Column: Tim Penny, Guest Column

The slogan “breaking new ground” was adopted by Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation 25 years ago. This phrase, carefully chosen by the first board of directors and embraced by each subsequent board, aptly describes SMIF’s role as a grant maker and collaborative partner. I like to describe our role as helping bring people and groups together who identify and implement innovative solutions to economic development issues that matter most to our 20-county region.

Once again we are pleased to announce another $100,000 for Incentive Grants related to workforce and business development projects. We are looking to make grant investments related to key workforce and business issues we believe are critical to the long-term economic vitality of our 20 counties. The focus areas for our Incentive Grants are: early childhood education initiatives; job skills/training for older workers or new immigrants; high school career exploration; growing biobusiness; and community efforts around growing entrepreneurship.

Our Incentive Grants are designed to support projects that use innovative asset-based approaches, involve collaboration and achieve sustainable measurable results.

For example, last year SMIF awarded an $8,000 grant to a group in Northfield committed to growing their local artisan entrepreneurs. The result was the Riverwalk Market Fair — a weekly gathering where fine artists could display and sell their goods along the river in downtown Northfield. Their hope was to bring outsiders into their community and create a demand for locally produced goods. They achieved that and more with about 49 artists and 23 growers exhibiting each week to the 12,000 or so shoppers who came out to enjoy and buy. At last report, their total season’s sales topped $120,000! The best news is that the Market Fair will be back again in the spring even bigger and better.

We also awarded a $20,000 grant to a group in Winona County who have established a regional garden project to help immigrant entrepreneurs. Their project is exceeding expectations. In addition to raising food for their own families and for sale, participants, including a sizeable group of Hmong, have been able to donate more than 600 pounds of food to the local food shelf.

These grants all address issues important to community health and vitality — and embrace multiple collaborative partners and local assets in implementing their projects.

We are pleased that we have been able to award more than $20.7 million in grants during the past 25 years and be a part of hundreds of projects that are helping to create economic vitality within our region.

We encourage businesses, local governments and nonprofit organizations to collaborate and apply for an Incentive Grant today. Grants of up to $20,000 each are available, and pre-applications must be received by Feb. 15.

Visit www.smifoundation.org, then click on “applications.” Or contact SMIF Grants Director Suzy Meneguzzo, for more information at suzym@smifoundation.org.

Tim Penny is the president of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.