of Elk River

• The Saint Paul Foundation

• Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative

• Wadena State Bank

• West Central Telephone Association

• Western Bank & Trust, Baxter

• WiDSETH

• Wyoming Machine, Inc.

$2,000+

• John E. Babcock

• Lynn & Darren Bushinger

• Don Hickman & Sandra Kaplan

• Maggie & Matt Varilek

• Rick and Helga Bauerly Foundation

$1,000+

• Father Kevin Anderson

• Anonymous Donor

• Rick & Helga Bauerly Family Fund of Central Minnesota Community Foundation

• Gene & Kathy Bechtold

• Dick & Mimi Bitzan Fund of Central Minnesota Community Foundation

• Michael & Kathleen Burton

• Linda Eich DesJardins & Joseph DesJardins

• David & Kim Ellingson

• Don & Deanna Engen

• Kathy & Neal Gaalswyk

• Jo & Larry Korf

• Joseph Nayquonabe & Christina Clitso-Nayquonabe

• Martin Paradeis

• John & Bonnie Schlagel

• Steve & Leila Shurts

• Kimberly & Denise Slipy

• Charlotte Stephens

• Ludmila Voelker

• Kristi Westbrock & Mike Bjerkness

• Jeff & Laurie Wig

the UNDERSERVED

The pandemic showed us that too many families in Central Minnesota live without an adequate safety net. Here’s what the Initiative Foundation is doing to help.

By Lisa Meyers McClintick | Photography by John Linn

When COVID-19 slammed Central Minnesota in early 2020, it swept through meat-packing plants and large-scale dairy operations and affected families who were least able to buffer the tsunami of hardship and trouble unleashed by the pandemic. Many of these families were New Americans.

Multigenerational families in apartments and small houses had no space to quarantine when daily positive cases rose into the hundreds. Workers were forced to take unpaid time to care for themselves or family members who were sick. Those who were fortunate enough to still have jobs had to go to work despite the risk of COVID-19 exposure because they didn’t want to lose rent money. Personal Protective Equipment was scarce and test results often took more than a week. Compounding the stress, distance learning raised the need for reliable Internet service, child care, homework help and meals that had previously been available through schools.

“The central lesson from this whole pandemic year has been the underscoring of how many people in Central Minnesota are highly vulnerable,” said Don Hickman, the Initiative Foundation’s vice president for community and workforce development. “It’s really shocking how many people had little or no safety net.”

“There has been quite a bit of suffering,” agreed Shirwa Adan, executive director for the St. Cloud-based Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization, which assists refugee and immigrant communities. He also works with the Initiative Foundation to find ways to support the region’s East African community. “A lot of

“The central lesson from this whole pandemic year has been the underscoring of how many people in Central Minnesota are highly vulnerable.”

IN THIS TOGETHER: Mónica Segura-Schwartz (left) and Candy Freeman at the Melrose Food Shelf.

the [community] disparity and needs have been amplified by COVID-19,” he said.

FEEDING THE SOUL

Since August 2020, Adan and Mónica Segura-Schwartz, business development associate at the Latino Economic Development Center, have collaborated with the Initiative Foundation as bilingual relief coordinators whose work is funded through a Center for Disaster Philanthropy grant. They are working to find better ways to meet the unique and often overlooked needs of newer Americans.

That includes providing culturally appropriate food, which can be an especially important emotional comfort in stressful times. “Food is more than feeding the hungry,” said Segura-Schwartz. “It’s also feeding the soul.”

Immigrant families often make much of their food from scratch, showing love by using recipes passed down from parents and grandparents. This vital connection

“Food is more than feeding the hungry. It’s also feeding the soul.”

made an impact on Candy Freeman, who coordinates the Melrose Food Shelf. While picking peppers in the community garden with a Latinx volunteer, the woman told Freeman that her mother had used those same peppers in recipes to feed her family.

Some families also struggled to provide meals for their children when their schoolaged kids could no longer eat breakfast and lunch at school, due to the shift to distance learning. “A meal became really, really important for them,” said SeguraSchwartz. Last spring, the Melrose Knights of Columbus left food relief baskets on the doorsteps of families who were quarantined or recovering from the coronavirus. With the help of a $35,000 grant from the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches,

the Melrose Food Shelf assembled 100 Christmas baskets with dried beans, bulk flours, rice, cooking oil and gift cards from a local grocer selling fresh produce and meat. The Initiative Foundation also offered a $5,000 challenge grant to raise money for winter coats and boots for Latino kids and adults who worked outdoors on area farms and needed cold-weather gear.

For East Africans, Adan helped set up a partnership with local African grocery stores so that families in need could shop for flatbread, spices, tea and Halal meat, which is from animals raised and blessed by a Muslim, who slaughters them by hand. The initiative connected more than 500 families with culturally appropriate food and supported the region’s small businesses.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

SHIRWA ADAN: ”There has been quite a bit of suffering.”

DISTANCE LEARNINGS

Perhaps the biggest challenge of the pandemic has been the transition of thousands of students to distance learning. Children of essential workers often were left at home without supervising adults. Many families did not have reliable Internet service for livestreamed lessons.

Grants helped purchase mobile wireless hot spots for families in remote areas of the region. The Islamic Center of St. Cloud, with additional funding from the Morgan Family Foundation and United Way of Central Minnesota, was one of several community centers set up as Internet hubs in the region. The center can serve more than 2,000 children, rotated in and out during the day. There’s also an afterschool program.

Families who were infected by COVID-19 lost household income when they had to quarantine. But many people lost jobs, and even careers, when businesses shuttered temporarily or permanently.

A multi-agency effort that included support from Stearns County and federal funding was able to assist close to 500 St. Cloud new American families by providing food, paying utility bills and covering rent until the end of 2020. “The community got the help they needed,” Adan said. “That was really a big relief for those families. They were facing eviction.”

With technology evolving and education adapting quickly, community leaders are finding new ways to offer resources to the region’s most vulnerable communities.

Last fall, Pine Technical and Community College received $150,000 in federal CARES Act funds—distributed by the Initiative Foundation on behalf of Pine County—to create fast-track career programs in welding, manufacturing, nursing and other high-demand vocations. More recently, the Foundation awarded Pine Tech another $10,000 to offer an online class for the Childhood Development certificate—the entry-level credential for child care providers. The virtual program is delivered nights and weekends (in English and Spanish) with support available for tuition, books and other expenses.

“All of us want the dignity of work and the ability to feed our families,” Hickman said. “The pandemic has taken that from many households. We want to make sure they have the opportunity to recover that.”

While there are few silver linings to the economic, educational and emotional ravages of the pandemic, it did motivate workers to organize across cultures to advocate for safer working conditions at farms and meat-packing plants. That might mean more sanitizing areas, more space between workers and protective equipment and clothing.

Adan said he appreciated the many ways he, Segura-Schwartz, the Initiative Foundation and nonprofits throughout the region sought to share ideas and resources and to look for better ways to serve communities and people with the greatest needs.

“Crisis brings communities together,” he said, “and that has been the biggest opportunity.”

A Win-Win-Win for Central Minnesota

Initiative Foundation matching grants offered a financial and emotional boost to communities facing hardship.

When the Initiative Foundation offered $5,000 in matching grants to Long Prairie, Cold Spring, Walker and the Brainerd Lakes area for their food shelves, the communities went above and beyond to help those in need—from families facing empty cupboards to restaurants and bars with empty tables due to COVID-19 restrictions.

In the Cold Spring, Richmond and Rockville areas, organizers worried whether they could raise $5,000 for the Rocori Area Food Shelf in just a month with a gift card promotion.

Those concerns turned out to be wildly unfounded. “We sold more than $67,000 worth of gift cards with eight participating bars and restaurants,” said Madeline Schwartz, economic development consultant with the Cold Spring Economic Development Authority. “The community really turned out.” Marnanteli’s Pizza offered a free 7-inch single topping pizza with each $25 gift card, eventually selling $45,000 in gift cards.

In Long Prairie, the chamber of commerce offered $30 in Chamber Bucks for $25, selling out in four days, according to Luan Thomas-Brunkhorst, chamber director and economic development authority assistant. They were able to distribute the funds raised to the food shelf and a handful of organizations that help senior citizens, families and kids in need of clothing and those suffering from domestic abuse.

In all the communities, buyers used purchases for stocking stuffers and as a substitute for holiday gifts or work parties that were canceled because of COVID-19. The Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce teamed up with chambers in Crosslake, Cuyuna, Nisswa and Pequot Lakes to do a Cuisine Cash program, which offered $25 gift cards for $20 to three dozen restaurants, bars and breweries.

“We sold nearly 1,000 certificates in the first few hours after launching the program,” said Matt Kilian, Brainerd Lakes Chamber president. For each of the first 1,000 certificates sold, the Initiative Foundation donated $5 to Bridges of Hope in Brainerd to help families in need. Another anonymous donor matched that amount for the next 500 cards sold, bringing the total food shelf donation to $7,500. By the time the promotion ended on Jan. 1, they had sold more than $130,000 in certificates.

“It was a huge emotional boost for the restaurants and bar owners to know people cared and wanted them to succeed,” said Kilian. “That may have been worth as much as the checks that were sent out.”

BAKED-IN GOODNESS: Peter Hansen, owner of Marnanteli’s Pizza in Cold Spring, sold $45,000 in gift cards.

Making Sure the kids

COVID-19 has been particularly hard on young children. That’s why a new round of grants supports child care operations and their essential workers.

By Andy Steiner | Photography by John Linn

When COVID-19 hit Greater Minnesota, flexibility was key to local child care providers’ very survival. School shutdowns, rigorous health regulations and parent job loss forced child care managers to think on their feet. With a commitment to providing high-quality care for the region’s youngest residents, many child care operators scrambled to adjust their offerings to meet families’ shifting needs.

It wasn’t always easy. The pandemic took an emotional—and an economic—toll on local providers, said Don Hickman, Initiative Foundation vice president for community and workforce development. “Some child care providers shut down,” he said, noting that Central Minnesota has the greatest need for child care slots—more than 15,000—among all Greater Minnesota regions. “Surviving providers have had to quickly figure out how to support distance learning for kids while their parents were at work. A system that was already stressed has been asked to do even more than ever before.”

During spring 2020, the Foundation awarded a series of grants to local child care providers who were desperately in need of financial support to continue their operations. At the beginning of 2021, the Minnesota Department of Education and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund distributed an additional $416,000 to each of the state’s six Minnesota Initiative Foundations to award programs serving vulnerable children from birth to age 8. “This granting cycle recognizes that COVID-19 has been particularly hard on young children,” Hickman said.

The Foundation’s grant awards delivered support to areas of concentrated poverty with a focus on ethnic minorities with limited English skills and rural communities that lack access to basic early childhood educational services. In March 2021, the Foundation was awarded another $250,000 to continue this work.

Even as the pandemic abates, providers will continue to need assistance to purchase sanitation and hygiene products, to invest in technology to support distance learning, and to provide food for kids who would otherwise likely go home hungry. “The need is still there,” said Hickman. “And we’re focused on providing support.”

These three providers are just a few examples of community-based caregivers that are doing great work in exceptionally challenging times.

“We had to make it work.”

ST. MARY’S EARLY LEARNING ACADEMY, PINE CITY

There were times when running a child care center during the pandemic felt overwhelming, but Lynsey Barnes, director of St. Mary’s Early Learning Academy in Pine City, knew she had to keep her doors open—no matter what.

Barnes felt like she didn’t have an option: They were one of two providers in Pine City. “We did have quite a few essential workers among our families,” she said. “They relied on us. I felt like closing

“A system that was already stressed

wasn’t an option. We had to make it work.”

Making it work meant enhancing cleaning procedures, offering reduced payment options or flexible schedules for families, and, when area schools returned to all-distance learning in November 2020, helping older kids do their schoolwork online.

“We have infants through school-age kids here,” Barnes said. “When the schools were closed, parents needed care for their older kids. We told them that we’d help them do their online school, so the parents didn’t have to do that after a long day at work.”

To make this new plan work, Barnes and her staff scrambled to find enough computers for all of their school-age charges. They pulled computers from classrooms and from their offices. And because they didn’t want to put an extra burden on alreadystretched parents, they didn’t raise their rates, even though they had to hire extra staff to make their plan work.

When area schools returned to in-person learning, Barnes needed to be flexible once again. Because St. Mary’s $12,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation was designated for distance learning, she worried that having kids back in school would mean she’d have to return the funds. Given the uncertainty of the pandemic, Hickman told her to hold on to the money. “We have no idea what’s going to happen in the next few months,” he said. If they need to reallocate the funds to support summer programming and food access, Hickman assured Barnes that the grant to St. Mary’s would still fit the state’s guidelines.

That assurance helped Barnes feel confident that St. Mary’s can remain open—no matter what the future may hold. Her program is an important community asset, and she wants to be able to be there for families well into the future.

“Life keeps changing,” Barnes said. “Our parents were so happy that they could rely on us ... that we did stay open.”

“I didn’t want to take anything away from families.”

CAMBRIDGE-ISANTI PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Before the pandemic hit her community, Kim Goodmanson, early childhood and family programs coordinator for CambridgeIsanti Public Schools, couldn’t imagine how she and her colleagues could take their preschool and early childhood family education programs online.

When the school district informed her that distance-learning would be imminent, Goodmanson knew she had to make it work.

“We felt it was extremely important to continue our relationship with our families,” she said. “From March 13 (2020) on, we were not in-person anymore. It was like a bucket of ice-cold water on everyone’s heads.”

Goodmanson and her staff found their resolve and scheduled a series of virtual planning meetings to devise ways to do what only a few days before had felt undoable.

“We pivoted quickly into distance learning, which is really tough,” she said. “Distance learning is not even a thing for preschool: We focus on social and emotional development and relationships. To transition that online was really tough, but our teachers were amazing.”

Staff created packets for preschool families, which discussed the weekly themes. Students were invited to attend class online. Packets could be downloaded at home, but (masked) parents also had the option of bringing their children to the district office to pick them up. “Seeing them was the highlight of our week,” Goodmanson said.

While the virtual option they offered was strong—and wellattended by children and families— early childhood staff realized it was a sorry substitute for in-person learning. They lowered tuition costs for families, even though they knew the move would cause serious financial problems.

“We felt like we couldn’t continue to charge families full tuition when they couldn’t come to school,” Goodmanson said. Tuition fees

cover the costs of the program, including staff salaries, but they saw no other option: “I kept looking for ways to make the budget work because I didn’t want to take anything away from families.”

The hit was real, with tuition fees down $60,000 in spring 2020 and $29,500 in the fall.

When Goodmanson got an email about an Initiative Foundation grant opportunity, she applied to help make up for the loss of tuition-based income. “We want to keep offering our families this support and education and programming, even when they can’t pay their tuition or it is very reduced.”

The $15,000 Initiative Foundation grant they received helped make up the budget shortfall. “The grant helped support us so we could keep offering our program,” Goodmanson said. And in midJanuary, when programming went back to in-person, the virtual classes helped make the transition easier for her young learners.

“It did feel like the first day of school again,” she said. “But there was a whole lot less first-day anxiety because the kids had maintained that virtual connection with their teachers. They were so excited to come back, and we were so excited to see their faces.”

“We switched it up to cater to the needs of the community.”

TOO MUCH TALENT, ST. CLOUD

From its founding in 2015, the staff at Too Much Talent in St. Cloud has taken a creative and innovative approach to caring for kids.

The program, which focuses on the needs of the city’s African and African American communities, is led by sisters Lenora Hunt and Nita Jones and has always offered a range of after-school options for youth between the ages of 4-17. But when COVID-19 forced St. Cloud schools to move into distance-learning, the pair decided to further expand their options to meet the pressing needs of families.

Kids needed a place to go, Hunt and Jones decided, and parents needed someone to support their children during the school day

when they were at work. So Too Much Talent made a big pivot. “From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., we offer distance learning for kids of all ages,” said Hunt, who is the center’s program director. Too Much Talent’s popular after-school options remain, including Boys2Men, a support program for boys that teaches etiquette and job training. The center also has an arts program called Kool-Aid and Paint, and a dance program for girls and boys called Bratz.

Another popular option is The Hub, a program that began as a place for youth to meet. Since the pandemic, The Hub’s focus has expanded: Now it’s more focused on combating isolation, promoting social distancing, practicing health and safety and returning back to the classroom, according to Jones, the center’s program coordinator. “We have a heavy emphasis on the social impact of COVID-19 and hybrid and distance learning,” she said.

The Hub group meets biweekly during the school day. “What we’ve noticed running the center is that there are gaps in between online classes,” Jones said. “So usually meetings are held between those gaps.”

The sisters applied for and were awarded a $1,000 Initiative Foundation grant to support Hub programming, including funding supplies needed to fill special COVID-19 packets (with hand sanitizers and face masks) assembled by youths and handed out to Too Much Talent kids and families.

Jones and Hunt were happy to be awarded the grant, especially since all their pandemic-inspired program expansion has been hard on the organization’s finances.

“We are thinking about hosting a fundraiser just to help keep things afloat,” she said. Belt-tightening aside, they are happy with the changes they made: “It was a good decision. We switched it up to cater to the needs of the community.”

Making Sure the Kids Are Alright CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36

TOO MUCH TALENT: Sisters Lenora Hunt and Nita Jones catered to the community’s needs.

DOING More WITH More

The Initiative Foundation’s Nonprofit Academy teaches organizations how to survive and even thrive, especially when they’re most needed.

By Gene Rebeck | Photography by John Linn

The Boys and Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area, located in Cass Lake, provides outside-of-school programs and a safe environment for the children of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. When COVID-19 hit and schools closed, the community required even more of the club’s help. But in a highly stressed economy, how would it find the needed funding?

In fact, 2020 turned out to be one of the Boys and Girls Club’s most successful fundraising years ever. By November, the nonprofit had received $150,000 from a state-level grant for distance learning that was used for computers, iPads, internet hot spots, and for information technology consulting to prep and set up the equipment. And during the summer, the organization received more than $50,000 in new funding

to support weekly food delivery to kids and their families. It also received a $10,000 food access grant from Walmart.

While Rebecca Graves, the Boys and Girls Club’s executive director, credited that success to many people, “a lot of that is due to the partnership we had with the Initiative Foundation,” she said, and with the club’s participation in the Foundation’s Nonprofit Academy, formerly known as its Financial

Resiliency program. Nonprofit Academy is a free program that provides training to a cohort of eight to 12 nonprofit organizations to help them improve their management skills, identify areas where their mission isn’t being fully served, and uncover new or additional sources of funding.

Participation in the Nonprofit Academy can involve up to a yearlong commitment where nonprofit leaders and their teams— including board members—are immersed in best practices for organizational health and sustainability. The program is incentivized with grant awards and features different learning tracks that focus on organizational development, fiscal fitness, developing donors and fundraising.

During a financially stressful time for nonprofits and those they serve, the lessons learned through the Nonprofit Academy are needed more than ever.

A SUPPORTIVE COHORT

Launched in 2013, the Nonprofit Academy was started to help nonprofits become more socially enterprising and less dependent on the ebb and flow of grants. At the time, many area nonprofits launched forprofit ventures—including thrift stores and pet-grooming services—where the earnings were used to support the nonprofit’s mission.

Over time, many nonprofit leaders realized they didn’t want to start a new business. They did, however, want to learn how to improve their nonprofit’s operations. So, the program has evolved to fit these changing needs, including training people

in specific business practices, such as budget management, accounting, preparing and reading financial statements and marketing and communications.

“A nonprofit is a business that exists to fulfill a mission,” said Zach Tabatt, who oversees the Nonprofit Academy in his role as the Initiative Foundation’s program officer for nonprofit development. “These organizations need to follow the revenue and expense rules of business. If you don’t have money, you can’t pay your staff, and you can’t serve the community or achieve your goals.” The challenge is compounded by societal influences, he said, which push nonprofits to run so lean that even small economic disruptions can become major threats.

“In 2020, during the worst economic disruption in 100 years, every single organization held on for the whole program,” said Tabatt, who pivoted to virtual training when the pandemic hit. “I feel that our

“(Nonprofits) need to follow the revenue and expense rules of business. If you don’t have money, you can’t pay your staff, and you can’t do what you want to do.”

program provided a good backstop so COVID-19 didn’t derail our partner organizations. They had this cohort of peers they could lean on and a consistent meeting each month that allowed them to step back and not always be in the middle of the daily stresses and challenges.”

TELLING STORIES

A key role of the Nonprofit Academy program is to boost organizational confidence so they can better tell their story to raise money and serve their communities. One member of last year’s cohort that put a sense of mission-focused storytelling to good use was Anishinabe Legal Services (ALS), a civil legal aid program based in Cass Lake. The nonprofit, which began as the Leech Lake Reservation Legal Services Project in 1967, serves the Leech Lake, White Earth and Red Lake Reservations as well as surrounding communities.

ALS depends largely on government funding, which varies from year to year. “Finding ways to leverage funding from foundations, businesses and individuals is really important for our program,” said Cody Nelson, executive director. “Civil legal aid in Minnesota and across the nation generally has to turn away around 50 percent of applications for services due solely to resource limitations.”

During their time with the Nonprofit Academy program, Nelson and his team learned about the business model canvas, which is a template for developing new business models or documenting existing

HOMETOWN HEROES: Rebecca Graves and her team at the Boys and Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area had a record fundraising year in 2020.

“How we crafted proposals and conversations during site visits was really influenced by lessons we learned in the Nonprofit Academy program. We were able to raise over $250,000 from foundations, organizations and businesses.”

practices. The awareness helped them refine the story they told to current and potential Anishinabe Legal Services funders. This technique also pushed ALS to identify ways in which its work benefits clients as well as the court system, social service agencies, area businesses—indeed, the entire community.

The lessons worked. ALS raised more than $250,000 from foundations, organizations and businesses from late 2019 and into 2020, an increase of approximately 30 percent over the prior year. The funding made it possible to hire additional staff, and it enabled the nonprofit to make the case for a new building to replace its rickety century-

old structure. The legal services agency’s capital campaign raised more than $175,000 last year, which allowed ALS to build and move into new office space in January.

“To be able to expand during the pandemic was a fortunate thing,” said Nelson. “Particularly since the need for the program’s services has only intensified.”

MORE WITH MORE

Like ALS, the Boys and Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area learned from the Nonprofit Academy program how to better market itself to funders. And thanks to the strong fundraising that resulted, it was able to expand as the community’s needs grew in number and in urgency.

Pre-COVID-19, the Boys and Girls Club provided at least one meal and a snack for the school children who used its services. During the summer, it provided more meals, since many kids spent the whole day there.

Then the pandemic struck and the community’s main school district had to stop serving state government-mandated meals. What’s more, there was no other agency serving meals during the summer to those in need.

“Our program really pivoted,” Graves said. “We didn’t pivot from what we do, but we pivoted in how we did it. We saw needs that presented themselves within our

community, and we grew into them.”

The Boys and Girls Club responded by providing child care for parents who weren’t working at home, and who couldn’t leave their children at school or preschool. It also increased the number of its meal offerings as a growing number of kids spent more time there. The club also had the funding to provide additional meals throughout the summer. When fall came, “we were even able to expand and serve more people,” Graves said. “And around the holidays, we offered assistance to families like food-only gift certificates so their needs would be met when kids weren’t in school.”

“Despite all of the uncertainties of 2020, the team at the Boys and Girls Club courageously increased their engagement and changed the way they do business to better serve unforeseen needs and aggressively seek out additional funding,” said Tabatt. “I think the Nonprofit Academy helped them maintain their stability and go above and beyond for their community, even during COVID.”

The program has helped many nonprofits maintain their financial equilibrium and fulfill their missions, particularly at a time when demand for their services has been greater than ever.

WHERE THERE’S A WILL: Cody Nelson of Anishinabe Legal Services used his Nonprofit Academy participation to bring positive change to his organization.

THE HOME OFFICE

Could a year of working from home finally change the way we work?

Since the dawn of broadband, demographers have predicted that remote work could be a game-changer for rural communities, attracting newcomers with fast internet, low cost of living and high quality of life. But until the pandemic hit last spring, the theory had never been put to the test.

“With so many of us now working from home during this crisis, it’s taken the debate about remote work much farther down the road than we’ve ever been before,” said Patti Gartland, president of the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation. “A lot of folks who might have been reluctant to put remote work into play before the pandemic now have gotten past a lot of fears and unsubstantiated concerns.”

In fact, a recent nationwide survey from the accounting giant PwC (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers) found that 83 percent of employers believe remote work during the pandemic has been a success, while 55 percent of employees hope to be able to work remotely at least three days a week even after the pandemic subsides. Whether you like the flexibility or are frustrated by frayed connections with colleagues, the future of where and how we work may depend on some of the discoveries that employers and employees made over the last year.

Work

and home don’t have to be neighbors: Once a strong indicator of quality of life, living close to your job is becoming less and less relevant in some business sectors. “In traditional economic development, the job comes first, and the decision of where to live comes second,” said Ben Winchester, a rural sociologist with the University of Minnesota’s Extension Center for Community Vitality. “But now we’re at a point in history where your choice of residence has been decoupled from our economic decisions.”

The flexibility to live where you like and log in for work could be a boon to businesses in Central Minnesota, particularly those facing workforce shortages. “For many businesses, remote work could substantially broaden your labor pool. You don’t have to worry about where your

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employees live or how far they have to commute,” said Gartland. “But the double-edged sword is that it means people in our region aren’t captive to employers in our region.”

Rethinking business travel: While air travel is expected to pick up as the pandemic winds down, business trips may be grounded for the foreseeable future. “What we’re hearing from our manufacturers and marketers that relied on extensive travel and trade show interaction is that there’s been a significant change in those industries to the point where they’ve learned new, more efficient ways of sharing information about their product or service with their end customers,” said Gartland, who also serves on the Metropolitan Airports Commission. “We won’t be reverting back to the old ways, and we’re coming to recognize that business travel may never make a full return to what it was.” Instead, she sees gains ahead for businesses that handle advertising, marketing, video production and website development “as we put more emphasis on electronic tools to share information about our region, rather than faceto-face interactions.”

Speed matters: While 83 percent of rural Minnesota now has download speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 3 Mbps—roughly the speed it takes to stream a TV show—157,000 rural households don’t meet that threshold. While Minnesota is aiming to bring much faster service (100Mbps download/20Mbps upload) to every corner of the state by 2026, “the pandemic has made the gaps that exist much more apparent, when employers who’d like to have people working from home found employees who just didn’t have adequate broadband,” said Gartland. After a year when client meetings, school days, doctors appointments and most of our entertainment options moved online, “improving broadband in outstate areas has become a critical piece of the equation.”

Mentoring matters: While many seasoned employees working from home for the first time discovered silver linings like giving up the commute to gaining productivity and family time, many younger workers struggled. “The pandemic has had a huge impact on young people who have lost their networks, or their connections to work colleagues, and who wonder how they’re ever going to catch up,” said Don Hickman, the Initiative Foundation’s vice president for community and workforce development. In fact, PwC’s U.S. Remote Work Survey found that workers with less than five years of job experience felt less productive at home than their older cohorts, and were far more interested in making a return to the office. “That tells us that no matter how technically sophisticated the next generation may be, they still need and want to be mentored at work and to feel part of a workplace culture,” Hickman said.

Resident recruitment: Studying real estate has been a hot topic and a trending leisure activity during the pandemic, as major corporations have begun dropping downtown leases, and internet property views of rural real estate offerings have gone up by more than a third. To take advantage of this possible turning point, Winchester says small towns and rural communities must roll out the welcome mat to potential residents just as they do for tourists. “The pandemic and low interest rates have piqued interest in people who might not have considered a small town before. But it’s not enough to show someone the job they could have in your community, you have to show off what their life is going to be like,” he said. “In a lot of ways, the pandemic has reinvigorated the local economy, and people don’t want to live in an economy—they want to live in a community.”

‘I Wanted To Do Something In His Name’

How a Brainerd family partnered with the Initiative Foundation to fund a lasting legacy to their young son.

By Lisa Meyers McClintick | Photography by John Linn

When an avalanche thundered down Taos Ski Valley’s Kachina Peak on Jan. 17, 2019, the Minnesota family of Corey Borg-Massanari had little time to process the disaster.

Borg-Massanari, 22, and a graduate of Brainerd High School, moved to Vail, Colo., in 2016 to live with his dad, Mark Massanari. While there, he attended Colorado Mountain College and pursued his passion for skiing. He was on vacation in Taos with friends when an avalanche hit him at more than 70 mph as he carved down an expert -rated run.

Doctors said Borg-Massanari had no broken bones, bruises or abrasions from being buried under snow that felt like concrete to rescue teams scrambling to find him.

Deprived of oxygen, Borg-Massanari was rushed to the University

of New Mexico hospital until his family could be with him. He ultimately died as a result of his injuries. The family worked with an organ donor team and, a few days later, doctors and nurses and other staffers lined up for a Walk of Honor as Borg-Massanari was wheeled into an operating room escorted by his parents, Bobbie and Mark, his sister, Karlee, his grandparents and an uncle. His heart, liver, kidneys, eyes and tissues went to help others live.

“That was the worst moment of my life,” said his mom, Bobbie Gorron of Brainerd, of the poignant Walk of Honor, which made national news.

Support came from the Taos Ski Valley resort, the Patagonia store in Vail where Corey worked in the winter, Zip Adventures where he worked in the summer and from other donors around the country. Gorron said that’s when she realized she wanted to start a charitable fund that reflected her son’s passions.

BOBBIE GORRON: ”That was the worst moment of my life.”

Generosity, continued from page 46

“I had this fear of people forgetting Corey. I wanted his memory to live on.”

“Once we knew Corey was not going to survive, instantly I had this fear of people forgetting him,” said Gorron. “I wanted to do something in his name. I want his memory to live on.”

After taking time to grieve and to think through their options, Gorron and other family members chose the Initiative Foundation to manage donations and to set up the Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation in November 2020. Taos Ski Valley offered to match donations up to $30,000.

The family will advise the fund, one of nearly 130 Initiative Foundation-managed Partner Funds, and will award grants in line with Borg-Massanari’s love of the outdoors and his dog, Abu. Inspired by meeting the ski patroller and rescue dog who found their son, the family’s first grants will go toward an avalanche rescue dog at Taos Ski Valley this year and Vail in 2022. They also plan to fund outdoor class needs at Brainerd High School.

After hearing about the Initiative Foundation from a friend and talking to Kate Bjorge, the Initiative Foundation’s community philanthropy manager, “we knew that the Initiative Foundation was the perfect place for us,” Gorron said. “She gave us so much information and different ideas on ways to set the fund up. We could not have imagined doing all of this on our own. We cannot even tell you how thankful we are for Kate and everyone at the Initiative Foundation.”

A VARIETY OF INTERESTS

The Initiative Foundation set up six new Partner Funds in 2020 for families and groups who wanted an ongoing way to help their communities and favorite causes. The Initiative Foundation invests and manages the funds. It also provides back-office support that includes creating an online giving platform; setting up the application process for grants; and managing bookkeeping, tax forms, donor receipts and other administrative work. Support from the Initiative Foundation allows a fund’s creators and advisory boards to focus on fundraising and making grants.

Starting a Partner Fund usually requires an initial gift of at least $20,000. Funds established as endowed or quasi-endowed typically provide about a 5 percent payout each year, which can be used to provide grants. An average donor-advised fund is $250,000, which can generate $12,000 to $13,000 for grants each year.

Long-term performance on the Initiative Foundation’s investment portfolio is 9.59 percent and payouts average 5 percent. The difference, plus new contributions, helps grow the endowment. An agency fund with a $1 million endowment, for example, can expect an annual payout of about $50,000 in unrestricted funds indefinitely into the future.

“It’s really a seamless way to do charitable giving, and you can align your giving with your passions,” Bjorge said.

Many Initiative Foundation Partner Funds target a donor’s special interests. A fund can benefit a nonprofit organization such as

an animal shelter, help support a cause like the Skolmate Fund for the welfare of animals in Central Minnesota or be donor-advised like the family-based Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation or the corporatebased Artesian Homes Charitable Fund. Funds also can be set up to do good for decades or more. An Initiative Foundation-hosted fund that honors the late Mark Wood, a longtime mentor to young people in Little Falls, has helped to provide close to 500 mentors for Little Falls and Randall-area kids since its inception in 2006.

“The Corey Borg Massanari Foundation came out of a tragedy,” Bjorge said. “It has been so powerful to be part of that process. It continues his legacy all over the country, which is really quite unique.”

For more information on creating a Partner Fund, contact Kate Bjorge at kbjorge@ifound.org or (320) 631-2048. To support an Initiative Foundation-hosted Partner Fund, visit ifound.org/give and explore your giving options.

HOW RELIEF FUNDS MADE A DIFFERENCE DURING COVID-19.

In 2020, the Initiative Foundation worked with nine community-based organizations to create COVID-19 relief and recovery funds.

The relief funds were created by area community foundations that could shift gears, raise money and quickly get grants out the door where they were most needed. The 2020 relief fund efforts helped to provide personal protective equipment for hospitals in Region Five (serving Crow Wing, Cass, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties) and technology grants to help kids access online learning resources. Other grants helped main street businesses stay afloat or provided resources to stock the region’s food shelves for those who had lost their income or were otherwise food insecure.

Having the expertise and structures in place helped the Initiative Foundation and its partners quickly create relief funds during peak times of need and wind them down as the urgency of the moment passed. “We were able to create these funds in short order—sometimes within 24 hours,” Bjorge said. “It was really amazing. That’s the power of collaboration and community partnerships.”

Ya-Sure Kombucha

Brainerd, Minn.

By Maria Surma Manka Photography by John Linn

“I like the mad science behind making kombucha,” explained Shawn Hopman, owner of Ya-Sure Kombucha. A former pop drinker, Hopman was looking for a healthier beverage that had flavor and carbonation.

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink made from sugar, yeast and bacteria. A colony of live bacteria and yeast, also known as a SCOBY (for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast), is added to the tea and left to ferment for a few weeks. The result is a slightly tart and sweet liquid that’s separated from the SCOBY, mixed with other ingredients if desired, and bottled.

“Kombucha is rich in probiotics, which give you good gut health and are an immune booster,” Hopman explained. He started making kombucha one gallon at a time, but eventually was producing more than his family could drink. When he took it to gatherings with family and friends, people loved it so much they encouraged him to start a business.

“I brushed off that idea at first,” said Hopman. “But eventually my wife and I asked ourselves, ‘Why not?’”

Ya-Sure Kombucha (yasurekombucha.com) launched in late 2019 and is sold at retail stores, taprooms, breweries, convenience stores and restaurants from Fargo to Brainerd. It recently opened a 5,000-square-foot location and taproom in downtown Brainerd. We talked with Hopman to get a look behind the science.

• Fermenting Flavor Hopman, who is mostly self-trained, starts with a sweet black tea. “We ferment it once to make the plain kombucha and a second time with the added fruit for flavor,” he said. “After it ferments with the fruit for a few days, we carbonate it and bottle it.” In 2020, the team brewed about 80 gallons at a time, creating thousands of gallons during the year. They hope to triple or quadruple that volume now that the taproom is open.

• Bottled Benefits Ya-Sure is bottled in beer bottles, which has sparked heartfelt reactions. “People who don’t drink alcohol can order our beverage and feel like they fit in,” said Hopman. “It’s so psychological. They don’t want to feel alienated because they’re not drinking alcohol.”

• Bubble Up Before launching Ya-Sure, Hopman was a regional beverage gas salesman serving restaurants, bars and breweries. Kombucha was a side project that became a full-time job when his position was eliminated due to COVID-19.

• Sweet Sensations Hopman’s flavor choices are inspired by childhood foods and favorite desserts. Ya-Sure’s most popular kombuchas are blueberry crisp, blueberry ginger and apple crisp. “A lot of kombucha out there tastes very vinegary,” said Hopman. “We came up with a brew and a process that makes it taste better. I’ve had people say they hate kombucha. But they try ours and walk out with a six-pack.”

• Taproom Basics The Ya-Sure taproom doesn’t serve alcohol or food, but guests can order from downtown Brainerd restaurants or bring food. The Last Turn Saloon, which shares a door with Ya-Sure, offers guests a full menu and delivers orders. Hopman envisions the taproom as a hangout place after work, a Saturday destination for families, or a stop for a to-go cup in the morning. “We want this to feel like a brewery with the acceptability of a coffee shop.”

• Startup Support As a new business owner, Hopman knew he had a steep learning curve. Enter the Initiative Foundation’s Enterprise Academy, which is a 12-week course that provides training, lending and one-one-one advising services to help aspiring entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses. “I had so much to learn and do,” said Hopman. “In the end, it’s what helped me bring Ya-Sure to the next level.”

ENTERPRISE ACADEMY BY THE NUMBERS

2018 Year of the first Enterprise Academy cohort

84

Total number of graduates across 9 cohorts

9 Businesses received financing from Enterprise Academy

$307,000

3

Amount of Enterprise Academy loans distributed

Regions served: St. Cloud, Brainerd, and the Greater Mille Lacs Tribal Economy

where’s IQ?

THINK YOU KNOW?

Send your best guess to IQ@ifound.org by May 15, 2021.

Three winners will be chosen, at random, to receive a $25 credit to apply toward their favorite Initiative Foundationhosted Partner Fund.

HINT: Built in 1867, it is the third oldest flour mill still standing in Minnesota.

Congratulations to everyone who correctly recognized Paul Bunyan’s chair in Pequot Lakes, Minn. Barb Goodrich, Kris Johnson and Libby Wollenberg were the lucky fall 2020 winners of the “Where’s IQ” contest.

Champions for business.

Deluxe has partnered with businesses big and small for more than a century, and we’re here for you now more than ever to help navigate these challenging times. We have the expert tools and resources to help you protect your business, your employees and your customers so you not only endure but come back stronger than ever. Because when we are champions for business, we help communities thrive.

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