Community Innovation

Grantee Learning Logs

An important part of creative problem solving are the lessons learned along the way. As a learning organization, we realize how important these discoveries are and have intentionally included time for reflection and sharing as part of how we work. 

In that same spirit, we ask our Community Innovation grantees to share their reflections and learnings through interim and final reports. Their learning logs are a great resource for what went well, what didn't and what others might take away as they work to make our region better for everyone.

South Dakota State University

Term: February 01, 2020 - December 31, 2022

Conducting community deliberations to enhance inclusion among Brookings area businesses

Merrick Community Services

Term: July 01, 2018 - January 31, 2021

To further the collaborative development of equitable workforce solutions through an exchange between employers and residents on the East Side of Saint Paul

Helpline Center

Term: February 01, 2018 - August 31, 2021

To fund a coordinated social service system of care for low-income individuals called the Sioux Empire Network of Care

Citizens League

Term: July 01, 2018 - December 31, 2020

To better understand the needs of sandwich generation caregivers and explore innovative solutions to better serve them

Concordia College, Moorhead

Term: December 01, 2019 - December 31, 2022

To develop long-term, community-based, proactive solutions to climate change in order to reduce vulnerability and reinforce the strengths of people, infrastructure and institutions of Moorhead-Fargo

Rochester Area Foundation

Term: March 01, 2018 - December 31, 2020

Realizing Well Care: Achieving a sustainable system for community-based chronic disease management and prevention

Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi

Term: May 01, 2018 - December 31, 2020

To advance healing among the Dakota people harmed by disconnection from their spiritual homeland at Wakan Tipi, and to increase the number of neighbors of color who use St. Paul’s Swede Hollow Park

Great Plains Food Bank

Term: September 01, 2018 - December 31, 2020

To work at the Intersection of Hunger and Health to improve health outcomes for food insecure individuals

Enterprise Community Partners

Term: May 01, 2020 - November 30, 2021

To pilot a peer learning community in South Dakota for increasing homeownership opportunities and creating a mortgage ready environment in tribal communities

Oyate Hotanin

Term: February 01, 2020 - February 28, 2023

Expand and embed an innovative partnership model between community members and juvenile justice system leaders to transform Ramsey County justice system practices

Isuroon

Term: August 01, 2019 - August 31, 2021

To reduce disparities in reproductive health care for African immigrant women in Minnesota with female genital cutting

World Savvy

Term: November 01, 2018 - November 30, 2020

To collaboratively design the K-12 Standards of Inclusion for Somali Parents and Youth to equip K-12 educators with the context necessary to mitigate the challenges of Somali student learning and parent participation in the school system

Friends of the Finland Community

Term: November 01, 2018 - October 31, 2022

To advance an interrelated food system that increases access to healthy foods and builds local wealth in Finland, Minnesota

Region Nine Development Commission

Term: November 01, 2019 - November 30, 2022

To support five rural communities in south central Minnesota in developing a model of pairing economic development with inclusion through the Welcoming Communities Project

Headwaters Regional Development Commission

Term: January 01, 2018 - October 31, 2020

To coordinate local transportation services for vulnerable people in the Headwaters Region

Alliance for Metropolitan Stability

Term: October 01, 2019 - October 31, 2021

Thriving In Place: Surfacing innovative strategies to prevent the negative impacts of gentrification and displacement

Hope Community

Term: October 01, 2019 - October 31, 2021

To pilot a Community Ownership model to preserve affordable housing and reduce displacement in the Phillips Neighborhood of Minneapolis

NAMI South Dakota

Term: May 01, 2018 - September 30, 2020

To facilitate the process of expanding community-based mental health support within three rural communities in South Dakota

Project Got Your Back

Term: March 01, 2019 - September 30, 2020

To develop a statewide framework for collective impact focused on supporting Veterans in Minnesota

Youthprise

Term: September 01, 2018 - September 30, 2020

To remove barriers that prevent low-income families from accessing the Minnesota K-12 Education Tax Credit

Family Housing Fund

Term: August 01, 2018 - August 31, 2020

To assess the accuracy of current screening indicators as a predictor of successful tenancy and create more equitable, effective and accurate screening tools and an implementation plan

Legal Services of North Dakota

Term: August 01, 2017 - August 31, 2020

For Legal Advocates for Health, a cross borders medical-legal partnership embedded in Family Health Care Center to improve the social determinants of health for New Americans and other vulnerable populations

JustUs Health

Term: April 01, 2018 - July 31, 2020

To support the development of an LGBTQ+ health curriculum in partnership with Minnesota-based medical training programs to ensure more health professionals emerge from degree programs equipped and ready to serve LGBTQ+ patients

Seward Redesign Inc

Term: November 01, 2017 - June 30, 2020

To engage local residents, primarily new American communities, in the transportation design planning process for the crossings of I-94 between Seward and the West Bank

Dunn County

Term: May 01, 2019 - June 30, 2024

A collaborative process for landscape conservation in Western North Dakota

Phumulani Minnesota African Women Against Violence

Term: June 01, 2019 - June 30, 2021

To host African women’s tea ceremonies for African immigrant women to increase understanding of gender-based violence, build a community of support, and begin to generate ideas on preventing gender-based violence

Oglala Lakota County School District

Term: June 01, 2019 - June 30, 2021

To develop a model for Career and Technical Education that is grounded in Lakota culture that provides education for Native students in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Black Hills Special Services Cooperative

Term: June 01, 2019 - October 31, 2021

To create a trauma-informed approach to building career pathways for low-income adult learners

Bemidji State University

Term: May 01, 2018 - June 30, 2022

To address structural oppression, institutional racism and systemic gaps in support for Indigenous and People of Color in the Bemidji area through the Healing for Justice (Gwekendam) process

Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation

Term: July 01, 2017 - January 31, 2019

The METRO Green Line light rail line connects downtown Minneapolis and downtown Saint Paul. When it opened in 2014, it brought many benefits for neighborhoods along the line, as well as new challenges. Despite new construction, barriers to stable and affordable housing in the Frogtown Rondo neighborhoods remain. The Frogtown-Rondo Action Network (FRAN) will bring together residents from these neighborhoods, along with district councils and other advocates, to begin a dialogue about ways to break through barriers to accessible, affordable housing for residents. At the same time, FRAN will train and guide local leaders on ways to engage their fellow residents, share what they’re learning with key community stakeholders and create a housing action plan that can be implemented in 2018.

Metropolitan Center for Independent Living

Term: May 01, 2019 - June 30, 2023

To collectively develop solutions to solve the Personal Care Assistants crisis

Domestic Violence Crisis Center

Term: May 01, 2019 - December 31, 2021

To develop a Domestic Violence High Risk Team in Minot, North Dakota

Black Hills Area Community Foundation

Term: March 01, 2019 - March 31, 2021

To implement a collective impact process that ensures the availability of affordable housing for low-income families in Rapid City, South Dakota

Itasca Waters

Term: March 01, 2019 - August 31, 2021

To develop a community-defined vision and action plan to protect Itasca County’s water resources

Minneapolis Foundation

Term: March 01, 2019 - April 30, 2022

To collaboratively develop a Muslim Chaplaincy program as a means to provide culturally grounded support to youth and families

World Wildlife Fund

Term: March 01, 2019 - September 30, 2021

To align the stewardship of Pine Ridge tribal lands with community needs and aspirations