Take a step back in time, to a 1900 logging camp in the Northwoods of Minnesota. While there, you can take in the smells of the bunk house where lumberjacks sleep two to a bed, visit the cook shack where men eat piles of flapjacks, wind timbers, sinkers and swamp water, grab your gear in …
Money follows vision. Without a strong voice to carry your vision, though, the money might not find you. This thought hit home for me and many others attending the panel on closing the philanthropic gap at this year’s Rural Assembly. With only 5.5% of large foundation grants going to rural communities, I, alongside three other rural …
This morning, Blandin Foundation president Kathy Annette participated in a Rural Assembly panel entitled, “Closing the Philanthropy Gap. She, along with Justin Maxom of the Mary Reynolds Babock Foundation, Jamie Bennett of ArtPlace America, Heetan Kalan of the New World Foundation, provided their expertise and insight to answer the question: What is the role of …
If you know what it feels like to step into a buzzing small town cafe, bursting with happy chatter and hugs, then you have a taste of what it was like to attend the rural philanthropy gathering at this year’s Council on Foundation’s (COF) annual conference. Coming together like long-lost friends, nearly 30 philanthropic professionals from rural …
A catalyst for learning. An opportunity to give voice to a seldom-heard community group. A chance to follow a community conversation, aligning energy and resources toward a goal in which numerous partners could see themselves and their roles. As with much of Northern Community Radio’s (NCR) work, the Bemijigamaag Powwow, held this past weekend at …
Itasca County educators, government, artists, law enforcement, business owners, environmentalists, social services providers and more gathered together on Tuesday to answer the question: What is the future we want to live in to? Participating in three 20-minute conversations, some over-arching themes surfaced: Care enough to ask for one anothers’ stories Expand Art of Hosting in …
Today we welcome Bernadine Joselyn, Director of Public Policy and Engagement, as she reflects her on experience at a cross-cultural event discussing the future of education. Yesterday I had the chance to attend Day One of the “Educating for the 21st Century” forum held at the Carlson School of Business as part of this year’s …
As alumni of the Blandin Community Leadership Programs well know, social capital is a cornerstone of community work. But what does rural Minnesota’s social capital look like on a larger scale? A team of rural Minnesota experts decided to find out. Researchers from the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality along with Jane …
Ducks migrate for a reason. The Earth spins and triggers their “biological clock,” alerting them that it’s time to go. Global forces shape their movement. Though human and duck migration patterns look very different and are driven by very different forces, according to geographer Jim Russell, one conclusion can be drawn – migration is a …
Kids are leaving. Schools are closing. Jobs are being lost. Rural is dying. This is the dominant narrative of rural today. Doom and gloom and more doom. What we aren’t hearing is the rest of the story. Yes, young adults are leaving after they graduate high school, but they’re coming back. Schools are consolidating but …