Newspapers inform, educate and can even spur change. It takes a special kind of story to touch readers’ hearts and move them to action – even if it’s only to question their own way of thinking. This is what the Grand Rapids Herald Review editor Britta Arendt was honored for at last month’s Minnesota Newspaper Association’s …
GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. (January 29, 2015) – Blandin Foundation announced today that it has awarded six grants totaling $113,900 to support rural Minnesota communities as they grow high-speed Internet access and use in their communities. Long Prairie will develop a business plan to build a fiber-to-the-home network, Project FINE out of Winona County will support …
Last month we wrote a story on two civic-minded brothers who went through the Blandin Community Leadership Program. They later went on to become mayors of Jasper and Luverne, MN. Earlier this month, the Jasper Journal covered their story. Since the newspaper is not published online, we thought we would share it on our blog. …
By John Connelly In late November, I spent the majority of one mild and perfectly sunny Saturday sequestered deep within the recesses of Grand Rapids High School. There, I immersed myself in assorted conversations with a diverse group of nearly 100 other Itasca County residents. As a guy who places a high value on his …
The power of community leadership took center stage in President Obama’s preview of his appearance yesterday in Cedar Falls, IA, where he talked about his plan to increase access to affordable, high-speed broadband in rural and urban communities across the country. The President featured Cedar Falls, or Iowa’s first “Gigabit City,” in the preview, comparing …
The average rural Minnesotan currently wears six (and often more!) leadership hats and as the rural population ages, the leadership demand is only increasing. Leadership capacity is maxed out, said University of Minnesota Extension sociologist Ben Winchester during a fall 2014 webinar. With demand increasing faster than supply, it’s important to understand, and plan, for …
Nonprofits and funders are finding new ways of working together to achieve greater impact, a survey conducted by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations found. Forging partnerships through authentic communication is crucial to understanding the needs of both grantees and those they serve. Building deeper relationships was the focus of a recent visit between Blandin Foundation trustees …
In November, Carolyn Olson joined Blandin Foundation as the Administrative Executive Assistant for our CEO, Vice President and Director of Human Resources and Board Services. In this role, she handles correspondence, travel and meeting logistics, and document management. To get to know Carolyn better, we asked her a few fun questions: What can’t you live …
[pullquote] Leadership Insight Are leaders born or created? “There is a lot of research (and personal witness) that could bend your thinking either way but this is what I believe from working in rural communities throughout Minnesota. They are both – people have personality traits and life experiences that give them the ability to lead. …
Around our office, you often hear – “If you’ve been to one rural community, you’ve been to one rural community.” Understanding that every rural community is unique and has its own challenges and opportunities is central to our work. Sometimes, though, a challenge is so pervasive that it does impact all rural communities. Philanthropy in …