Northwest Minnesota Foundation ~ Developing Community Assets ~ Serving 12 CountiesSUMMER 2007 • Number 44

Pioneering a Pathare environmentally sensitive, and being

environmentally-friendly has always played a role in the development of our products.”

Mattracks is boldly taking people to places they’ve never

been before, or at least to places they’ve never been in a vehicle. Projects utilizing Mattracks

technology span the globe. For instance, tracks placed on fire and

rescue vehicles help to provide fire protection to the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park. Tracks are also being used on Humvees for a project called Zero South (part of the Drive Around the World expedition), where alternative fuel methods are being tested in the South Pole. Neither of these would have been possible (or as successful) if it hadn’t been for Mattracks.

(Continued on page 6)

Matt Brazier and Glen Brazier with the new Gladiator product.

A well-beaten path doesn’t always make the right road. Many times, a route not yet discovered is the best opportunity to get where we need to go. To help us journey the difficult roads less traveled – both literally and metaphorically – the world has Mattracks.

Mattracks, headquartered in Karlstad, Minnesota, is the world’s leading manufacturer of rubber track conversion systems. Since the first set of prototype tracks were built in 1992, Mattracks has been converting 4x4 vehicles, from 1 1/2 ton trucks to ATVs and tractors, into all-terrain vehicles that will go almost anywhere you need or want to go. These tracks are used to travel on every continent, in more than 55 international markets and for a multitude of applications from outdoor recreation and agricultural uses to exploration and military missions. “The whole idea,” says Dean Gorder, general manager of Mattracks, “is to increase flotation and reduce compaction. Our goal is to solve the world’s mobility problems.”

Mattracks transforms standard vehicles into off-road powerhouses, but ironically is extremely delicate on the environment. Mattracks has ground pressure as low as one-and-a-half pounds per square inch, versus seven pounds for a person, and up to 40 pounds per square inch for a vehicle with tires. It’s also one of the only systems approved for winter travel on the Alaskan Tundra. “Our tracks can traverse fragile terrain with little impact to the environment,” says Gorder. “Many of those who use our tracks

People often start a conversation with me by asking --“What’s new at the foundation?”

Lately, I have been responding -- “Have you seen our new web site and all of the new on-line capabilities we have added?”

The foundation has recently completed a major effort to “freshen up” our web site, to make it more user friendly, and to add several new features which will give people better access to our services and information on foundation resources.

Here are just a few of the new features:

On line registration for workshops and training opportunities. The site provides the schedule of upcoming workshops, descriptions and the means to register and pay on line using a credit card.

On line contributions. Donors can select from a list of our many component funds and make contributions to their favorites or NMF endowments using credit cards.

On line component fund information. Fund advisory committees can check balances, review expenditures, and project future funding availability from component funds or community funds.

To experience our newly redesigned web site and to review the new features, visit www.nwmf.org today. Then you will see what’s new!

The NorthwestMinnesotaFoundation

investsresources,

createsopportunitiesand promotes

philanthropy tomake the region

a better placeto live and work.

BOARD OFDIRECTORS

Eric BergesonChairFertile

Anne SandVice Chair

Bemidji

Gary PurathSecretary

Red Lake Falls

Dean JohnsonTreasurer

Mahnomen

Terri AndersonOgema

David BergmanThief River Falls

Mark HewittPark Rapids

Roger MalmHallock

Kim WilsonFosston

Ann BeckBagley

Robert HagerGreenbush

Laurie WilsonCrookston

John S. OstremA Message from the President

2

Leadership Program Development Team to Launch Pilot

Northwest Minnesota Foundation will test its new adult leadership training program in a pilot session beginning on October 31. It promises to be different than any other leadership program in existence, designed to be an experience that blends strategies to enhance the transfer of the learning process to real life.

Participants will spend two days at an initial retreat, developing a learning community and exploring their own unique leadership gifts and styles. They will begin to create relationships, which promise to carry forward as the assimilation of learning happens back in their own workplaces.

Following the first session, participants will be assigned steps and exercises through an action learning lab project, engage in on-line webinars, small group teleconferences, and work with an executive coach. A second retreat will ensue to continue the learning process, share insights, and create action plans for taking their leadership to the next level. Groups will continue to support each other, staying connected through technical tools.

The world is calling for this kind of leadership experience. Not a classroom, where people are exposed to theory for a day or two, and then fumble their way through the application, but a leadership experience in which individuals have the chance to find their own capability and what they can bring to the world.

The Marvins felt it was

important to fully fund the swim program

to provide Warroad with

instructors and coaches,

along with the resources

needed to help it thrive.

Philanthropic Services

3

On August 24 in Warroad, many of the Warroad community gathered together to celebrate Bill Marvin’s 90th birthday. The Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) was given the opportunity to present the foundation’s Circle of Vision Leadership Society award to Bill prior to the party, at a luncheon held at the William S. Marvin Training and Visitor Center.

Arranged by NMF Fund Specialist Caryl Turnow, the luncheon was attended by Bill Marvin, John Quibodeaux, Bill’s health care attendant, the new Warroad High School swim coach Rebecca Fischer, numerous Marvin family members, Warroad Community Fund Advisory Committee Members Gene Harmer and Mike Bahnmiller, and former NMF Board Member Carolyn Eeg. NMF Vice President for Philanthropic Services Ritchie Houge presented the original sculpture award that represents the Marvin’s gift. It will be displayed in Warroad at the William S. Marvin Training and Visitor Center.

William S. Marvin Accepts NMF Circle of Vision Award

William S. Marvin Accepts NMF Circle of Vision Award William S. and Margaret W. Marvin

became the second benefactors to reach the $1 million mark in donations to the Northwest Minnesota Foundation or one of its components. To recognize this contribution, Bill and Margaret are included as members of the Circle of Vision Leadership Society. Sadly, Margaret passed away at the age of 89 this past winter.

The Marvin’s gift, which established the Warroad Swim Program Fund, supports programs, projects and activities associated with or supplementing the Warroad Public Schools swim program or the Warroad Outstanding Warriors Swim Club.

Due to funding cuts to education, the swim program was in jeopardy. The Marvins felt it was imperative to fully fund the swim program to provide Warroad with instructors and coaches, along with the resources needed to help it thrive. They have learned that transferring assets in this way -- as a philanthropic gift benefiting their community for years to come -- not only adds financial value, but sets the example of how to make a difference.

Mike Bahnmiller spoke at the luncheon about the gift’s impact. He said, “Warroad is fortunate, as a small town, to have such a wonderful swimming facility. It provides a great recreational outlet for both children and adults.”

One outcome of the Warroad Swim Fund is the hiring of Fischer in September 2006 as the Warroad Aquatics Director and High School Head Swim Coach. She is a

Ritchie Houge, NMF vice president for philanthropic services with Bill Marvin, presented with an original sculpture award for the Circle of Vision Leadership Society recognition.

(Continued on page 4)

4

“Warroad is fortunate, as a small town,

to have such a wonderful swimming facility. It

provides a great recreational

outlet for both children and

adults.”

Mike BahnMiller,Warroad area

Community Fund advisory

Committee

Philanthropic Services (Continued from page 3)

graduate of the University of North Dakota (UND), where she swam for the UND Women’s Swimming and Diving Team. Fischer was a 1999 NCAA Division II National Champion, 15 time All-American, and eight time NCC champion. Bahnmiller said, “We are very lucky to have her!”

Bahnmiller added that Warroad has always had a strong program that sends many swimmers to the Minnesota State High School swim meet. He said, “We believe our pool to be the finest in Northwest Minnesota. However, maintaining such a facility in top condition can strain the resources of a small community. Bill and Margaret Marvin recognized the need and provided a gift that will help support the pool for generations to come.”

The Warroad Area Community Fund (WACF) was established as a place for community citizens to easily establish charitable funds to help specific causes. Bill and Margaret’s gift came at a time when the WACF was just starting to grow. “The endowment certainly raised the community’s awareness of the WACF as

a good place to create programs to help others,” Bahnmiller said.

Not only does the Marvin’s generous gift serve as an example of how philanthropy can increase a community’s assets, it suggests that it is not necessarily a material inheritance that we should be interested in passing on to our children, but a philosophical inheritance.

It has been suggested by economists that there may come a time when people see personal assets as the means for enabling productive life for the broader community. Many philanthropists seek to teach their heirs to have what is called a “moral biography,” or “a life lived at the crossroads of material capacity and personal character.” Teaching heirs to recognize this purpose is the task of philanthropists who wish to guarantee the health and development of future philanthropy.

The act of charitable giving improves the quality of places in northwest Minnesota, with great thanks to the Marvins and others for their vision and desire to make a difference.

Bill Marvin with the Warroad Girls Swim Team and coaching staff.

“Having a director

with Laurie’s background

in higher education and

in meeting the needs

of students is a great

benefit to the foundation and to the region.”

eriCBerGeSOn,nMF Board

Chair

5

Laurie Wilson Named to Northwest Minnesota Foundation Board of Directors

Laurie Wilson of Crookston, Minnesota was recently elected to the Northwest Minnesota Foundation’s board of directors.

Wilson is the Coordinator of the Office for Students with Disabilities and Counselor for the Office of Career and Counseling Services for the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC). She works to ensure that the University is in compliance with requirements to provide appropriate services and accommodations to qualified students with disabilities. She also provides counseling services to individual students and small groups.

In addition, Wilson is a member of the Northwest Minnesota Counselors Association, the Minnesota School Counselors and the American Counseling Associations and the Association for Higher Education and Disability.

NMF Board Chair Eric Bergeson said, “On behalf of the other members, I am very pleased to welcome Laurie to the Northwest Minnesota Foundation board of directors. Having a director with Laurie’s background in higher education and in meeting the needs of students is a great benefit to the foundation and to the region.”

Wilson is involved with the UMC Women’s Project Group, and has volunteered with the Crookston United Way and Polk County DFL. She is a member of the First Presbyterian Church and Presbyterian Women’s Association.

Her vision for Northwest Minnesota is for the region to be a place in which young people could remain and have opportunities for meaningful employment. She said, “It would also be a place that other energized people learn about, and then want to make their home.” Wilson added, “My vision would mean that the resources of the region, both human capital and natural, would be maximized for the present and future good.”

Laurie Wilson

Award-winning QuickBooks financial management software gives you fast and easy tools to help

you manage your business more effectively. The QuickBooks training courses are being offered in partnership with the Northwest Minnesota

Foundation (NMF), the Small Business Development Center, and the Hubbard County Regional Economic Development Commission. Please see the Upcoming Events on the back page for dates and times.

In the QuickBooks Simple Start session, participants will learn about accounting concepts with the help of NMF Entrepreneur Development Program staff Diane Morey and Caryl Turnow. QuickBooks software will then be brought in to show the easiest way to begin computerized bookkeeping and how it will simplify tax time with accountants. The concepts are easily understood with a basic “Money In – Money Out” system.

Instructor Michelle Landsverk will demonstrate the software program. She has been a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor since 2001. Landsverk’s years of experience with QuickBooks as a small business owner brings the course past “book learning” and helps participants to apply the principles to everyday business management practices.

QuickBooks Pro, a more advanced 2-day course, will also be instructed by Landsverk. In this course, you will learn how to quickly and easily manage basic tasks like printing checks, paying bills, generating reports, invoicing customers and tracking expenses. You will be able to organize information about your company, customers and vendors in one place so it’s easy to find when you need it. You will look more professional with customized invoices, sales receipts, and other business forms.

QuickBooks sample software will be provided to each paid registrant. On line registration is also available at www.nwmf.org.

QuickBooks Accounting Workshops

“The Northwest Minnesota Foundation

was an important part of this product’s [Powerboards] development.”

Pioneering a Path

Mattracks is the result of the imagination of Matt Brazier, the son of Mattracks founder and CEO, Glen Brazier. After drawing a picture of a large truck with tracks instead of tires, Matt asked his father if something like his drawing could be made. After several years of engineering and prototypes, Glen Brazier gained a patent, and Mattracks (named after Matt Brazier) were released for sale to the public.

Since incorporating in 1994, Mattracks has sought to grow and expand its operations. To accomplish this, Mattracks has taken advantage of the financial assistance offered by the Northwest Minnesota Foundation. “Since our product is so unique, most traditional financial institutions were reluctant to help us,” says Dean’a Westberg, business manager of Mattracks. “The Northwest Minnesota Foundation supported us from the beginning, and it’s because of them that we were able to manufacture our

rubber treads in-house, rather than

getting them from outside sources.”

Most recently, the Northwest Minnesota Foundation granted Mattracks two loans to help develop innovative new products: the Black Diamond Powerboard and what Mattracks is currently calling the “Gladiator TUV.”

The Black Diamond Powerboard is an engine and track-propelled machine that carves through snow like a snowboard. This fun and powerful snow vehicle is great for snowbound regions without big

hills or mountains and can offer riders snowboarding excitement without going to the ski slopes. Del Wright, marketing manager of Mattracks, says that the funding from the Northwest Minnesota Foundation enabled Mattracks to acquire new equipment and capabilities, allowing them to complete the work on the Black Diamond Powerboard in-house. “The Northwest Minnesota Foundation was an important part of this product’s development,” Wright says.

The “Gladiator TUV” (Tracked Utility Vehicle) is a completely new concept in “side-by-side” utility vehicles (an ATV vehicle in which two passengers sit next to each other), designed for efficient operation on tracks and packed with revolutionary features including four-track steering and a “walking beam” suspension system. The “Gladiator TUV” is a concept vehicle that demonstrates the ability of Mattracks to design and build a tracked utility vehicle from the ground up entirely in-house. “The ‘Gladiator TUV’ is a utility-type ATV built specifically with tracks in mind,” says Gorder.

With financial help from the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Mattracks has

been able to continually expand and diversify its products in order to remain

a leader in the industry. “We’ve had to create the market.

We’re the initiators, not the imitators,” says Glen Brazier, CEO of Mattracks. “The

Tad Anderson and Glen Brazier at work.

(Continued from page 1)

6

Del WriGhTMattracks

Marketing Manager

“For those who are looking for help in getting resources and opportunities

to expand their business, the Northwest

Minnesota Foundation is their answer.”

7

Pioneering a Path

Northwest Minnesota Foundation continues to help us with the development of our products and that has kept us ahead of the wave.”

One of the main reasons why the relationship between Mattracks and the Northwest Minnesota Foundation is so successful is because of the way Mattracks works with the community of Karlstad. “It’s a two-way street,” says Gorder. “The community of Karlstad benefits from having Mattracks here, and Mattracks benefits from being in this area because of the work ethic and the skills of the people. We have a synergistic relationship with Karlstad, and that means we fit the Northwest Minnesota Foundation’s mission perfectly.” A fun example of this relationship is Kick N’ Up Kountry, a local music festival that Mattracks has helped to sponsor.

The future of Mattracks looks very

bright and one that will surely involve the Northwest Minnesota Foundation. “We value their accessibility and their support for not only our company but the community of Karlstad as well, says Brazier. “We’ve been nothing but pleased.” When asked if Mattracks would work with the Northwest Minnesota Foundation in the future, Brazier answers, “Absolutely. For those who are looking for help in getting the resources and opportunities to expand their business, the Northwest Minnesota Foundation is their answer.”

Mattracks has future plans to continue to expand and diversify their products, specifically to apply Mattracks to larger vehicles. However, no matter the size of the vehicle or the roughness of the terrain, Mattracks is pioneering a path to places vehicles have never traveled before.

Glen BraZier,CEO, Mattracks

Grants

8

Grants Grants totaling $399,583 were awarded from May - August 2007

its county managed state trustHeadwaters Science Center .................. $2,500To evaluate the potential for reestablishing the River Watch Program in the Bemidji High School and creating new partnerships with the Blackduck, Kelliher, and Red Lake school districts

TrainingIndividual Effectiveness

Wee Care Children’s Center ..................$1,280For executive coaching for Ellen Boyd

Organizational Effectiveness Greater Minnesota Management (3) ...... $5,000For customer service training; human resource training; board development

STAR

Magelssen Elementary School .................$150For STAR programComponent Fund Backstrom Family Charitable FundTo Paul Bunyan Playhouse for painting the interior of the playhouse ............................................. $500

Bagley Area Community Fund

Bagley Beautification Fund ................... $1,778 For signs for the City of BagleyBagley Early Childhood Initiative Fund (3) To the Clearwater Library Foundation for Book Bag Campaign, Hook-A-Book Game .............$750 To Bagley Independent School District #162 for Building Language Together .................... $11,270 To Clearwater County Nursing Service for Day Care/Public Health Outreach Project ..........$3,500

Bagley Education Endowment and Project Fund Bagley General Scholarship Fund (2) ........... $300Bemidji Area Public Library Foundation Endowment and Project Fund

Dorothy Breen Endowment Fund

To Kitchigami Regional Library for recorded books ..........................................$1,100

Bemidji Lumberjack Foundation Fund

Rick Lee Memorial Fund

To Bemidji Area Schools for Industrial Technology student lab fees ............................................. $858

First National Bank Bonspiel Fund

To Bemidji Area Schools for tennis equipment and bonspiel supplies ................................... $963Security Bank USA Lumberjack Scramble

To Bemidji Area Schools for tennis equipment and bonspiel supplies ................................ $1,653

Caring CommunitiesChildren and FamiliesValley Community Health Center ........$25,000For Northern Valley Dental Alliance addressing oral health issues of children and vulnerable populations in the northern Red River Valley

Human Achievement & Performance Academy ....................... $25,000To create a Hubbard County Youth Drug & Alcohol Task Force Mahube Community Council, Inc. ...... $25,000To support groups for grandparents and other relatives raising grandchildren in Roseau and Thief River FallsMount St. Benedict CSA Garden ........ $16,000To provide funding for four full time internship positions

Community PlanningEconomic & Community Development

Northwest Minnesota Foundation ........ $1,000 For the Renewable Energy ConferenceCity of Warroad ................................... $2,650To hire a land use planner to help the community redesign the Point recreation area

East Grand Forks EDHA .................... $10,000To identify strategic economic development opportunities in the East Grand Forks area

HousingMahnomen Health Center ...................$14,750 To perform studies for a proposed assisted living unit

Northwest Regional Development Commission .......................................$25,000For the Thief River Falls Area Growth Partnership Healthy Lakes & Rivers Partnership ProgramHubbard County Soil and Water District .......................................$4,000For Bad Axe Lake shoreland restoration and reforestation

Growth ManagementHeadwaters Regional Development Commission $10,000To have Bemidji Leads! serve as a vehicle to help the Bemidji area assess quality of life in the community

Natural ResourcesHealthy Lakes & Rivers Partnership ProgramBeltrami Soil & Water Conservation District ................................................. $3,750For a Lake Julia aquatic management plan Promotion & PreservationClearwater County Land and Forestry Dept ......................................$12,500To address critical issues facing Clearwater County on

........................................

Grants (Continued from page 1)

Blackduck Area Community Fund Blackduck Ambulance Association, Inc. for upgrade to medical equipment ....................$225

Clearwater Health Care Fund

CHS Hospice Fund (3) ......................$3,000Clearwater County Nursing Service for Hospice chart/filing system and supplies; Hospice patient care support; for Hospice training/volunteer appreciation/team meetings

Courage Center Programs and Camps FundTo Courage Center for facilities update ....$8,500Crookston Early Childhood Initiative Fund (3) ..................................................$2,610To Crookston Early Childhood Initiative forr Ox Cart Days children parade; for Safety Town; school district expensesFertile Area Armed Forces Veterans Fund $34,580For Fertile Veterans Memorial project expenses

Fertile-Beltrami Early Childhood Initiative FundTo Fertile-Beltrami Public School for Childcare Provider Appreciation .............................$1,000Fosston Education Foundation Endowment and Project Fund ............................................$1,500To Fosston Community Library & Arts Association for Fosston Summer Arts Program 2007

HRDC Leadership FundHRDC Successful Communities Challenge Fund ........................................................ $6,250To Clearwater County Land and Forestry Department for development of the Clearwater County forest management planLake of the Woods Area Industrial Development Fund ................................$10,000Lake of the Woods Area Industrial Development Corp. for economic development directorLake of the Woods Early Childhood Initiative Fund (2) .................................................. $4,100To Lake of the Woods School Disrict for the Northern Childcare Association annual conference; for play equipment

Laporte Education Endowment and Project Fund

Tonia Johannsen Memorial Fund ............$100Luther Younggren Memorial Scholarship Fund ................................................... $1,000Mahnomen Education Endowment and Project Fund (2) ...............................$500

Northwest Minnesota Women’s Fund (5)

Climax-Shelly School for enrichment activities for 5th-9th grade girls ................................... $1,907Family Advocacy Center for diversity training ........................................................$420Headwaters Intervention Center for battered women’s support group materials ............. $1,200Riverview Healthcare Association for careers in healthcare for women .............................. $2,500Sexual Assault Program for drug facilitated sexual assault information packets ...................... $1,250

Oja Family FundNorthwest Minnesota Foundation for Lifetrack Resources-Family Support Connection .........$500

Ole and Ruth Tweet Family Fund (6)To Challenger Preschool for Building Language Together ......................................................$500City of Thief River Falls for Northrup Park .......................................................... $1,000To the Clayton Memorial Foundation donation for injured motorcycle racers .........................$500To First Care Medical Services - Hospice ........................................................$500To Pennington County Humane Society .........................................................$500Thief River Falls Education Foundation for assisted technology-Franklin spellers ..........................$500

Park Rapids Area Community FundHewitt Family Charitable Fund

To Park Rapids Lakes Area Arts Council for Art Leap 2007 .............................................$935

Park Rapids Early Childhood Initiative Fund

To Mahube Community Council, Inc. for United for Children & Youth Conference ..................................................$370

Park Rapids Revolving Loan Fund (2)To the City of Park Rapids for Downtown Revitalization; Hubbard Regional Economic Development ........................$15,000for operating expenses

Red Lake Falls Education Endowment and Project FundRichard Bresnahan “Leadership in the Arts” Fund

To Clayworks for Raku Festival 2007 ..........$140

Roseau Area Community Fund (3)To Oak Crest Senior Housing patio fund ............................................................$575To Roseau School Dist #682 for Roseau tennis camp ...........................................................$250To Wannaska Lions Club .............................$975

Roseau County Historical Society Endowment Fund

To Roseau County Historical Society for museum storage equipment ...................................$1,500

Ruth Edevold Endowment for ExcellenceRuth Edevold Awards for Excellence

Northwest Minnesota Women’s Fund ...... $1,000

Bagley Independent School District #162 for a Donation from TEAM Industries ............ $1,000Hope House ........................................ $1,000Mahube Community Council, Inc. ....... $1,000St. Joseph’s Area Health Services ........ $1,000

Thief River Falls Early Childhood Initiative FundTo Pennington County Child Care Association for Northrup Park ......................................... $5,0009

10

(Continued from page 1)

Warroad Area Community Fund (4)To Prairie Community Center-Elkwood Home for Beautification and home business management system (2) .......................... $2,980To Warroad Heritage Center for copy machine replacement ............................................ $1,112To Warroad Lost River Sportsmen Complex for electrical service to site ............................ $1,000

Gaylord A. Gunderson Education and Scholarship Fund (4)

Gaylord A. Gunderson Scholarships (2) ........................................................... $2,000To Warroad High School for TI Navigator Learning System ..................................... $5,266To Warroad School for Theatre Renovation ............................................. $4,500

Margaret Ann and Paul Samuel Johnson Family Charitable Fund

To Zion Lutheran Church ........................ $4,362

NAPA Ride to Reading Fund

To Warroad School for books and supporting quizzes ........................................................$578Nick Moyer Memorial Scholarship Fund ...........................................................$200Patrick O’Donnell Memorial Scholarship Fund ........................................$500

Rainbow Park Restoration Fund (2)

To Warroad Area Women of Today for Rainbow Park Benches ......................................... $2,500

Warroad Care Center FundTo Warroad Care Center for replacement of accounting and nursing home business management system .................................$101

Warroad Education Endowment and Project Fund (3)

To Warroad School for folk dancing artist residency; for Middle School Play Land; Twins” Fields for Kids ...........................$5,157

Warroad Heritage Center Fund

To Warroad Heritage Center for copy machine replacement ............................................. $500

Warroad Swim Program Fund

To Warroad School for Warroad Swim Program continuing support .............................$48,300

Grants

Business Loans Three loans were recently made from the Revolving Loan Fund totaling $277,000:

Caribou Grill, Hallock For purchase of an existing business.

Mattracks, Karlstad For new products and expansion. Black Magic Powersports, Thief River FallsFor the development of new ATV accessories.

MicroloansBusiness counseling and loans are available to help entrepreneurs develop small business and self-employment opportunities. Three loans were recently made totaling $95,000:

Wright Locksmith and Security, Warroad Book Patch, Thief River FallsFreedom Rolls, Bemidji

Technical AssistanceThree businesses from Bemidji, Crookston and Roseau received $2,965 in outside consulting for management and technical assistance.

Business Development Activity

Business Development Activity

As part of its ongoing commitment to help develop business in the region, Northwest Minnesota Foundation is co-sponsoring a series of workshops to help small businesses improve their operations (see Upcoming Events on the back page for workshops and dates). Other sponsors are the Hubbard County Regional Economic Development Commission, Bemidji State University, Center for Research & Innovation Custom College, and the Small Business Development Center.

All classes will be held at the Park Rapids High School. The fee for each is $60. Instructors for all courses will be provided through the Center for Research & Innovation.

For more information or to register, please contact Sandy Eberhart, director of community education, 218-237-6606.

Early Childhood Initiative and Thrive Update

Crookston Coalition celebrates

successful projects and programs.Bagley Coalition raised funds for playground equipment.

NMF Early Childhood ♦coordinators met in Bemidji at the home of ECI specialist Lin Backstrom for a day-long conversation about their current work and future planning. The coordinators had the opportunity to consult with each other, ask questions and discuss ideas for the fall. Ritchie Houge led a discussion about funding sustainability and Lisa Peterson talked about communications partnering. The group started planning for a regional early literacy project.

The Lake of the Woods Coalition holds its Community Visioning session

Bemidji Coalition project leader Frances Van Dorn teaches music to

very young children.

11

St. Cloud was the site of a fall gathering of the state’s ECI ♦coordinators, Thrive Action Team managers and invited members from community coalitions. NMF had a group of 23 from the region The meeting featured speakers Terrie Rose, Ph.D., on integrating positive mental health strategies into the early childhood classroom and Okokon Udo, Ph.D., on engaging diverse communities. NMF’s region shared two action projects, one from Park Rapids and one from Bemidji.

The Thrive Action Team for ♦Bemidji-Blackduck-Kelliher has chosen five priority areas for work, based upon information gathered during interviews with 75 people. They are: aligning the mental health and medical communities more closely, monitoring and providing educational opportunities about emotional health for those working with young children, raising community awareness about the importance of social and emotional development and how it impacts all learning in young children, expanding the capacity of professional mental health providers in our communities to work with young children, and working to find new or re-allocated funding at all levels for early mental health issues, including changes in billing policies.

EArly ChilDhooD initiAtivE:Promoting

high quality early care and education for all children

from birth to age 5.

thrivEinitiAtivE:

Focused on strengthening

early childhood

mental health services for

young children and families.

Contact Jane McKelvy by e-mail at janem@nwmf.org or visit www.nwmf.org for more information. On line registration available for Individual Excellence classes and QuickBooks.

~ Northwest Minnesota Foundation ~ www.nwmf.org ~CONTACT US: 218-759-2057 ~ 800-659-7859 ~ FAX 218-759-2328 ~ nwmf@nwmf.org

4225 Technology Drive NWBemidji, MN 56601

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. Postage

PAIDBemidji, MN

56601Permit No. 36

Upcoming EventsUpcoming Events

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Adult LeadershipThis program is in development.Pilot:

Program:

Individual Excellence

STAR Teams - Youth Leadership

Business Development

Location: Concordia Language Villages, Bemidji

Please call Jane McKelvy at the numbers below for more information,

or visit the website.

Location: Community Room, Beltrami Electric Co-op, BemidjiPerformance Management Oct. 4, 2007Volunteer Management Nov. 1, 2007

Location: Community Room, Beltrami Electric Co-op, BemidjiQuickBooks Simple Start QuickBooks Pro

Oct. 5, 2007Oct. 25 & 26, 2007

Location: Park Rapids High School NOTE: Register by calling Sandy Eberhart director of community education, 218-237-6606

Budget/Financial Planning Sept. 25, 2007Cash Flow Management Oct. 2, 2007Business Tax Planning Oct. 9, 2007Marketing Oct. 16, 2007Building the Manage-ment Team Oct. 23, 2007

Session I Oct. 31, Nov. 1 & 2, Session II: Dec. 12 & 13, 2007

Session I: April 9, 10 & 11, 2008Session II: July 17 & 18, 2008

2007

Oct. 15 & 16, 2007

Oct. 23 & 24, 2007

Session Ia Session Ib

Session Ic Nov. 6 & 7, 2007