Column: Tim Penny, Guest Column

It was our best annual celebration yet as we marked our 25th year of service to southern Minnesota communities — truly a memorable milestone for us! Over 220 regional partners came to Owatonna to celebrate with us on Oct. 13.

The spirit of this year’s luncheon theme “Celebrating 25 Years of Investing in Southern Minnesota’s Future” was captured by master of ceremonies Mankato Sen. Kathy Sheran, a former SMIF board member and past chairwoman.

We know we didn’t reach 25 years alone — we’ve relied on the support and partnerships of many throughout our region. A major part of our annual luncheon celebration was recognizing eight outstanding partners who have each helped us achieve significant successes.

At SMIF, we believe collaboration leads us to more leveraged assets and more long term success. Each of our award recipients was recognized because their partnership continues to inspire greater success for the future.

One of SMIF’s key focus areas is early childhood. Accordingly, we presented three Early Childhood Partner Awards. SMIF recognized Capstone Publishing for its partnership in SMIF’s BookStart program which has donated 40,000 early learner books to early childhood organizations across the region. IBM Corp. was recognized for its partnership in SMIF’s Young Explorer program; 172 early learner computers have been donated through this grant program. ServeMN was recognized for the AmeriCorps partnership which, over the past 18 years, has placed service members in early childhood sites to focus on building young children’s social and emotional skills.

Our foundation’s second main focus area is entrepreneur development. We chose Tom Rosen, CEO of Rosen’s Diversified, to receive our Entrepreneur Partner Award. Tom helped initiate SMIF’s Entrepreneur Fund and recently helped re-ignite this endowed fund with a significant gift. I was thrilled to tell him, and our luncheon guests, that thanks to him and several other significant contributors, the Entrepreneur Fund will achieve the $1 million goal within the next three years.

As I said earlier, collaboration and partnership underscore how our foundation does its work.

To highlight this, we awarded Mayo Clinic with a Leadership Partner award, as they have been a significant collaborative partner in many areas. They were a founding Cornerstone Contributor to our Youth Trust Fund, and Mayo’s Dr. Glen Forbes has also been a valuable asset to our Leadership Circle. A second partner, Southwest Initiative Foundation, was chosen to receive our Partner of the Year Award.

A sister foundation, SWIF, has collaborated with us on many efforts and projects in southern Minnesota including the Southern Minnesota Regional Competitiveness Project, a Business Succession Planning Event and the Youth Energy Summit program, which offers entrepreneurial mentoring in more than 20 southern Minnesota schools.

Naturally, in this regard, a major part of our success is attributable to our donors, and two couples were appropriately recognized for their generosity and leadership. Neil and Sue Eckles, of Blue Earth, and Phil and Barb Henoch, of Rochester, received Philanthropy Partner Awards. Both of these couples have been instrumental in starting and maintaining SMIF’s Investors Club with matching dollars, as well as donating their time and talents to SMIF’s Board of Trustees.

SMIF’s first and largest supporter — The McKnight Foundation — was also on hand to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Neal Cuthbert, vice president of programs, shared how the Minnesota Initiative Foundation story is one McKnight is proud to tell.

In all, McKnight has invested over $220 million in the six MIFs. We, in turn, have collectively invested over $333 million back into Greater Minnesota.

And finally, to truly mark this auspicious occasion, we made our first “One Big Thing” grant! I was pleased to present a check for $100,000 to the Rural Enterprise Center in Northfield for their Agripreneurs Incubator project. This effort, which we have supported since 2008, is designed to help Latino farmers grow successful poultry businesses.

During the coming years, SMIF remains committed to its regional leadership role. We believe our investments in entrepreneurship and early childhood will further improve and strengthen community vitality in southern Minnesota.

I hope you’ll celebrate this important milestone with us as well and continue to support our efforts to grow a prosperous southern Minnesota! I’d love to hear from you if you have questions or comments about our work. You can contact me at timp@smifoundation.org or 507-455-3215.

 

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