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.

Strengthen ND

Term: November 01, 2017 - February 29, 2020

To create a framework in which local farmers and ranchers are able to compete in the food market, increase the exports of local foods, create economic opportunities and address the fresh food needs of the community in Tuttle, ND

St. David's Center for Child and Family Development

Term: February 01, 2018 - February 29, 2020

To strengthen Minnesota foster care and ensure standard of practice aligns with the best interest of parents and youth through inclusive community problem-solving process

United Way of Steele County

Term: September 01, 2017 - February 29, 2020

To build connections between community members and increase the community's capacity for engagement across race, class and religion in Steele County

Dunn County

Term: February 01, 2019 - August 31, 2021

Go Local! changing the paradigm from an avoidance of scarcity to the promotion of prosperity in western ND counties

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

University of North Dakota

Term: January 01, 2019 - February 28, 2023

Tribal community conversations to identify the need for and methods of improving the competency of Lay Advocates who represent parties in criminal and civil cases before six tribal courts in North Dakota and Minnesota

Greater Bemidji

Term: January 01, 2018 - January 31, 2020

To build a regional workforce recruitment approach guided by local industry projections

Oyate Hotanin

Term: February 01, 2018 - February 29, 2020

IN Equality: Testing a new model of partnership between community members and juvenile justice system leaders to find innovative alternatives to confining youth in institutions and to transform Ramsey County Juvenile Justice Practices

Lake Region Community College Foundation

Term: December 01, 2018 - August 31, 2021

For a new college-linked Information Technology Apprenticeship Model in North Dakota, a public-private partnership to improve the growing state demand for skilled information technology professionals

Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA

Term: December 01, 2018 - April 30, 2021

To identify community-led solutions to decrease use of payday loans in Minnesota

Missouri River Educational Cooperative Foundation

Term: December 01, 2018 - February 28, 2022

To develop culturally responsive social-emotional learning implementation framework and delivery mechanisms in North Dakota

State of North Dakota, Department of Health

Term: November 01, 2017 - December 31, 2019

To increase access to adequate health care for rural school children in North Dakota by piloting school-based telehealth technology

Thunder Valley CDC

Term: November 01, 2017 - November 30, 2019

The creation of a collaborative working group approach to achieve strategic goals and outcomes within the Oyate Omniciye Regional Plan

University of South Dakota

Term: October 01, 2017 - December 31, 2019

To lead a statewide effort to increase the number of residents who participate in Advanced Care Planning in order to ensure that families and health care providers know and respect the wishes and goals of individuals at the end-of-life

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

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

American Cancer Society

Term: October 01, 2017 - November 30, 2021

To partner with Community Health Centers and other community stakeholders to improve access to colorectal cancer screening in North Dakota and 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

The Network

Term: September 01, 2017 - September 30, 2019

To build sustainable educational efforts to improve services for sexual assault victims with disabilities, in partnership with the South Dakota Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities and Community Service for the Deaf

Fresh Energy

Term: October 01, 2017 - August 31, 2019

To make progress on tenant and landlord energy issues through community conversations, communication strategies, collaboration, toolkit/policy implementation and sharing lessons learned

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

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

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

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

CANDO

Term: July 01, 2017 - December 31, 2020

Studies show that high quality out-of-school-time programs really make a difference in the lives of young people. However, young people of color and from families with lower income access these programs at lower rates. Urban Arts Academy is creating “Agents of Change”: a highly collaborative, sustainable youth program model fueled by youth-driven engagement. The 20 organizations in the Agents of Change collaborative believe that they will better serve youth and families in the Bancroft, Bryant Central and Powderhorn neighborhoods of Minneapolis if they truly listen to youth and work together.

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

The BrandLab

Term: June 01, 2017 - June 30, 2020

The BrandLab would like to see the Twin Cities develop the most inclusive and diverse marketing industry in the nation. There is still a long way to go to realize that vision, but the BrandLab is committed to this cause through their Fearless Leaders work. This highly collaborative initiative, guided by a diverse group of professionals from Twin Cities marketing and creative firms, will focus on developing and facilitating workshops for local firms about diversity and inclusion. BrandLab’s biennial “State of the Industry” report is an important tool to measure and share the progress of this work.

The Matthews Opera House and Arts Center

Term: August 01, 2016 - June 30, 2019

To create a community collaboration centralizing the arts as an integrated asset for inclusivity, development and sustained outreach

Men As Peacemakers

Term: June 01, 2018 - October 31, 2021

To develop an effective model of preventative strategies to eliminate sexual assault on major campus universities, using the University of Minnesota Twin Cities as a test site

State of Minnesota, Department of Human Services

Term: June 01, 2015 - June 30, 2019

To eliminate inequities and advance health equity at the Minnesota Department of Human Services in collaboration with impacted communities

Citizens League

Term: June 01, 2017 - June 30, 2019

By 2030 more than 1 in 5 million Minnesotans will be over the age of 65. A significant portion of them will be people without traditional family support, or “solos” – those who are aging alone. The Citizens League, Minnesota Elder Justice Center and two “solos” have joined forces to address this critical issue. Together, they will form a taskforce to explore the existing resources and policies relevant to solo health care decisions, identify core elements of a “Backup Plan” for solos to assure personal health and wellbeing, and create a recommendation plan for future work to implement solutions.

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

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

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

Community Connections

Term: April 01, 2017 - April 30, 2019

Affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues in Western North Dakota. The influx of people arriving in Western North Dakota in search of jobs in the oil fields created an unprecedented demand on service providers. Williston, a community at the center of this rapid growth, experienced extraordinary burdens on services. In response, six churches in Williston, together with Community Action Partnership, Job Service ND, Veterans Administration, ND Veterans Department and the Williston Basin Resource Coalition, will collaborate on an effort to better understand and respond to this issue in their community and surrounding rural areas. Together, they will collect data about the homeless population in the area, present findings to community stakeholders, develop a plan to address the issue and test some of their ideas.

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

Propel Nonprofits

Term: June 01, 2016 - March 31, 2019

Conduct a Family Freedom School Initiative to increase awareness and build capacity of Duluth's African American community to address institutional barriers and structural policies of race impacting their lives

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