today's giving, issue 3

The Changing Landscape

of EDUCATION

Fall 2010

Volume 1, Issue 3

FUNDING Our Future:Foundations for Success in K–12

HIGHER EDUCATION Keeping ND at the Top of the Class

also...BEyOND THE ClASSROOm: A lOOK AT SpECIAl-NEEDS EDUCATION

NDSU STUDENTS HElp INSpIRE, CREATE ENCHANTED HIGHwAy AND DREAmS THROUGH NDSU pROjECT

FIvE QUESTIONS wITH SENATOR TIm FlAKOll

DAKOTA DAUGHTER mAKES GOOD HAppEN IN CITy OF ANGElS

2 Today’s Giving Fall 2010

Volume 1, Issue 3

Fall 2010

5 Back to School Helpingstudentsmakethegrade

6 From Our Readers

8 Funding Our Future FoundationsforsuccessinK–12education

14 Beyond the Classroom Alookatspecial-needseducation

20 Offering Hope and Opportunities For Area Youth

After-schoolprogramsandtimewithmentorsarewinningstrategies

24 Higher Education: Keeping ND at the Top of the Class

Stateuniversitysystemgradesarehighonnationalcurveforreturnonfunding

32 NDSCS Provides Training For In-Demand Skills

Associatedegreesfromtechnical,two-yearandstatecollegeshelpfulfillregion’sneeds

34 5 Questions with Senator Tim Flakoll

District44senatordiscussespublichighereducationfundinginNorthDakota

38 Funding Insights From Bemidji State University Foundation

Buildingrelationships,onestepatatime AspecialfeaturebyRobBollinger(Executive

Director,BSUAdvancement)andtheBSUFoundationTeam

40 Featured Nonprofits & Organizations

42 Guiding Our Youth: Are we creating Generation “Me”?

AspecialfeaturebyFatherJamesP.Shea,President,UniversityofMary

46 Financial Success for Faith-Based Schools

AspecialfeaturebyCordellG.Dick,CPA,CFRE

50 Enchanted Collaboration Studentshelpinspireeconomicdevelopmentand

dreamsthroughNDSUproject

56 Dakota Daughter Makes Good Happen in the City of Angels

OwnerofWNBA’sLosAngelesSparksdrawsonNorthDakotachildhoodtoinspireeducationandleadershipinwomennationwide

60 Engaged Philanthropy Increases Literary Skills

64 Calendar of Events

67 Faces of Giving

Fall 2010 Today’s Giving 3

Today’s Giving1407 1st Avenue North, Fargo, ND, 58102phone 701-364-4001 | fax 701-365-8118www.todaysgiving.com

PublisherToday’s Giving

Editors In ChiefShannon Schweigert, FounderLisa Jackson, Founder

Managing EditorKate Henne

Graphic DesignMike Biewer, Creative ServicesJamie Farmen, Production DesignDan Nisbet, Typography and Layout

Advertising Account ExecutiveLynn Hanson, Lead Sales

Letters Send letters to the editor to [email protected].

Distribution Information Today’sGiving is available free by pick up at multiple distribution points throughout North Dakota, western Minnesota, and northeastern South Dakota. For a list of outlets that provide Today’sGiving, visit www.todaysgiving.com. If you need more information about availability in your region or wish to request an issue copy, contact [email protected].

Subscription Services In addition to free pickup of Today’sGiving, you can receive your personal copy by ordering an annual subscription for $19.95 for four issues delivered to directly your home, business or agency. Contact [email protected] or visit todaysgiving.com

Advertising Contact [email protected] or Lynn Hanson at (701) 730-4570.

Article Proposals Send article proposals to [email protected].

“Faces of Giving” This section of each issue will recognize those who give in unique ways. Send recommendations to [email protected].

The mission of Today’sGiving is to provide insight, inspiration, and knowledgeable guidance that will help individuals, businesses, and agencies maximize their time and contributions to meet their unique giving goals. Today’sGiving is an independent organization owned by GivingPoint™ and is not affiliated with specific nonprofits.

©2010 All articles and content in this publication are under copyright and rights are reserved. Any use or reproduction of the content is prohibited without written permission from GivingPoint™. To request reprint permission, contact [email protected].

Some articles in this magazine are submitted by independent authors and industry specialists. Therefore, their views may vary and may not be those of the publishers, Today’sGiving™ or GivingPoint™.

Fall 2010

Contributors

Debora Dragseth (Dakota Daughter Makes Good Happen in the City of An-gels) is a professor of business at Dick-inson State University. She is an active speaker and a national award winning business writer. Her research interests include Generation Y, outmigration and entrepreneurship. Debora has been given Dickinson State University’s highest fac-ulty award, the Distinguished Teacher of the Year. She has been named the Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce’s Teacher of the Year and the student-elect-ed Outstanding Faculty. Dr. Dragseth has an MBA from the University of North Da-kota and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska.

Tracy Faleide (Offering Hope and Oppor-tunities for Area Youth) is owner/operator of Bellwetherworks, a writer and consul-tant with 24 years of marketing, com-munications, project management, and leadership experience. Whatever your communication needs, Tracy can help you identify and convey your company’s unique value. She’s also actively involved in organizations that help address social issues like the Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley, Habitat for Humanity, and the Humane Society. Tracy has a B.S. degree in Public Relations from Min-nesota State University Moorhead and her experience includes 20 years at Great Plains Software and Microsoft. Tracy and her husband, Dan, live in Fargo.

Roxane B. Salonen (Beyond the Class-room: A Look At Special-Needs Educa-tion) has garnered praise for her work as a children’s author and freelance writer. Most recently, the National Federation of Press Women awarded her first place in a 2010 national communications contest for the parenting columns she writes for The Forum (Fargo, ND) newspaper. Rox-ane and her husband, Troy, live in Fargo with their five children. She blogs about the writing life at http://peacegarden-writer.blogspot.com/

From the Founders

Back to School:HelpingStudentsMaketheGradeBy Lisa Jackson, Co-Founder, Today’s Giving

Lisa JacksonCo-Founder, Today’s Giving

Lisa Jackson is a founding principal of GivingPoint™ (a fundraising consulting firm founded in 2007) and Today’s Giving. Over the last decade she has worked professionally and as a volunteer with various nonprofit organizations in the fields of communication, marketing and fundraising, including: Newell Rubbermaid, Jamestown College, and The University of Kansas. She lives in Barnesville, Minnesota with her husband Dustin.

Themes will often run through the pages of Today’s Giving. In our first issue we discussed new ideas for col-laboration and the economy. Issue two developed around spring and re-newal, so health and the benefits of volunteering emerged. The process of defining the articles and topics is interesting and rewarding. In each is-sue we develop, we are guided by our goal to always provide an honest per-spective to ensure that insight, inspi-ration and guidance is vetted through a more journalistic approach to writ-ing versus just great story telling.

The theme for this issue was chal-lenging, because it is a large topic with many facets: education. As many of us spend the warm summer days (hopefully) on family vacations, going to the lake, meeting old friends at reunions, and joining new family members at weddings, we are also planning for the next year. Whether we have young children in elementa-ry and high school, twenty year olds in college, or we are ourselves con-templating continuing education—we think about choosing the right schools, creating savings to afford them, and try to discover the best fit.

We hear about the affordability of education outpacing the benefits, and trends in specialized degrees leaving gaps for qualified employees in trade industries. We question whether our

children are receiving a well-round-ed education given budget cuts, and are concerned about costs of electives and activities such as music, sports, and other extracurricular programs which help mold character.

This issue looks at a few big topics in the field of education today. We have had extensive help from the re-gion’s educational leaders, state rep-resentatives and senators—as well as experts in education funding—to produce this issue.

If I were my mother, who some-times clips great articles out of news-papers or magazines for me to read, I would suggest clipping out a few of my favorites from this issue, includ-ing a piece with Carla Christofferson and how education and a little coach-ing went a long way; a Q&A session with ND Senator Tim Flakoll on the status, purpose and future of higher education in North Dakota; and how the Boys & Girls Club is developing best practices in education. And I would like to personally thank Judy and Noel Fedje for visiting with me to provide information for the article “Engaged Philanthropy Increases Literary”—these are the moments, the stories, the type of people, who continue to keep me inspired and motivated in the challenging world of philanthropy.

We hope you enjoy the issue. Be-

fore bidding adieu until next issue, the Today’sGiving family would like thank our early subscribers and ad-vertisers. You are making this publi-cation possible. To our readers, please pay patronage to these advertisers and keep asking for Today’s Giving. Thus far, we’ve received only positive words of encouragement. Thank you. We strive to keep our fingers on the pulse of our region and cover what’s most important to you in the very broad and expansive topic of philan-thropy. Please continue sending your letters to the editors, story ideas, and recommendations for our “Faces of Giving” section.

Sincerely,Lisa Jackson co-founderandco-editorinchief,Today’sGiving


From OurReaders

We welcome your letters or e-mail on any topic regarding the act of and need for giving, whether or not Today’s Giving has covered it directly in our quarterly magazine or on our web site.Please send your feedback and comments to [email protected] or mail them to: Today’s Giving 1407 1st Ave North Fargo, ND 58104Our editors will select from the letters and messages that are received, and publish those that are most representative of the needs and opinions of our readers. We look forward to hearing from you!

I thoroughly enjoyed your first issue of Today’sGiving. Thank you for meeting a real need for the philanthropic community. Please put me on your subscrip-tion list and save printing costs by putting me on your online version if you have one.

Thank you.

Tim Mathern

Public Policy and Nonprofit Development Director

Prairie St. John’s -Affiliate of Psychiatric Solutions

Thanks so much for sending me a copy (Volume 1, Issue 1) of To-day’s Giving! I am very impressed, and congratulate you and your team for producing such a profes-sional product right out of the gate! I hadn’t even finished thumbing through it (it’s going home with me tonight for the cover-to-cover read) when I found myself going on-line to subscribe.

Continued best wishes toward ful-fillment of your noble mission. I look forward to visiting with you again, Shannon.

(And here’s to Mrs. Bair!)

Regards,

Dave Miedema

UND Foundation

Director of Development

School of Medicine &

Health Sciences


We hope you’re enjoying and finding value in Today’s Giving. In prepara-tion for each issue, countless topics and stories come to light from through-out the region. And while our staff and contributors are committed to pro-viding fact-based, helpful information on a wide variety of opportunities and needs across sectors, we need your help to make the publication the best it can be. Thank you to the readers who’ve provided feedback on the first two issues.

I wanted to pass along my gratitude for such a beautiful publication. I just picked up the spring issue of Today’sGiving and was impressed with the quality of the content.

I am the executive director of Ru-ral Enrichment and Counseling Headquarters in Hawley, MN where we provide counseling, food, cloth-ing, and Salvation Army vouch-ers to the rural people in need of

Clay, Norman and Becker coun-ties. In these times, we nonprofits need all the help that we can get. Your publication is so help-ful to the great nonprofits in the area.

Thanks so much,

Jodi Puhalla Neumann

Executive Director

REACH


Funding Our FutureFoundationsforsuccessinK–12educationby Kate Henne, Today’s Giving

Across the multitude of factors that affect primary and sec-ondary school needs across the nation, the only constant is change itself. While the economic downturn of recent years has strained funding for kids in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12), it’s by no means the only budget challenge, and both public and private schools are increasingly trying to meet growing demands with shrinking resources.

A study of U.S. students ages 16-18 between 1985 and 2008 reveals that the national average number of enrollees rose 14 percent due to population increases. Another national study brought good news in achievement: The national sta-tus dropout rate declined from 14 percent in 1980 to 8 per-cent in 2008, with most of that change taking place in the 2000s. (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educations Statistics (2010).

The Thief River Falls Education Foundation has awarded the The World Language Department at Lincoln High School $10,000 to purchase computers that provide access to authentic language and culture, supporting active student learning.

Society. Economy. Technology. Diversity.8 Today’s Giving Fall 2010

the Minnesota, Dakota k-12 FunDing LanDsCape Schools in Minnesota and the Dako-tas—and the Midwest in general—were exceptions to the national rates as people generally migrated to larger population centers. In the first half of the decade, the three states showed declines in enrollment of -1.6 percent (MN), -5.8 percent (SD) and -11.5 percent (ND). (See table.)

The sharp decline in enrollment in North Dakota was largely based upon out-of-state migration. The fi-nancial rub: Since the lion’s share of funding comes from state and local taxes, a lower population base means fewer dollars.

And while the Dakotas face fund-ing challenges based upon declining enrollment and population, Min-nesota’s current funding is chal-lenged most by the state’s significant budget shortfalls.

In a recent session, the Minnesota legislature changed timeframes for when funding would be available to schools during the year. Laine Lar-son, Superintendent of Thief River Falls Public Schools, MN, said that next year school districts will receive only 70 percent of funding up front and won’t receive the remaining 30 until fall, and some districts will need to seek short-term loans to address the change.

North Dakota was one of few states not reporting a budget shortfall for their 2010 fiscal year. Some areas of North Dakota have seen economic growth, such as the recent “oil boom” in the western part of the state. In the areas of Fargo, Bismarck and Grand Forks—all of which have trended toward population growth over the past several decades—funding for K-12 has been stable, compared to rural areas or lower population cen-ters where the local tax basis is small-er. And state legislation has provided an increase in K-12 funding in the last two sessions.

But even with those positive fac-tors, funding has been a challenge. Changes in demographics, increased diversity, longer transportation due to consolidations, and the need to keep up with changing technology have all stretched the system.

Public K-12 schools across the country received a “shot in the arm” from a recent federal stimulus plan to cover basics such as textbooks and required technologies, but that fund-ing was a one-time influx that won’t be available long-term.

Private schools are also feeling the squeeze of tighter-than-ever budget-ing. Terinne Berg is a consultant for private schools and served as super-intendent of Park Christian School in Moorhead, MN, for nearly 19 years. She says that while private schools

can choose to receive some federal funding, most opt out to avoid the requirements and constraints which may prevent or distract from private schools’ focus on their missions.

But without careful and dedicated funding and budget management, private schools face huge challeng-es. (See also “Financial Success for Faith-Based Schools” in this issue). Berg says that on average, tuition only covers about 80 percent of costs per student. In addition, private schools must cover and carry capital expenses including building/facility ownership and management.

FounDations bring eDuCation FroM “gooD” to “great”Over the past 20 years, North Dakota and western Minnesota have seen a surge in the number of foundations formed to enhance the K-12 public school experience beyond the basics covered by tax-based funding.

Lowell Wolff, Assistant to the Su-perintendent and spokesperson for Fargo Public Schools, says that be-cause Fargo draws from a diverse funding base, has seen population growth, and has an engaged and ac-tive school community, the school district is “in good shape.” He quickly adds, “But ‘good’ can sometimes be-come an obstacle to becoming really great. That’s where the Fargo Pub-lic Schools Foundation comes in. They’re always looking for ways to make Fargo schools even greater.”

Wolff says that K-12 public schools foundations began de-

North Dakota schools have provided people with a solid foundation and it’s important that next generation is well prepared to be able to do the same. —Karen Heigt, Dickinson Public Schools Foundation


cades ago in the South as a way for schools to cover funding gaps. But most district-based foundations nowadays are focused on augment-ing education, enhancing the edu-cational experience, and keeping alumni engaged.

Karen Heidt, Dickinson Public Schools (DPS) Foundation Direc-tor, says that since their founda-tion was created in 1989, they’ve remained focused on their mission to support unique, challenging, in-novative projects and programs that enhance educational excellence

and empower students to succeed. The DPS Foundation has awarded over $147,000 in grant awards that help enhance and enrich education. In addition, they fund two $1,500 scholarships annually.

Public-school foundations in Thief River Falls, Fargo, Grand Forks, Mi-not, Bismarck and Dickinson all of-fer teacher-incentive grants through which educators can apply to fund pilot and innovative programs not covered by traditional funding.

Bismarck Superintendent Paul Johnson says, “It’s from teacher’s spe-

cial and innovative projects that we learn about things that really engage students….we need to nurture our most creative teachers’ efforts, but basic public funding doesn’t usually cover that kind of innovation.”

Kathi Schwan, chair of the Fargo Public School Foundation, says that at a high level donors or endowment managers may specify that funds are used for a specific purpose. “The El-eanor Laing Law endowment, for ex-ample, specifies that the FPS Founda-tion distribute funds for literary and library needs in honor of its name-

1961-62 $393

1970-71 $842

1980-81 $2,307

1990-91 $4,902

2000-01 $7,380

2004-05 $8,711

2006-07 $9,683

$2,769$4,489$5,639$7,749$8,923$9,620$10,041

(U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educations Statistics (2010)

SchoolYear

Currentexpendituresinunadjusted

dollars

Currentexpendituresinconstant

2007-08dollars

National: Current expenditure per pupil in fall enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools: Selected years, 1961-62 through 2006-07


sake,” Schwan said. The Minot Public School District

Foundation was formed in 1993 and is headed by Dr. Lowell Latimer, who has been with the district for over 50 years in roles including teacher, principal and administrator. Latimer points to a recent example program funded by the foundation wherein young students were able to take a fieldtrip to the North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan in Washburn. The kids, he says, came back excited to learn about North Dakota history and their heritage.

And Latimer says that while the foundation focus on funding innova-

tive education projects and awarding scholarships from the community, the foundation board also spends time assisting with Minot school re-unions. While that task may be out of scope for larger school foundations, Latimer says it’s essential for Minot because most foundation contribu-tors are alumni. Many have moved from the area and appreciate a central way to keep in touch, as well as having local people assisting with event logistics. While not all pub-lic-school foundations assist with reunion details, most can assist with putting alumni in touch with reunion organizers.

What about graduates of schools

�Reunion

Remember the school bus, The part in the play? The lunchroom, the lockers, the homecoming games?

That Super Bowl party (I think it was XII), and igniting the contents of the science-room shelves.

Pep-rallies, debate and a wrestling coach. Sandpits, bon-fires and oh yeah… the smokes.

We talk on of children, and healthcare and business…

But the freckles you named just remember

your kisses.

©2009ChristineHoper

“Reunion”appearsinToday’sGivingcomplimentsofFargopoetChristineHoper.ChristinespentherchildhoodinsmalltownsacrossMinnesotaandNorthDakota.Foraslongasshecanremember,she’shadanotebookcloseathand.Thewordssharedherecapturemomentsintime–andwhoknows;theymightbereminiscentofthingsyoutoohaveseenandheardalongtheway.Youcanfindmoreofherpoetryatwww.northdakotarealized.comandhercurrentblogfeaturingmusingsaboutthemoonatwww.redrivergirl.com.

Students study the characteristics of native plants, thanks to funds from a grant managed through the Thief River Falls Education Foundation from The Randall Noper Charitable Trust to support environmental education projects.


that no longer exist? Across rural ar-eas of the Dakotas and Minnesota, the consolidation of primary and secondary schools has resulted in many school closings. Alumni inter-ested in finding a foundation close to their childhood alma maters should check with the school districts that currently preside in the location of their former schools

Foundation and school district leaders across the state agree on one thing: It’s often challenging to get fi-

nancial support for K-12 education due to the public perception that their tax dollars are already covering education needs. Invariably they ask that people become more aware of needs in their district and they’ll see that tax dollars cover only the very basics, and teachers need flexibility to reach beyond those basics. “If a teacher really wants to go above and beyond with a creative idea its really important that we give those teachers the resources to move ahead,” John-son said.

Jenny Arel, Executive Director Grand Forks Foundation for Edu-cation, encourages foundation con-tributors: “Leave your legacy with the children that will be leaders 20 years from now. You’ll gain in the long run, too.”

businesses step up eDuCation invoLveMentBusinesses across communities over the past decade have been working with districts to offer their special re-sources to education, and opportuni-ties abound for them to get involved. Several larger districts have dedi-cated staff on foundations or within the district to support coordination between schools and businesses. For example, the Fargo Public Schools District and the Foundation have

worked with businesses to create the “Adopt a School” program, wherein businesses contribute resources—and often employee time—to assist with learning and provide workplace insight to a particular school.

Businesses sometimes work direct-ly with the district to identify needs and match them with services that businesses can offer. For example, Heidt said that in Dickinson, Bak-er Boy donated special ovens for a school remodeling project, and TMI Systems Design Corporation do-nated cabinetry work. In Thief River Falls, Larson said Digi-Key Corpora-tion provides support for the FIRST Robotics program.

And Ellen Dunn, Fargo Public Schools work experience educator for students with disabilities, says

there’s a great need for businesses to offer work opportunities for the older students with special needs. Dunn says that on-the-job experi-ence is extremely valuable to special-needs students and would like more businesses to consider working with the district to offer placement. She added, “The business does need to be prepared to make a commitment—sometimes it takes 6-8 weeks of working with the district and the stu-dent to ‘ramp up’ for the experience.” (See also “Beyond the Classroom: A look at special-needs education” in this issue.)

Across the board, school districts and foundations welcome business participation and can point to many examples of community strength built by the liaison. Businesses in-terested in getting more involved should contact the school district, school board, or public- or private-school foundation.

CoLLaboration is key When resourCes are tightTerinne Berg points out that central-ized school districts are larger than individual or private schools, and the feasibility of creating a founda-tion for a single or private school depends upon the size of the school, how long it’s been in operation (and size of alumni base), and the proj-ect cost of operating the foundation. She suggests that private schools look for ways to tie in with each other or with existing foundations to be more efficient.

If people are involved in the schools, they’ll see firsthand the challenges and the needs and how they can help—not just the parents, but the whole community. —Terinne Berg, consultant and former superintendent to private-schools


The Dickinson Public Schools Foundation awarded Lincoln Elementary funds based on a grant request written by teacher Marisa Armstrong to provide Flip video cameras in classrooms to enhance education.

Some cities or areas have a “com-munity fund” which partners with educational nonprofits and projects to create efficiencies in gift manage-ment and accountability. For exam-ple, in Barnesville, MN, the Barnes-ville School Foundation is a fund within the larger Barnesville Area Community Fund which raises funds to provide books, computers, and equipment for the school and other education projects.

In addition to alumni and commu-nity support, a successful foundation needs to foster a strong relationship among the foundation, school dis-

trict, and students. Denise Laymon, executive director of the Thief River Falls Education Foundation, says their foundation has very strong re-lationships and nice representation from across school members includ-ing teachers, students and the school district. “The foundation meets regu-larly with the student senate, because they value the student’s input,” she said. Who better to understand cur-rent needs than students and teach-ers? And the result is that kids are more engaged with the school and with volunteer programs, keeping graduation levels high, better prepar-

ing students for work or college, and encouraging kids to stay in or come back to the region.

Berg says that it’s also important that board members of both schools and foundations are open to work-ing with the development part of the business. “Board members would be more effective if they were open to getting involved more directly with fundraising and development, and understand how they can facilitate it,” she says. She encourages boards to view development as a collabora-tive effort, not just one development person or group’s responsibility.

Beyond the Classroom:Alookatspecial-needseducation

By Roxane B. Salonen

As he walks across the playground with one of his students, Kevin Anderson smiles at the chorus of young voices ahead. The student indicates he’d like to join the circle of playing children. Anderson obliges, pushing the child’s wheelchair forward. But it stops at a stretch of rocky ground and they’re forced to turn back.

It’s a scene with which he’s all too familiar: getting close but not quite close enough.

Photos in “Beyond theClassroom”wereprovidedbyHopeIncorporatedandtheAnneCarlsenCenter


pecially in the areas of socialization and recreation.

“Schools do have adaptive physi-cal education but it doesn’t really help kids form a bond for teamwork and feel that sense of belonging that increases self esteem and self-confi-dence,” she says. “That’s where the nonprofits like us come in.”

Zeroing in on the social-growth component, Hope Inc. provides a variety of recreational opportunities for special-needs children, includ-ing baseball, hockey, downhill skiing, track, drama, swimming, roller-skat-ing and a mobility camp.

“A lot of these kids are isolated, but when they can get together with oth-er kids with similar disabilities...they feel that sense of normalcy,” she says.

‘CoMe into our WorLD’Grommesh refers to Hope Inc.’s ap-proach as backward inclusion. Chil-dren in wheelchairs are joined by their parents, siblings and able-bod-ied friends who also participate from “chairs.” “Everyone has to come into our world,” she says. “That way they can grow with us.”

For example, Hope Inc. children competed in a hockey game against a stand-up team, all of whom used sleds. “It opened up a wonderful dialogue because the stand-up team could only use their arms, not their legs,” Grommesh recalls. “We do it this way so others can understand that people in wheelchairs have the same hopes and dreams everyone else does. A kid is a kid is a kid.”

Although about 60 percent of chil-

For 24 years, Kevin An-derson has been working

as an educator and occupa-tional therapist for chil-dren with special needs,

traveling to various schools through-out Western Minnesota. In that time, he’s seen many significant laws come into being—laws meant to make the lives of his students better.

Opportunities have opened up, lives have been improved, but Ander-son dreams of more. “The state medi-cal assistance is there to provide basic needs like wheelchairs and hospital beds,” he says, “but making com-munities accessible, that’s a whole different need.”

He and other educators are work-ing hard to narrow the gap between able-bodied persons and those with disabilities even further so that some-day, those who cannot be assimi-lated into the community will have equal access.

untappeD potentiaL Anderson says the children in his care have an unfathomable amount of untapped potential. That’s why, for his dissertation, he’s research-ing innovative ways to better involve special-needs children in their com-munities. “We’re meeting the basic needs educationally, but we won’t ad-dress the full need if we only look at the school connection.”

Adair Grommesh, director of Hope Incorporated, Moorhead, MN, says schools are doing the best they can within their confines, but concurs that inequities remain, es-

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dren who participate in Hope Inc.’s programs cannot speak or push themselves in their wheelchairs, Grommesh says they deserve the same opportunities for growth as anyone. “Their smiles say it all. They’re no less of human beings because they have extreme disabilities.”

not aLWays visibLeThe disabilities that hold children back from fully partici-pating in school and life aren’t always visible to the eye, as Shannon Grave well knows through her work for The Village Family Service Center.

“The Village” is an organization that’s been helping families through its counseling and mentoring programs throughout North Dakota since 1891, and parts of Min-nesota in the last decade.

Grave works as a counselor specializ-ing in early childhood therapeutic support. She’s also the mother of Carsen, 9, who’s been receiving services for his Autism Spec-trum Disorders (ASD) diagnosis since he was a toddler.

According to the Center for Disease con-trol, about 1 in 110 American children fall within the ASDs continuum, and Graves says that those who do are more likely to lag in social and communications skills than academics.

As soon as her son’s diagnosis was known, Grave began looking for support, but quickly found that services lacked in the small Min-

nesota town where her family resided at the time. So she sought further education on her own to help him.

Now in North Dakota, the family has pulled together a solid team of professionals to help Carsen succeed—so much so that Grave calls him “the poster child of early intervention.”

“He used to have incredible meltdowns over relatively inane things. He was so poorly regulated, he would cry at everything,” Grave says, noting that the tantrums involved screaming, drooling and even vomiting.

But now, he’s a “delightful little guy who has a unique way of looking at the world.” He’s learned to hug and kiss and show love to the special people in his life. Most wouldn’t know he’s autistic by looking at him.

Unlike limitations of the school setting, at work, Grave


can leave her office and go out into the community with her older child-cli-ents to teach them life skills. Outings might include a trip to the grocery store or laundromat to teach them the “hidden rules of society” that many of us take for granted; for example, learning to sort laundry to avoid pink socks.

trenDs anD innovationsThe Anne Carlsen Center (ACC) in Jamestown has its own innovative ideas about how best to educate its children. Mary Lewis, a special edu-cation teacher and horticultural ther-apist for ACC, says much of the work accomplished at the center wouldn’t be possible without the private sector’s help.

Lewis uses plants and plant ma-terials and gardening to meet both therapeutic and educational-cogni-tive goals of students at the center. “We have a large school garden and several classrooms work together on it. In the fall we sell a lot of our

produce,” Lewis says. “The kids make lots of salsa, which we sell—we have our own farmer’s mar-ket. And the kids also eat quite a bit of what they grow. We’ve seen a lot of impact with this on our students.”

The program goes year round, thanks to a so-larium/greenhouse which allows for wintertime gar-dening. It’s also fairly unique to the Center in that it does not draw money from the general fund. “If people are interested in donat-ing supplies, seeds, pots and soil, it’s all very welcomed.”

The horticultural program isn’t the

We do it this way so others can understand that people in wheelchairs have the same hopes and dreams everyone else does. A kid is a kid is a kid. —Adair Grommesh

only one at the ACC that falls on the innovative side. Vi-sual support, especially with children on the autism spec-trum, is quickly becoming more widely used. “Not only do we give directions verbally but in picture sequences,” Lewis says. “So behaviorally, a new trend now is not to just react to someone’s behavior with a consequence but

MENTORINGStudents can spend time in businesses or throughout

the community and learn life and work skills along

the way.

HIRINGBusinesses open to hiring special-needs students

for appropriate work will help the students commit to

something long term and develop patience.

DONATING ITEMSContributors can donate specific items, such a hard-

ware, software, furniture and mobility equipment to

the special needs program.

Ideas for giving within the special-needs education sector beyond the widely-appreciated monetary donation might include:

Ideas

GivingFor

to help prepare that child so the behavior won’t happen to begin with.”

An example might be teaching children to stay calm during a fire drill. By creating a book in which the child is in the story exhibiting appropriate behavior, the child can more easily learn the desired behavior. “It’s powerful, and

DONATING SERVICESSome service professionals such as dentists,

hair stylists and clothing vendors have volun-

teered their services to enhance special-needs

students’ experiences.

VOLUNTEERING TIME/TALENT

Those non-profit organizations set up for volun-

teers eagerly welcome them. Hope Inc. is among

them, and whether it’s for office work or helping

with sports activities or drama productions, Grom-

mesh says, volunteering can be a good way to get

involved and make a connection with the heart of

the organization—the children.

Dunn adds that volunteering in schools can be difficult due to con-fidentiality issues, though there are many other ways to give. Contact your school-district office, founda-tion or private school to learn how you can help with specific needs. Many other non-profits heartily wel-come volunteers.

Anderson names TNT Fitness in Fargo and Riding on Angels Wings, a therapeutic horse-riding program in Felton, Minnesota, as other wor-thy regional organizations that help

children with spe-cial needs. He also suggests the Dakota Medical Founda-tion as a channel for giving because it commonly matches

public donations toward specific lo-cal organizations.

Grave named the United Way as being particularly helpful be-cause donors can designate where they want their money to go, in-cluding providing supplemental fi-nancial help for The Village clients without insurance.

It’s all about dedicating ourselves to what Grommesh calls “those positive bursts of energy,” the children among us. “We owe it to them to make a bet-ter life for them,” she says.

And being actively involved in the special-needs arena teaches others about being human. “We all need to be more aware that it’s not just about the disability,” Anderson says. “We’re all part of this world and we all de-serve to be fully involved in it.”

actually, all children respond to this method,” she says.

Lewis says the center also has taken advantage of the computer age, using everything from computer-activated voice output that helps students com-municate, to incorporating devices such as the iPod Touch and Apple’s iPad with special applications to aid students.

DireCting resourCes toWarD prograMsTechnology also helps donors more easily share financial resources. At the ACC, online giving is gaining momentum. Honor or memorial donations also can be given, as well as planned giving. With generous tax credits in place, everyone ben-efits. On the ACC site at www.an-necenter.org, donors can simply hit the “foundation” tab key to make their donation.

Ellen Dunn, work experience edu-cator for students with disabilities at both Fargo North and South high schools, says funding for spe-cial-needs edu-cation within the public schools system is gen-erally in good shape in North Dakota, but there’s always a need for addi-tional support since traditional funding covers only the basics.

FindOutMore!The Village Family Service Center: www.thevillagefamily.org/index.html

Hope Incorporated: www.hopeinconline.org/2010/

The United Way: www.liveunited.org/myuw/local.cfm

Riding on Angels’ Wings: www.ridingonangelswings.org/

TNT Kids Fitness: www.tntkidsfitness.com/specialneeds.html

The Anne Carlsen Center: www.annecenter.org

Summer 2010 Today’s Giving 19

Offering Hope and Opportunities for Area YouthAfter-schoolprogramsandtimewithmentorsarewinningstrategiesBy Tracy Faleide

It seems all too common these days to hear about school budgets being cut. As class sizes grow, so do the number of students with special health or lan-guage needs. School districts and teachers struggle as they’re asked to do more with less while conforming to increasingly complex testing requirements and performance standards. For families, times are equally tough. According to the latest KIDS COUNT data published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, too many youth in our region are considered “at risk” due to economic sta-tus, the presence of abuse and neglect, or behaviors like truancy and alcohol use. Across Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, an average of 14.6 percent of school-aged youth live in poverty. On average, 26.3 percent live in single-parent homes. Of youth aged 12 to 17, 12 percent report to have partici-pated in binge drinking. That percentage rises sharply to 54.6 percent for youth aged 18 to 25.

The KIDS COUNT data also contains great news for our region. For exam-ple, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota are among the nation’s lead-ing states when it comes to the percentage of freshmen who go on to graduate from high school, at 82, 86, and 84 percent respectively. And, we all can help to maintain and grow those percentages, along with the hopeful prospects for the young people in our communities.

Illustration byMike Biewer

saFe, FoCuseD aFter-sChooL aCtivities Can heLpAccording to Jeff Reznecheck, Prin-cipal at Centennial Elementary in Fargo, helping young people have the opportunity to participate in after-school programs to develop solid education habits is important. “Providing a supportive environ-ment in which a student can receive the necessary assistance and time to get their work completed is a pri-mary way families and organiza-tions can help complement efforts we have in place in the school districts,” said Reznecheck.

In the Fargo-Moorhead area, the Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley helps youth and fami-lies through a balanced approach to education. By providing after-school and summer programs like Project Learn, Power Hour, and Ju-nior Staff, the Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley is a strong partner with area school districts, as are other area youth-oriented or-ganizations, like Youthworks, Metro Youth Partnership, and Trollwood Performing Arts School.

young peopLe Do their best When they’re reaChing For goaLsAccording to Julie Otto, Program Di-rector of the Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley, young people do their best when they’re striving to reach goals. “No matter how high the standards are, they’re willing to work to achieve them,” said Otto. “So, we

might as well set the standards as high as possible.”

One of the challenges Otto sees youth facing is achieving balance and focus. “So many young people we work with come from single-parent families or families where both par-ents work,” said Otto. “They some-times have a hard time getting and staying organized. They get their homework done, but then forget to bring it to school. Working with our staff and volunteer mentors really helps them learn to take responsibil-ity for their actions.”

Otto is most excited about the growth in attendance since the Youth Commission, who serves thousands of Fargo-Moorhead area youth with before- and after-school and summer childcare programs, expanded the reach of their services by becoming a chartered Boys and Girls Club orga-nization late in 2008. By collaborat-ing with area colleges like Concordia, Minnesota State University Moor-head, and North Dakota State Uni-

versity, along with youth-oriented organizations like the Metro Youth Partnership, Otto and her staff are now offering structured mentoring programs to Club members.

“I just talked to one of our Club members last week who said he wants to go to Concordia College and become an engineer because his mentor attends Concordia,” said Otto. “He went on to say he hopes his college will have football or bas-ketball because he would like to play a sport.” Otto was describing a conversation with a second-grade student, who before working with a mentor hadn’t even considered going to college.

Success stories like these can be heard every day by staff, parents, youth, and teachers involved in, or benefitting from Boys and Girls Club programs. For example, in just three months after implementing the men-tor program, Otto reported that 67 percent of the youth participating had improved their grades in school.


“The Club members actually get excited about getting their home-work done,” said Otto. “They also re-ally work hard to be selected as Youth of the Month. We always talk about the behaviors and qualities we saw in the monthly award winners. It’s in-spiring to the young people and they try their best to emulate those behav-iors so they get that special recogni-tion in the future.”

In addition to mentoring and

schoolwork-focused programs, the Boys and Girls Club offers a variety of activities to ensure the Club mem-bers have a balanced approach to ed-ucation. Triple Play emphasizes good nutrition, regular physical activity, and improving overall well-being. Ju-nior Staff, which was recently intro-duced by Otto, helps Club members aged 13 to 18 explore careers in youth or human services by completing a Club staff apprenticeship.

siMpLy spenDing tiMe With young peopLe heLps theM DeveLop skiLLs anD FeeL iMportantWhile Otto is excited about the va-riety of nationally-proven programs they’re currently offering, and the ones they’re working to implement, like Keystone focused on helping Club members aged 14 to 18 develop leadership skills, she is thrilled daily by small successes. According to

Somewaystoturndailyactivitiesintofunlearningexperiencesinclude:• Otto suggested that parents or mentors could

involve young people in cooking or simple home repairs. “Young people love science and don’t get enough opportunities to explore in this area,” said Otto. “When you’re cooking, get them involved in measuring or stirring. When you are doing home repairs, give them problems to figure out by ask-ing them questions, like how many inches would that be if we cut it in half?”

• It’s likely you could find yourself playing a video game with a young person. Between rounds, you could ask your opponent how many points you’d have to score to catch up with him or her.

• If you’re out shopping with young people, ask them to help you keep track of the budget by add-ing or subtracting item amounts from your total.

• If you’re watching television with young people, take time to talk about situations and outcomes being shown. Express your thoughts about the relationship between choices, actions, and con-sequences to help them learn from your perspec-tive.


Otto, the most important thing par-ents, family, or community members can do to help young people thrive is to spend time with them, which helps them feel important. She also stresses the importance of making learning fun and turning daily activities into learning opportunities.

Young people learn by connect-ing their experiences to form under-standing. A greater variety of expe-riences yields a greater potential for learning. “Students, especially those whose first language isn’t English, often struggle with their learning be-cause they are limited in connecting

Visitthesesitestolearnmoreaboutorganizationsmentionedinthisarticle:• Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley and

Youth Commission www.bgcrrv.org• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Village Family

Service Center www.thevillagefamily.org• Metro Youth Partnership

www.metroyouthpartnership.org • Trollwood Performing Arts www.trollwood.org • Youthworks of Bismarck-Mandan and Fargo-

Moorhead www.youthworksweb.com

new learning to past experiences.” said Reznecheck. “Structured after-school programs that focus on all facets of learning, such as: cognitive, emotional, social, or physical, are tre-mendously helpful.”

While structured programs like the Boys and Girls Club, Youth C o m m i s s i o n , or Big Broth-ers Big Sisters aren’t available in all communi-ties across our region, there are

many other ways parents and com-munity members can help ensure kids have a variety of opportunities to learn and grow. Organizations like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, and churches can provide resources and tools for those in smaller communi-ties. School districts also are a good source for education and guidance.

“At the end of the day, what helps the most is simply spending time with young people,” said Otto. “I’ve heard so many people say they’re afraid to get involved because they don’t know what to say or do. The thing is—young people don’t care if you’re experienced or always know the right thing to say. They just want to spend time with you and know that they’re important to you.”

DON’T MISS A BEAT.


Higher Education: Keeping ND at the Top of the ClassStateuniversitysystemgradesarehighonnationalcurveforreturnonfundingBy Shannon Schweigert, Today’s Giving

Over the past decade, the decreasing power of the U.S. dollar and the increasing costs of a college education has left parents and students worried

about how they’ll bare the financial burden of postsecondary education. In the meantime, complex legislation at both the state and national level presents an annual struggle with the challenges of appropriating funding across all sectors of the economy. But those on the northern plains who can attend a North Dakota college or university—and those whose taxpayer dollars help support ND higher education—can at least be assured that they’ll get a higher return on their investment than most states.

In both national and worldwide recent reports, North Dakota’s university system has received top scores in higher-education productivity, which can be most simply defined as the funding required per certificate and degree produced statewide. That is, in the field of postsecondary education, North Dakota is making the most of each dollar and giving graduates a big bang for their buck.

the FaCts anD FiguresThe North Dakota University Sys-tem (NDUS) is ranked second in the nation in productivity according to The Delta Project on Postsecondary Education Costs, Productivity and Accountability. The project report shows that only Colorado exceeds North Dakota in productivity based upon return on investment factors such as educational attainment, de-grees produced in STEM fields (science, technol-ogy, engineer-ing, mathemat-ics), and impact on private sector industries within the state’s communities. North Da-kota ranks second behind South Dakota in percentage of STEM field degrees produced.1

Funding includes two primary sources provided to postsecondary institutions—state and local appro-priations, and tuition and fee rev-enues.

There were no tuition increases for

2009-10 at the state’s 2-year in-stitutions and increases were

held under 4 percent at 4-year schools. The na-tional average for in-state residents at four-year public institutions was 6.5 percent. (Source: Trends in Higher Edu-cation© 2009 The Col-lege Board) Average tuition at North Da-kota’s public four-year institutions in 2009-10 was $4,634 com-pared to $8,096 for

its Midwestern peers. (Source: ND Legislative

Council and Trends in Higher Education© 2009

The College Board) Richie Smith, president of the State

Board of Higher Education of North Dakota, notes that there are specific

areas needing attention if the state is to continue its national rise. North Dakota has moved from 51st to 47th in faculty compensation in recent years; an improvement, but a ranking that limits the state’s ability to attract key faculty in high-profile specialties.

Smith feels the state will soon sur-pass Minnesota and, with continued increases in appropriation invest-

ment from the state legislature, will soon lead the country. He has made it a priority. “We run a lean, produc-tive system,” states the Wahpeton at-torney who has served on the board since 2005, and will complete his term as president this year. “We’ve continued to operate under the as-sumption that we are the best value in education in the country. We’ve kept tuition increases at reasonable levels and in doing so have served state residents well and attracted out-of-state students.”

keeping higher eDuCation aFForDabLe through appropriations anD inCentive sChoLarshipsNDUS institutions have continuing appropriation authority for revenue collected from tuition, student fees, grants, gifts, donations, and campus

a u x -i l iar y services. The other funds appropria-tions for NDUS relate primarily to major capital projects funded from local sources or through the issuance of revenue bonds. (SOURCE: ND Legislative Council staff for Senator Robinson, June 2010) The ND state legislature has ramped up appropria-

Richie Smith, president of the State Board of Higher Education of North Dakota, notes that there are specific areas needing attention if the state is to continue its national rise.


student (full-time equivalent) at the state’s six four-year schools averaged $6,773 in 2009-11, and increased by an average of 14.2 percent from 2007-09 to 2009-11. The range across the six schools varied from a 0.5 percent decrease at Minot State University to a 22.2 percent increase at Dickinson State University. Minot State had the greatest enrollment growth by per-centage between the 2007-09 and 2009-11 bienniums at 15.6 percent, while across the four-year campuses enrollment grew by 14.2 percent.

Sen. Tony Grindberg of Fargo is a strong proponent of keeping tuition affordable and sponsored legislation in 2007 that intended to reward high academic achievement through state funded scholarships. His bill was adapted, with many parts becom-ing law in 2009 through efforts led by Sen. Tim Flakoll and members of the Commission on Education. (See article “5 Questions with Sen. Tim Flakoll” in this issue.) This legislation formed the North Dakota Career and Technical Education Scholarship and

tions in recent bienniums to support NDUS objectives. State-appropriated funds for higher education during 2007-09 and 2009-11 saw respective increases of 21.2 percent and 25.7 percent and totaled $593,296,143 for the most recent biennium. This represents 74 percent of the total $796,060,507 budgeted revenue for the NDUS. The remainder revenue is comprised of tuition, student fees, grants, gifts, donations and campus auxiliary services.

Higher education general fund per

* Other Funds include tuition, student fees, grants, gifts, donations and campus auxiliary services. Source: ND Legislative Council staff for Senator Robinson, June 2010.

$800,000,000

$700,000,000

$600,000,000

$500,000,000

$400,000,000

$300,000,000

$200,000,000

$100,000,000

$0Biennium

Other Funds *General Fund

$364,029,938

2003-2005

$ 110,546,775 $593,296,143

2003-2005

$ 202,764,364

$472,036,237

2003-2005

$ 165,419,701

$389,572,212

2003-2005

$ 178,552,108

North Dakota Higher Education Appropriation Funding


employed in the state are ways of do-ing this,” states Mathern.

Depth anD breaDth oF options skeWs ranking

North Dakota’s 48th ranking in to-tal funding per FTE student through appropriations in 2006-07 at first

the North Dakota Academic Schol-arship programs. Students graduat-ing from a North Dakota high school who meet the eligibility standards as set by the bill may receive a $750 per semester scholarship as long as they are enrolled full-time at an accred-ited higher education institution in North Dakota and maintain a 2.75 GPA. The scholarship is capped at $6,000 per student. Grindberg points out that this is an incentive pro-gram which rewards high academic achievement in high school and does not reward those that simply meet the minimum curriculum stan-dards required to graduate. “Quali-fiers must meet the program’s higher standards for total number of credit units earned, (24 v. 22) and we have specifically concentrated on requir-ing more units of math, science, and electives such as foreign language,” explains Grindberg. Qualifiers must also have obtained a “C” or bet-ter in each course that will count towards their diploma, a cumula-tive GPA of “B” or better, and have scored a 24 or higher on their ACT test. The North Dakota Superinten-dent of Public Instruction is respon-sible for certifying eligibility. (North Dakota Century Code 15.1-21-02.4 and 15.1-21-02.5)

Sen. Tim Mathern of Fargo sits on the Senate Appropriations Com-mittee and is also a member of the UND School of Medicine Council. He believes keeping tuition afford-able is important in giving recogni-tion to North Dakota taxpayers who provide the base support for higher

education. “We have made posi-tive strides in higher education. We need to build on this by partnering even more with North Dakota fami-lies and providing additional incen-tives for graduates to work in North Dakota. Increased tuition grants for students and tax credits for graduates

(Source for education attainment charts in ND and MN: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000)

Additional information: 44 percent of residents in the U.S. aged 25-34 have obtained degrees. Massachusetts leads the nation at 49 percent, followed by Minnesota at 47 percent. North Dakota ranks third behind Massachusetts and Minnesota in percent of populace that has attained tertiary education making it one of the most educated states in the nation. (Source: Education at a Glance, OECD 2008)

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0< 9th grade

600

0.8%3,400

4.4%

17,170

22.4%

21,898

28.6%

11,479

15.0%

18,632

24.3%

3,437

4.5%

some college no degree

associates degree

bachelor’s degree

graduate degree

high school diploma or GED

grades 9-12, no diploma

Levels of education for North Dakota residents, ages 25-34

200,000

160,000

120,000

80,000

40,000

0< 9th grade

13,099

2.0%

37,616

5.6%

139,177

20.7%

177,945

26.5%

71,575

10.7%

184,170

27.4%

47,450

7.1%

some college no degree

associates degree

bachelor’s degree

graduate degree

high school diploma or GED

grades 9-12, no diploma

Levels of education for Minnesota residents, ages 25-34


glance appears to directly contrast with its national rankings near the top in productivity and educated populace2. A closer look, however, reveals a statistical anomaly caused by the variety of educational op-portunities provided in serving the state’s constituency. Like California and Florida, ranked 49th and 50th, North Dakota operates a diverse sys-tem ranging from two-year technical programs, to four-year baccalaureate schools, to medical and law schools. States offering few options and con-centrating resources on its public four-year schools, like Wyoming and Alaska, rank near the top. Choos-ing support of broad-based educa-tion options better serves North Dakota’s citizens and the state’s econ-omy despite the initial appearance of disproportionate frugality among peer states.

the pLan For the FutureNDUS’s 2009-13 Strategic Plan and Objectives reflects Richie Smith’s conviction to move the state to the top of the nation in its overriding vi-sion when it states, “The North Da-kota University System drives the economic and social vitality for state residents by education the population to the highest level in the nation.” In

1999, the legislative Interim Higher Education Committee was expanded by Legislative Council to become the Roundtable on Higher Education, a group of state leaders from the public and private sectors that established new expectations for the NDUS. The plan addresses priorities in six key cornerstones:• Economic Development

Connection• Education Excellence• Flexible and Responsive System• Accessible System• Funding and Rewards• Sustaining the Vision

Each key cornerstone contains specific goals and objectives aimed at continuing the accessibility, effi-ciency and productivity of the sys-tem while increasing its return on investment to the state through its economic development capacity. (Source: A North Dakota University System for the 21st Century, The Re-port of the Roundtable for the North Dakota Legislative Council Interim Committee on Higher Education, May 25, 2000.)

aCCountabiLity Measures reportIn a June news release, NDUS Chan-cellor Bill Goetz commented on the 2009 Accountability Measures Re-port3, stating, “The North Dakota University System is deeply commit-

ted to meeting—and exceeding—the expectations of the people and state of North

Dakota. We have made remarkable progress since accountability mea-sures reporting began in 2001 and we will continue on this path of service to our state.” The report highlights the following findings for select component cornerstones: • Education Excellence: 63.6

percent of four-year uni-versity students completed degrees within six years com-pared with 57 percent nation-ally according to the National Center for Education Statistics (Source: www.nces.gov/edu).

• Flexible and Responsive System: 99.3 percent satisfaction with TrainND, North Dakota’s work-force training system.

• Accessible System: Fall 2009 headcount enrollment (full & part-time) was 45,817 which is the largest number of students ever served.

• Economic Development Connec-tion: Research grew by 24 percent during the past five years with $186.2 million in research expen-ditures in fiscal year 2009.

A copy of the Accountability Mea-sures Report is available at http://www.ndus.nodak.edu/Uploads/reports/465/2009-accountability-re-port-final.pdf

Between 1995-2000, North Dakota exported more than 400 engineers for employment in other states from its university system.


Centers For exCeLLenCe heLp Drive knoWLeDge transFer anD Create JobsThrough legislative action in 2005, the NDUS created the Centers for Excellence at its two research institu-tions. From this legislation sprang North Dakota State University’s Re-search & Technology Park and adopt-ed into the program was the existing University of North Dakota Center for Innovation. The purpose of the Centers for Excellence is to create high-wage, high-tech jobs and spur economic development in North Da-kota. Sen. Tony Grindberg, execu-tive director of the NDSU Research & Technology Park and an early advocate of leveraging resources of the NDUS for economic develop-ment in the state, says the inspiration for the Centers for Excellence came from several reports noting a leading economic indicator in forecasting a state’s business competitiveness was in its ability to convert research into production. In other words; knowl-edge transfer from innovation to production creates industry and jobs. “Where better to invest in economic development for North Dakota than where the talent lies; our research in-stitutions,” surmises Grindberg.

Between 1995-2000, North Dakota exported more than 400 engineers for employment in other states from its university system. The state’s rank near the top in production of STEM degrees and its inability to employ them in-state is noted by researcher Patrick J. Kelly in reference to Indi-

ana, South Dakota and North Dako-ta. “These three states rank very well among states in STEM production and, therefore, the larger issue they face is the creation of an economy that can employ their graduates.” (Kelly, p. 17) This is something that Grindberg, and his compatriot at UND’s Center for Innovation Bruce Gjovig, want to be reversed. They not only see a North Dakota that is able to retain its STEM degrees through eco-nomic development in technological industries; they have been successful in attracting to North Dakota exist-ing companies from within these industries. Triton Systems, a Massa-chusetts-based company is a leading producer of polymer compounds for the U.S. Department of Defense that recently became a client of the NDSU Research & Technology Park.

Entrepreneur Brian Gramer be-lieves incubating home-grown com-panies right here in North Dakota is the best way to create jobs in the technology sector. Gramer is CEO of Avenue Right, a marketing technol-ogy company founded in 2008 that is a client of the NDSU Research & Technology Park. Gramer credits the infrastructure provided by the park as allowing him to grow his busi-ness, focus on product development, and create jobs without the nor-mal hassles a start-up goes through. “We’ve grown from three employees to twenty- five without having to move out of the Incubator. Each time we’ve needed more space, phone lines, etc. it’s been right here for us. We can concentrate on growing our ndscs.edu | 1-800-342-4325

Wahpeton | Fargo | Online

When we say,

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we’re talking about what it takes to prepare people just like you, from small and big towns across our region, for success in the real world.

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business.” Avenue Right is Gramer’s third technology start-up company. He founded and later sold Anycol-lege.com, a niche college search en-gine, as well Vtrenz, a marketing automation technologies software-as-a-service (SaaS) company. Gjovig points to Grand Fork’s Meridian En-vironmental Technology, Inc. as an example of a home-grown company built through UND’s incubator sys-tem. Meridian, a leading provider of atmospheric and earth sciences data, began in 1996 with three employ-ees all of whom were researchers at UND. What started in UND’s Tech Incubator has now graduated to the Tech Park where Meridian employs 60 high-tech personnel. Referring to the success at UND and NDSU, Gjo-vig points out their unique missions,

“Each plays to their strengths based on existing talent. For us its informa-tion technology, aerospace sciences, environmental and bio sciences; at NDSU its nano-technologies, poly-mer science and agri-science.” Gjovig states that among America’s 4,000 higher education research institu-tions, there are only 200 research and technology parks like those at UND and NDSU. “North Dakota is among the leaders in the concept of knowl-edge transfer leading the way for eco-nomic development.”

attraCting private investMent The Centers for Excellence are ex-pected to attract private investors to enhance the sustainability of opera-tions. The legislature requires two-

dollars in matching funds for each dollar that the state allocates through the department of commerce. At least fifty cents of the two dollars in matching funds must come from the private sector. The remaining bal-ance may be in the form of federal grants, state grants, research con-tracts, and a number of other fund-ing options. One common funding method is gifts from private individ-uals. Laura Block is the chief financial officer at the UND Foundation which oversees management of the endow-ment and investments for the UND Center for Innovation. She believes the Center’s donors are looking for three factors for their giving: that it is a sound investment which will pro-duce a return, that the organization is utilizing its resources efficiently, and

Coming to Clay County:150 Years of Immigration

Augustus Frederick ShermanEllis Island Portraits

A new in-house exhibit focusing on immigrant life in Clay County and the region from the 1850s to today

Tuesday, August 10 through 2011

A traveling exhibition courtesy of Aperture Foundation and Statue of Liberty National Monument/Ellis Island Immigration Museum

Now through Sunday, September 12

Museum Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–5pm Sun Noon–5pm Tues 9am–8pm

Archives Hours: Mon–Fri 10am–5pm Tues 10am–9pm

HjemkomstCenter2021stAve.N.,Moorhead,MN

218-299-5511•www.hcscconline.org


that their dollars are used to enhance the state’s contribution and not used to replace it. “The Center’s donors are investors who look at their giv-ing as investments, they want a rate of return,” declares Block. Assum-ing current productivity within the NDUS and its Centers for Excellence holds true and continues to grow, donors will continue to receive a tremendous return.

“The North Dakota University System is responding to the needs of North Dakota now more than ever. With thousands of job openings across the state in a wide variety of classifications, the system is working hard to respond to those these needs.

We have found that in most cases, training and growing our own is the way to go when it comes to filling those positions. The NDUS is clearly a tremendous asset to our state. It has become an economic engine and a key component to the quality of life we enjoy here in North Dakota,” states Sen. Larry Robinson of Valley City. Robinson serves on the senate appropriations committee as well as the interim higher education and workforce committees, and is the di-rector of development at Valley City State University.

“To deal with our $15 million deficit, Olsen moves to: ‘Relax, take deep breaths, and think really, really, really good thoughts.’ Is there a second?”

CartoonprovidedtoToday’sGivingbynational-award-winningeditorialcartoonistSteveStark.

Works Cited:

1Copyright ©2009, Delta Project on Postsecondary Education Costs, Productivity, and Accountability.2Kelly, Patrick J., The dreaded “P” word, Delta Cost Project white paper series, Copyright ©2009, Delta Project on Postsecondary Education Costs, Productivity, and Accountability.3Investing in North Dakota’s Future: 2009 Accountability Measures Report, North Dakota University System.


NDSCS provides Training for In-Demand SkillsAssociatedegreesfromtechnical,two-yearandstatecollegeshelpfulfillregion’sneeds

North Dakota State College of Sci-ence (NDSCS) president Dr. John Richman is leading a charge to help reverse decades of “incomplete” mes-sages to North Dakota’s youth tout-ing success as a destiny that requires them to “get off the farm, leave your hometown, get a four-year degree and move out of state.” Those long-held beliefs obscure the opportuni-ties available through the quality, well-paying careers two-year techni-cal degrees can provide. Richman’s outreach team is facilitating a multi-

faceted effort that includes curricu-lum development and accessibility, facility upgrades, corporate partner-ships, and better visibility of the vi-able careers that exist right here in North Dakota.

responDing to inDustry neeDsRegional industry relies on skilled training that colleges like NDSCS provide. “Our philosophy at NDSCS is that our customers are business and industry, and our product is our

graduates,” Richman says. Incoming chair of the North Dakota Cham-ber of Commerce Fran Romsdal of Jamestown is a long-time advocate of NDSCS’s programs. Romsdal—the president of agri-implement dealer-ship Central Sales, Inc. and member of the Diesel Tech Advisory Board at NDSCS—says, “I believe our vo-cational schools are producing the work force we need in North Da-kota. Young people wanting to live and work in North Dakota need to realize that the majority of jobs we

By Shannon Schweigert, Today’s Giving


have here now are in technical and skilled careers”.

partnering With inDustryRecruiting, producing, and retain-ing highly-skilled workers have led to many corporate partnerships that have infused scholarship fund-ing and spurred capital expansion. Companies like John Deere, Butler Machinery, Snap-on Industrial, Haas Manufacturing, and Bobcat have worked with NDSCS to ensure there continues to be a well-trained work force available to fill technical posi-tions. Advances in technology and costs associated with exposing stu-dents to the latest innovations have created a gap between what can be covered through traditional revenues from state funding and tuition and what is needed to properly prepare students for a highly-technical work-place. Private industry is helping close that gap through a number of NDSCS business partnership initia-tives. In all, thirty eight companies currently provide financial support through programs ranging from scholarships, employee sponsorship programs, tools and software, in-

ternships and cooperative-education opportunities. The list of business partners continues to grow and pri-vate funding will play a pivotal role as NDSCS plans to expand facili-ties and the curriculum in its Diesel Tech program.

preparing For stuDent suCCessKyle Davison’s role as interim direc-tor of college outreach at NDSCS includes preparing high-school stu-dents for success in a rigorous techni-cal curriculum, as well as helping em-ployers prepare their workforce for upward mobility through TrainND, a state-wide workforce training initia-tive founded by the state legislature in 1999 and delivered to industry through the NDUS . He coordinates a secondary tech program offered in 35 southeast North Dakota high schools that provides students the online op-portunity to earn dual credit (high school and college) through general and technical courses. He also over-sees NDSCS’s Early College Part-nership offered through West Fargo High School, which allows student to complete their first year of college towards their associate’s degree while

still in high school. Davison states the purpose of each program is to, “allow students exposure to higher level academic classes to better pre-pare them for success in technical programs.” This past academic year was only the second year the Early College program was offered, and 50 students enrolled.

aDvanCeD trainingThe North Dakota University Sys-tem’s 2009 Accountability Measures Report notes 98 percent satisfaction among employers and employees re-ceiving training through TrainND. Davison’s responsible for TrainND in the southeast quadrant of the state and feels the high praise is due to three important factors:• The strong relationships each unit

has fostered with business and industry

• The open communications be-tween clients and trainers about how each can become more productive

• The high quality of trainers both on staff and third party


Q. What are the primary

sources of revenue

funding North Dakota’s

University System

(NDUS)?

Tuition and state appropriations have and will continue to be the top sourc-es of funding for higher education.

One area that is often overlooked in the overall funding for higher edu-cation is the more than $200 million per year that comes to North Dakota in the form of research and grant funds. A good portion of those come from national foundations that target specific areas of work.

Not only do these funds help pro-duce people with graduate degrees to meet workforce needs, but a signifi-cant portion of those external funds are used to help support the campus mission as a whole. In North Dakota, 20-40 percent of the indirect costs go to campuses to help pay for an array of related costs. These external dol-lars also play a major role in the fi-nancial support of graduate students (stipends).

District44SenatordiscussespublichighereducationfundinginNorthDakotaBy Shannon Schweigert, Today’s Giving

The fourth major source of fund-ing is from foundations that are tied to specific campuses. Those funds help us recruit and retain our best and brightest, and can help with bricks and mortar projects to ensure we have safe and high-quality class-rooms and equipment.

Q. What has been the

trend in North Dakota

regarding the blend

of appropriations and

tuition revenue? Is there

a formula followed

by the legislature in

determining the mix?

In the past 30 years, the percentage of total funding from state appro-priations has been reduced. While tuition has risen in North Dakota, it continues to be very reasonable when compared to most other states. State funding in North Dakota has risen significantly in the past two biennia with an emphasis on strategic invest-ments in areas that match with our economic development strategies.

5 Questions with

Senator Tim Flakoll

State appropriations help us quick-ly develop programs in growth sec-tors more-so than tuition can. State appropriations will continue to have a significant mix of one time invest-ments that allow us to improve edu-cation, provide more efficient and usable facilities and establish a col-laborative environment for higher education to partner with business and K-12 education.

There is no magic blend or per-centage of tuition, state or federal support, and private funding. Policy makers must not lose sight of the common good that higher education does for our state and region. They should continue to back that with funding support.

Tuition and fees help ensure that students and programs have quality faculty and exposure to specific skill sets that are needed in today’s dy-namic workplace.

Sen. Tim Flakoll (R-ND) is the provost for Tri-College University (a consortium between NDSU, Minnesota State Uni-versity Moorhead and Concordia Col-lege) and Director of Operations for the NDSU Downtown Campus. Flakoll has served on the North Dakota Senate Edu-cation Committee since 1998 and the Midwestern Higher Education Compact since 1999, and has also served on the

Interim Higher Education committee, the ND Commission for Edu-cation Improvement, the Round Table for Higher Education, and the Vocational Training Center Board of Directors. His awards include the NDSU Preferred Professor award, the NDSU Outstanding Organiza-tion Advisor award, the Children’s Champion award and Five Out-standing Young North Dakotans Awards.

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Q. What are the

challenges involved

with maintaining an

affordable tuition

structure?

In recent years, legislators in various states in the country have put into place a number of policies to hold down the rate of increases in tuition. In North Dakota we were injecting

Send completed form to:Today’s Giving1407 1st Avenue NorthFargo, ND 58102

record new dollars for higher educa-tion. As a result, we have frozen tu-ition increases at two-year campuses and limited increases at four-year campuses to 5 percent per year.

Other states have even launched programs to guarantee that if you enroll at their campuses that your tu-ition will remain at the same level for up to four years.

The challenge in limiting tuition includes that challenge to ensure that there are adequate funds to retain quality faculty and programs.

Q. What are the

legislature’s priorities

for the NDUS and

how will they be best

implemented?

In North Dakota, we have and must continue to align our education with economic development strategies. We must remain nimble and provide

the flexibility to allow campuses to rapidly move to meeting priorities.

We are also working to improve the seamless alignment of K-12 and higher education and the workplace. We have developed greater rigor in K-12 to better prepare students for higher education. Currently more than 30 percent of North Dakota high school graduates take a least one remedial class in college and we must reduce that number. To help, we have put in place greater rigor, especially in the math area and have provided legislation where students can get up to $6,000 in merit based college scholarships if they meet the increased rigor requirements.

North Dakota has a trust fund of more than $1 billion for K-12 educa-tion and there will be legislation that I will help introduce in the 2011 ses-sion to develop an endowment type fund for our new merit based schol-

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arships. It is estimated that 60 percent of the scholarships could be funded after 10 years with the initiative.

We are currently talking about the roles that campus foundations play in higher education and their interaction with campuses in the University System.

Q. What role will each

respective institution’s

foundation arms

play in meeting NDUS

objectives?

Foundations play an essential role in higher education and their value has been recognized for more than 100 years in America. Foundations play a vital role in campus quality and can help universities and colleges go from good to great. Foundations can help fill the need in an area that has lacked state funding support. Since foundations rely on individuals and business leaders, those donors can strengthen or grow programs in pri-ority areas.

Campuses can only achieve their greatest impact if they have a sophis-

ticated and successful foundation. Foundations will become more and

more vital to the mission of a cam-pus. Development directors will be key players in helping fulfill campus missions and improving our entire university system. The hiring of great development directors or foundation heads will be critical to success.

There are more than 1,500 private foundations that support public uni-versities and colleges in America. But each campus will need to work hard to partner with individual donors so that campus missions can be met.

Foundations across the country will be looked at to help fill that gap in funding as the percentage of state funding declines. Without the sup-port of foundations, individual cam-puses will not be able to fully meet their goals and expectations.

In the future, higher education foundations will be expected to pro-vide more transparency as policy makers try to better understand the whole funding picture for each cam-pus and of university systems.

The Living Learning Center on the

campus of North Dakota State

University. Photo courtesy of

Chris Butler.


How often have you asked your-self what the ultimate key to

success is in the fundraising or de-velopment process? Group activi-ties are fun and often the first step in identifying those individuals with an affinity for your organization or business. However, “development” is ultimately about the individual. The goal at Bemidji State University (BSU) Foundation and many other institutions is to make friends and build allies one at a time. Everything

else in the system works because of that solid relationship. There are no shortcuts.

The job of a major gift officer, af-ter identifying potential donors by capacity and interest, is to then take them from simple “affinity” toward “commitment” to the organization. In other words, after the group activ-ity has brought people back in touch, how do you create a lifetime rela-tionship with specific individuals ef-fectively? It will be different for each donor, as no two donors have the ex-act same passions. There are several interactive opportunities on the table for just such a purpose.

One common way to build commit-ment is to simply recognize key indi-viduals for their accomplishments. In a university setting, it might be an outstanding alumni award, induc-

tion into an athletic hall of fame or serving as an honorary team captain for a program. While it’s never rec-ommended to use this technique just for the giving potential of someone who has not earned the award, you definitely want to use the opportu-nity to create a special experience for that individual.

Leadership opportunities in ser-vice to the organization can make a great impression on a potential donor. Do you have room on your board of directors or an alumni class committee? Can you place them as an honorary or active co-captain for a major event? Investments of time equate to a desire by that individual to see your organization succeed—and a deep commitment to help make that happen.

Many high-achieving donors

Buildingrelationships,onestepatatime

Fundraising Insights fromFoundation

Special feature by Rob Bollinger (Executive Director, BSU Advancement) and the BSU Foundation team at Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN


look for an opportunity to help you achieve your mission. BSU’s vision is “Shaping Potential, Shaping Worlds”. To a high-achieving alumnus who is used to building a business or orga-nization, being asked to share their experience and knowledge with stu-dents is a powerful affinity builder.

One of BSU’s most important mis-sion/relation building tools is the Alumni Leaders in the Classroom program. In a cross-campus collabo-ration with academic departments, a panel of distinguished alumni and friends of the university is assembled to speak to students who plan to en-ter the speakers’ same fields of em-ployment. The impact on both the students and the panelists over the course of an hour is immeasurable—often stirring great passion in even the most successful alumni.

Rob Bollinger has served as the Executive Director for University Advancement for BSU since April 2006. Prior to his current position, he served as the Director of Athletic Development at the Uni-versity of North Dakota Foundation for 10 years. In addition, Bollinger served on the football coaching staff at the University of North Dakota for 15 years.

This framework of individual re-lationship development also has room for stewardship activities. Af-ter all, after a gift has been given is not the time to stop the development process. The BSU Foundation gives personal recognition and maintains giving societies for annual gifts, cu-mulative giving, and planned gifts. Each of these societies provides an opportunity to have the university’s

leaders personally thank donors in front of other friends and donors—which reinforces the connection be-tween them all.

No matter which tools you use in your organization, always keep in your mind that each donor wants to make a difference. The more personal and effective you can make that in-volvement, the stronger and happier will be both sides of the relationship!

Honorary Beaver Alumni Football Captains 2009. Left to Right: Jake Anderson #24 SR, Karlstad, MN, Don Schmeckpeper (BSU football: 1946-47-48), Buster Spaulding (BSU football 1941-42), Andrew Schultz #9 JR, Grand Forks, ND (Central HS), Bill Howe (BSU football: 1949-50-51) and Derek Edholm #8 JR, Ramsey, MN (Anoka HS).


Nonprofits & OrganizationsThefollowinglistincludesmostgroupsfeaturedinthisissueofToday’sGiving.Visitwww.todaysgiving.comtoviewmoreinformationaboutnonprofitsandotherorganizationsinyourregion.

Minnesota

RidingonAngels’Wings5062 120th Ave N, Felton, MN 56536218-359-0007 www.ridingonangelswings.org

MoorheadAreaEducationFoundation2300 4th Ave S, Moorhead, MN 56560www.moorhead.k12.mn.us/maef

ParkChristianSchool300 17th St N, Moorhead, MN 56560218-236-0500 www.parkchristianschool.org

TrollwoodPerformingArts801 50th Ave SW, Moorhead, MN 56560218-477.6500 | www.trollwood.org

ThiefRiverFallsEducationFoundation230 Labree Ave S, Theif River Falls, MN 56701218-681-8711 www.trfeducationfoundation.com

OttoBremerFoundationSuite 2250, 445 Minnesota Street, St. Paul, MN 55101888-291-1123 | www.ottobremer.org

AlexandriaTechnicalCollegeFoundation1601 Jefferson St, Alexandria, MN 56308

MetroYouthPartnership810 4Th Ave S, Ste 147, Moorhead, MN 56560218-299-KIDS | www.metroyouthpartnership.org

HopeInc803 22Nd Ave S, Moorhead, MN 56560www.hopeinconline.org/2010

BemidjiStateUniversityFoundation1500 Birchmont Drive NE, Bemidji, MN 56601800-475-2001 | www.bsualumni.org

TheNorthwestMinnesotaFoundation4225 Technology Dr NW, Bemidji, MN 56601

north east north Dakota

UNDCenterforInnovation3501 Demers Avenue, Grand Forks, ND 58202701-777-3132 | www.innovators.net

UniversityofNorthDakotaFoundation3100 University Ave, Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND 58202800-543-8764 | www.undfoundation.org

north West north Dakota

MinotPublicSchoolsFoundation215 2nd St SE, Minot, ND 58701701-857-4400 | www.minot.k12.nd.us/education/school/school.php

MinotAreaCommunityFoundation15 2Nd Ave SW, Ste 102, Minot, ND 58701

NorthwestEstatePlanningCouncilIncPo Box 1548, Minot, ND 58701

south east north Dakota

AsanteNetworkPO Box 722, Valley City, ND 580721-888-627-4543 www.asantenetwork.org

ValleyCityStateUniversity101 College Street SW, Valley City, ND 58072800-532-8641 | www.vcsu.edu

YoungPeople’sHealthyHeartProgram,MercyHospital570 Chautauqua Boulevard, Valley City, ND 58072701-845-6456 | www.healthyheartprogram.com

NorthDakotaStateCollegeofScience800 Sixth Street N, Wahpeton, ND 58076701-671-2131 | www.ndscs.edu

NDSUResearchTechnologyPark,Inc.1854 NDSU Research Circle N, Fargo, ND 58102701-449-3600 www.ndsuresearchpark.com

NorthDakotaStateUniversityDevelopmentFoundation1241 N University Dr, Fargo, ND 58102701-231-6800 | ndsufoundation.com

Fargo-MoorheadAreaFoundation502 1st Ave N Ste 202, Fargo, ND 58102701-234-0756 | www.areafoundation.org


*Although we try our best to provide the most current information in Today’s Giving, from time to time our records are not accurate. Please let us know at anytime if we need to change your organization’s information.

BoysandGirlsCluboftheRedRiverValleyandYouthCommission2500 18th Street S, Fargo, ND 58103701-235-2147 | www.bgcrrv.org

PreservationNorthDakota417 Main Ave, Suite 402, Fargo, ND 58103701-356-3001 | www.prairieplaces.org

TNTKidsFitness2800 Main Ave, Fargo, ND 58103701-365-8868 | www.tntkidsfitness.com/specialneeds.html

Giving+Learning5300 12th St. S, Fargo, ND 58104701-271-7532 | www.givinglearning.org

TheAnneCarlsenCenter701 3rd St NW, Jamestown, ND 58401701-252-3850 | www.annecenter.org

FargoPublicSchoolsDevelopmentFoundation415 4Th St N, Fargo, ND 58102 www.fargoschoolsfoundation.org

NorthDakotaAutismCenterInc4733 Amber Valley Pkwy, Ste 200, Fargo, ND 58104701-277-8844 | www.ndautismcenter.org

BigBrothersBigSistersoftheVillageFamilyServiceCenterPO Box 9859, Fargo, ND 58103701-235-3328 www.thevillagefamily.org

VillageFamilyServiceCenterPO Box 9859, Fargo, ND 58103701-235-3328 www.thevillagefamily.org

RedRiverValleyEstatePlanningCouncilPO Box 9904, Fargo, ND 58104www.rrvepc.org

south West north Dakota

NorthDakotaEducationAssociation410 East Thayer Ave, Bismarck, ND 58102701-223-0450 | www.ndea.org

BismarckPublicSchoolsFoundation806 N Washington Street, Bismarck, ND 58501701-323-4000 | www.bismarck.k12.nd.us/district/alumni-association

NorthDakotaUniversitySystem600 E Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505701-328-2960 | www.ndus.edu

NorthDakotaCommunityFoundationPO Box 387, Bismarck, ND 58102701-222-8349 | www.ndcf.net

NorthDakotaAssociationOfNonprofitOrganizationsIncPO Box 1091, Bismarck, ND 58102888-396-3266 | www.ndano.org

TheGodsChildProjectSouthCentralPO Box 1901, Bismarck, ND 58102 www.GodsChild.org

WesternDakotaEstatePlanningCouncilIncPO Box 1914, Bismarck, ND 58102

UniversityOfMary7500 University Dr, Bismarck, ND 58104701-255-7500 | www.umary.edu

Lewis&ClarkFortMandanFoundationPO Box 607, Washburn, ND 58577877-462-8535 | www.fortmandan.org

DickinsonPublicSchoolsFoundation444 4th St W, Dickinson, ND 58602701-456-0002 www.dickinson.k12.nd.us/foundation

DickinsonStateUniversityFoundation230 8th Ave W, Dickinson, ND 58601701-483-2004 | www.dsufamily.com

TheEnchantedHighwayPO Box 184, Regent, ND 58650701-563-6400 www.enchantedhighway.net

regional or national

TheCollegeBoard6111 North River Road, Suite 550, Rosemont, IL 866-392-4086 | www.collegeboard.com

AssociationOfFundraisingProfessionalsNorthernPlainsChapter24204 270th St NW, Warren, MN 56762 [email protected] | 218-745-6008 http://afpnorthdakota.afpnet.org

TheUnitedWayMultiple locations throughout the region www.liveunited.org/myuw/local.cfm

YouthworksofBismarck-MandanandFargo-Moorheadwww.youthworksweb.com

LuminaFoundationforEducation30 South Meridian Street, Suite 700, Indianapolis, IN 46204800-834-5756 www.luminafoundation.org


Guiding Our

YouthAre we creatingGeneration “Me”?

The English writer G.K. Chesterton called education “simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” Those of us who serve in colleges and universities are right to concern ourselves with quality career preparation and great job placement for our students. We do pass along skill and competence. But we should also pass along “soul,” and education falls short unless it attends carefully to this other, less tactical aspect of teaching and learning. To serve our students well, we begin by acknowledging that each one has an inner life, an arena within where the struggle for purpose and meaning takes place.

Special feature by Father James P. Shea, President, University of Mary


education: a growing culture of in-tense individualism.

The students now headed for the classrooms and laboratories of our colleges and universities have as much to bring as any generation. They are bright, talented, and full of prom-ise. They are eager to learn. But in my experience as their teacher, chaplain, and now as a university president, there is also an anxiety which hangs over them, an uncertainty or grief of some kind. It is difficult to name and sometimes hard to see, but I believe it to be unmistakably real and derived from this culture of individualism.

It’s foolhardy to generalize, but I think it could be said that most of our students today have received from their parents and teachers an

upbringing characterized by remark-able nurturing and encouragement. From the very beginning, they have been told how special they are. Such affirmation is beautiful and tremen-dously well-intentioned, but it some-times has a darker effect. I could il-lustrate this in a hundred ways, but one memory springs readily to mind.

A 17-year-old once showed me a card he had received from his father. It read, “Son, you will never know how much I admire and respect you. You are my hero.” I’m not really sure that a young man knows what to do with something like that. Such words may support and flatter him at one level, but they create unrest in another part of him. If the adults in your life ad-mire you with such intensity, whom

This requires a kind of wakefulness, especially on the part of those col-leges and universities who under-stand the formation and education of the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—as fundamental to our mis-sion. We approach our students with a concern for the societal and per-sonal pressures they face, striving to understand the particular challenges young people now grapple with in both the world outside and the world within. These young people are more than consumers to be analyzed and courted for the benefit of our recruit-ment and retention goals. In that spirit, I offer just a few thoughts about one of the more unsettling trends in the way we tend to think and talk about this age group and their “

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Jack Eardley made his living building the power grid.“The flow of power really is the flow of information. And public television is one of the best sources.”

Jack included his public broadcasting station in his will. Consider joining the community of people who want public media to span generations.

For more information about making a bequest to Prairie Public, or to request our free booklet, “How to Make a Will That Works,” please contact Prairie Public’s director of development, Ann Clark, at 701-241-6900. www.prairiepublic.org


are you supposed

to admire? How did you get

to be so amazing anyway? And maybe

you’ve been wondering about this for a long time:

when you’re nine and your parents take off a week of work

to drive you to a soccer tournament five states away, a part of you might genuinely wonder if they don’t have anything else to do. The other part of you feels this anxious pressure to perform in what was supposed to be a fun game among kids.

In fact, such intensity of individual encouragement from teachers and parents

can have an unforeseen nega-tive effect. Because of the way we

are put together at the level of the soul, we can be more deeply con-

soled by the reassurance that we belong to a stable and meaningful

community than by individual assur-ances that we are somehow terrific and special. For when you are made to feel exquisitely unique without being made to feel like you belong to something greater than yourself, you are left pretty much all alone. A genuine experience of commu-nity and family serves to cultivate healthy self-worth more effectively than a campaign to nurture a young person’s ego.

In some troubling ways, the higher education community has taken up the chorus. We know, and the mar-ket research tells us, that our young people have been conditioned by and are attuned to aggressive encourage-ment and affirmation. And so this

shows up in re-cruiting mailings

and advertising campaigns. Along major interstates and highways are billboards with clever, individualist messaging: “You Can Do It All,” “The College of Me,” “YOUniversity.” The approach is to flatter and stroke the young ego.

On one hand, it’s hard to blame an institution for taking this ap-proach. Individualist praise is ef-

fective with today’s young people; it speaks to them. But it doesn’t speak to the best in them. And it exploits that which is already vulnerable. This rising generation is more “connect-ed” than ever before, with technology delivering both entertainment and education directly to individuals in amazing new ways. But these changes have also left them with a profound experience of social isolation, which then often gives rise to an inchoate yearning to realign the focus and energy of their lives to something greater than themselves. Assisting them to do this, to shift the direction of their innate search for meaning from themselves to the greater good, is one of the most critical services a college or university can provide for our students. And such efforts will have a profound effect upon their long-term happiness and their future leadership potential.

Rather than telling our students re-lentlessly that there’s no limit to what they can do, that they should shoot for the stars and follow their dreams, we might acknowledge that often a young person has no idea what he or she wants. That’s one of the more charming things about being young.

A genuine experience of community and family serves to cultivate healthy self-worth more effectively than a campaign to nurture a young person’s ego.


And, after all, questions about their own dreams and what they want don’t adequately address the incredible po-tential of every human life. For our students are capable of so much more than just their own contentment. In-stead, we might find ways to send a different message, to say something like this: “You were placed in this world by love to do something of tre-mendous importance and value, and your happiness and the joy you bring to others depends urgently upon dis-covering your calling and purpose. Your life is not all about you. It’s your life, yes it is, but it’s not about you. In the end, the true meaning of your life will become clear only when you find a way to give yourself away.”

“It’s not about you.” Believe it or

not, my experience is that young people are incred-ibly relieved and grateful to receive that message. It’s liberating finally to hear that the meaning and pur-pose of life can be sought and discovered by engaging deeply in the lives of others, not just fabricated in the loneliness and noise of one’s own mind. A self-seeking life quickly degenerates into one empty thing after another. But a life of self-gift and generous service brings true experiences of friend-ship and community, the promise of genuine fulfillment, and a sense of profound inner peace. In a culture of intense individualism, where will our young people hear that their life is not

about them? Someone should speak up. As today’s colleges and universi-ties participate in the passing of the soul of our society to a new genera-tion, we can meet this challenge with a strong and hopeful voice, a voice committed to the genuine happiness of our students and to the very best of our own proud heritage.

Father James P. Shea, originally from Hazelton, North Dakota, assumed the presidency of the University of Mary in Bismarck on July 1, 2009. He began his undergraduate work at Jamestown College, and then entered the seminary for the Diocese of Bismarck, earning a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree / pontifical licentiate in philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He continued his education at the North American College at the Vatican, studying theology at the Gregorian and Lateran universities in Rome. Father Shea is also an alumnus of the Institutes for Higher Education at the Graduate School of Education, Harvard University. He has worked with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity at the Gift of Peace AIDS Hospice, taught religion at two inner-city elementary schools in Washington, D.C., and in Rome served as chaplain at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital and the Cen-

ter for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas. Following his ordination, Father Shea was an associate pastor in Bismarck and Mandan, and chaplain and instructor at St. Mary’s Central High School in Bismarck. Most recently, Father Shea served as pastor to parishes in Killdeer and Halliday, and taught at Trinity High School in Dickinson. Deeply committed to Catholic education, he has been an inspirational teacher and men-tor to students in the Diocese of Bismarck. Father Shea currently serves on the National Advisory Council to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.


To sustain financial success during the current economic recession and over the long haul, many private and faith-based schools must re-examine key components and adjust fund-ing methods and operations. This article highlights important factors for private schools to consider in managing finances.

Financial components for private

Financial Success for Faith-Based SchoolsSpecial feature by Cordell G. Dick, CPA, CFRE

schools can be compared to a four-legged stool, with a strong and clear mission as the seat.

Once the mission has been defined or refined, private schools should ex-amine the “four legs of the stool”—namely proper tuition rates, proper compensation, adequate financial aid, and a commitment to school development and fundraising ef-

forts—to ensure key components are in place and prioritized to achieve the mission. In addition, all commit-ted partners must keep in mind legs are held together by one other criti-cal factor embraced by faith-based schools: prayer. Indeed, many would suggest that prayer is a key to the en-tire structure.


begin With a soLiD Missionpeople are uneducated about God and His world and need to learn about both to be productive mem-bers of our world.

A faith-based school has a unique opportunity to help ensure that young people are gaining basics skills and knowledge within the context of a faith-based worldview. It’s a high privilege—and a tremendous respon-sibility! After the problem has been defined or refined, you can begin re-examining and perhaps rewriting your mission statement.

A strong mission statement states successful outcomes, rather than de-

fining the problems or process. Does your mission simply state what your school does, or does it focus on what the students will achieve or become? The difference can be profound, es-pecially when it comes to assess-ing whether or not the school has achieved success.

Re-evaluate your mission state-ment to ensure that it focuses on outcome for students—not on the school, the faculty or administration. Mission statements must imply a high accountability toward a success-ful outcome.

tuitionThe first “leg of the stool” that we’ll examine is tuition. Private, faith-based schools must have written policies for setting tuition. Some top-ics to be addressed by the policy: Are tuition rates set based primarily on what was charged last year, adjusted a bit upwards to reflect inflation? Or are they set in some relationship to the cost of delivering the service? In what way? Are they set in relation to some outside factor? A well-written tuition-rates policy should reference the cost to provide the service, within a context of value. Let’s explore three different words related to this tuition issue: Value, Cost and Rates.

Tuition Value What is the annual value of educa-tion your students receive at your school? Is it at least equal to the val-

ue of education achieved at the local public school? What dollar amount per student would be given to that value? A fair value would at least be equal to in the average investment per student in North Dakota public schools, which is currently $7,000 - $8,000 per student

Tuition CostThe tuition cost per student is com-puted by simply taking the total cost on your annual financial statement (or budget for the upcoming year) and dividing by total full-time stu-dents. However, the amount of tu-ition discounts for children of faculty and staff employed at the school plus the salary discount, representing the difference between actual pay and market pay of the faculty/staff, should be included in total costs. In other

words, if you were to pay your fac-ulty/staff an amount that would rep-resent full competitive market pay, how much additional cost would be added to your financial statements, increasing your cost per student? These salary discounts are essentially a contribution made by your faculty/staff as a non-cash income, subsidiz-ing the cost.

Comparing the value received to the total cost is a healthy way to frame the debate about proper tuition rates.

Tuition RatesTuition rates are the full charges for those not receiving financial aid. Many schools have discovered the tremendous pressure of setting tu-ition rates at a level far less than the cost to deliver the service. Such prac-tices aren’t sustainable, and should be

Reviewing the school’s mission state-ment and modifying it if appropriate is a good place to begin examining goals. You can then refine your finan-cial plans to achieve those goals. As you begin to examine your mission statement, identify what key prob-lems and incentives were the basis for establishing your private faith-based school, and if they’re still applicable. The answer may not be easy, espe-cially as you strive to obtain strong consensus from parents and school leaders. Let me suggest an under-lying problem that often drives the need for faith-based schools: Young


that the costs are no less for a student who happens to have an older sibling also attending the school requires subsidizing this discount from some other income source.

• Do faculty/staff members or church employees receive a tu-ition discount for their children? Is it fairly distributed to all as a benefit? Could it be addressed by a comprehensive financial aid program tailored to each faculty/staff member’s needs? If it is granted to make the tuition af-fordable, then a comprehensive financial aid program is much better tailored to fit the real need.

• Do you offer a discount for early payment of tuition? This may

seem sensible from an accounting standpoint, but also may not be necessary because those fami-lies that are willing to pay their entire tuition charge early are also probably willing to do so without receiving the discount.

The amount of financial aid given is normally subsidized by develop-ment funds, but your school may also determine that special fundrais-ing events, or endowment income, or special income received from churches or gift income from a spe-cial contributor will be used to cover this discount. There must, however, be a plan to cover discounts 100% by some means to avoid operating at a loss.

altered. Here are a few questions to ask about your rate policy: Does it equal the cost to deliver the service? If not, why not? If you are charging less than the cost of delivering the service, than your school is asking someone or a group of people or or-ganizations to subsidize the educa-tional costs of everyone at the school, not just for those who need it.

FinanCiaL aiDLet’s turn our attention to the is-sue of financial aid, a second leg of our stool. Defining tuition payment terms can be difficult when coupled with a challenge significant to many students and potential students: af-fordability. Discounts are often of-fered to students who may not oth-erwise be able to attend a private school. However, discounts must be paid by someone, or subsidized. So private schools must evaluate each type of discount that it offers. Here are a few things to examine when justifying discounts: • Are any discounts granted for

reasons not related to need? If so, consider eliminating them. For example, granting a “multi-student discount” while knowing

Initiating a cost-based-tuition-rate model, however, may take some time to fully implement. Achieving a more balanced charge/cost ratio for tuition rates may require a 5-7 transi-tion process to be accepted by parents of your current and future enrollees.

Tuition rates are subject to public perception of cost versus value. For example, a school that sets its tuition

rates at $3,500 per year might be con-sidered inferior to one that charges $7,000 just because of the rate differ-ence. In addition, school contribu-tors are much more comfortable in subsidizing costs for those unable to afford the tuition than to subsidize costs for those who are able to do so.

FaCuLty anD staFF CoMpensationsustain excellence in education, pri-vate schools must find a way to pay higher salaries. As in the case of tu-ition rates, salary increases to move your school from where it is to where

you want to go, will require a multi-year transition plan, so that the salary increases are manageable within the budget process.

Another leg of the stool is faculty/staff compensation. Faith-based schools must face the reality that faculty sala-ries can affect education quality. The best faculty and staff cost more. To


FunDraising anD DeveLopMent

North Dakota native Cordell Dick is a CPA and CFRE. A graduate of UND, he began his professional career at a Bismarck CPA firm, becoming partner in 1983. In 1994, he joined Shiloh Christian—a K-12 private school in Bismarck—as business manager and development director. In 2006, he became vice president of operations and develop-ment for Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. He’s also a 12-year member and past president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals ND–Northern Plains, and cur-rently serves on the board of the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations. Through his consulting service, “Cordell G. Dick, CPA, CFRE Consulting,” he serves cli-

ents throughout ND and the upper Midwest with the mission that his clients “will impact their world, fulfilling their dreams, experiencing success in their consulting relationship with him.”

ing through contacting individuals, corporations and foundations who would be interested in financial sup-porting your school.

Many schools invest in special fundraising events, many of which produce little net income. In order to achieve higher returns, focus should instead be on the development office requesting gifts made directly to the school in support of the school’s mis-sion, without an intermediary prod-uct or service.

suMMaryDedicate some time for key stake-holders to focus on reviewing and/or writing your mission, defining goals, and refining tuition and compensa-tion processes. Using a well-written and oft-quoted mission statement to

examine and adjust key finan-cial aspects—all accompanied by prayer—will give a school the op-portunity to move beyond its pres-ent situation to a whole new level of excellence.

A commitment to fundraising is an-other essential element and is the “fourth leg of our stool.” A well-run development program will prove to be an investment instead of expense, since income will offset the costs. But successful development program requires patience and commitment to achieve maturity. A well-trained development person on staff is as es-sential as a any other staff member, and should hold the responsibility of meeting the budget for fundrais-

Illustration by Moriah Anderson


Enchanted CollaborationStudentshelpinspireeconomicdevelopmentanddreamsthroughNDSUprojectBy Lisa Jackson, Today’s Giving

“If you build it, they will come.” The Enchanted Highway, Regent, North Dakota is also a story about a field of dreams. Big, metal, economic-development dreams.

The first sculpture on Highway 5 began with sparks off steel, donated metal and over three dozen farmers. Gary Greff, who had never been an artist or a welder prior to 1989, created and built the first metal sculp-ture, TheTinFamily. With it, he also created the Enchanted Highway, where he hoped to boast dozens of folk art sculptures and to ful-fill a mission providing “increased opportu-nities for artist expression and appreciation and to provide increased economic viability in North Dakota.”

Today, through Gary’s will of steel and de-termination, the Enchanted Highway tour is unlike anything else in the world. Seven metal sculptures built mainly from oil drums and rusty drainpipes sit reflecting North Da-kota culture. The sculptures include Deer Crossing, Geese in Flight, Grasshopper’s Delight, Pheasants on the Prairie, Theodore Roosevelt Rides Again, The Tin Family, and Fisherman’s Dream. They have been fea-tured in People, the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune and even a Frito Lay com-mercial shoot.

Like many rural communities in the upper Midwest, Re-gent is losing jobs, therefore population. “It is difficult not just to see your commu-

nity’s schools close and kids leave. We are losing a way of life and its history,” states Greff. “I think there is a way we can pre-serve our culture and stories, plus bring in sustainable development dollars through the Enchanted Highway.”

Sometimes, it’s hard to appreciate what is in your own backyard. According to the North Dakota Department of Tourism’s 2009 Tourism At-A-Glance report, North Dakota is a $3.96 billion dollar industry. Interesting-ly enough, 1 in 12 North Dakota residents owes their job to tourism in North Dakota according to IHS Global Insight. Cultural tourism is one of the fastest growing seg-ments of tourism, and that along with the Greff ’s interest to retain dollars in Regent are what spurred a dynamic collaboration between a small community and the North Dakota State University (NDSU).

Now the question remained: If the En-chanted Highway can bring over 20,000 visi-tors a year, what will make tourists stay and spend their dollars?

Early on, Greff formalized a strategic plan which incorporates 18 phases of develop-ment. Over the years, Greff and Dr. Charles McIntyre, associate professor and graduate

From my perspective, the real value of this project was to

expose students to the struggles facing the rural areas of the

U.S., especially the upper Midwest. In a very real sense, the

future is theirs. But, in order to chart a path toward the

future, the historical and cultural values of a society must be

understood and embraced. I believe this project helped to

establish those ideals.

—Dr. Charlie McIntyre, Department of Construction

Management and Engineering


G a r d e n of textureThis area of the path also uses the sense of sound. A sound is created when one rides on the steel rails just as a bridge cre-ates a sound when a bike is driven over it.

program coordinator in the Department of Construction Management and Engineering at NDSU have formed a re-lationship between the Enchanted Highway and NDSU’s departments of Architecture and Landscape and Con-struction Management and Engineering to begin con-ceptualizing specific phases in that plan. One of the most notable is the Castle on the Cannonball, a plan for a hotel and resort complex for the city of Regent. Although it will be the capstone to the strategic plan, it is inginuative. The idea is to retrofit the old elementary school with a metal exterior which resembles a castle. This phase also includes using the old elementary school next door as a museum and eatery.

Ideas and collaboration from the Castle on the Can-nonball project have led to a new multidisciplinary NDSU student-class project titled, Extending Enchantment: Cul-tural Tourism Destination Planning as a Catalyst for Economic Development. It was funded through the Oz-bun Economic Development Grant by the Office of the President at NDSU. The Ozbun grant, which provides up to $20,000, was established in recognition former univer-sity president Jim Ozbun to help fund projects that stimu-late economic development in North Dakota.

The Extending Enchantment project capitalizes on the expansion and diversification of the folk art and cultural tourism products that are in tune with the spirit invoked by the Enchanted Highway and develops an RV park and associated sculpture-based tourism products and facilities that would attract visitors.

During the summer and fall of 2009, students and facul-ty from NDSU traveled to Regent to conduct a site inven-tory and identify cultural opportunities. In addition, they interviewed several area residents to solicit their thoughts

Building on the trajectory of Gary’s folk art, landscape architecture students are well suited to plan eccentric tourism products that celebrate local culture. Beyond writing part of the grant proposal, my role was to teach students how to do that. —Dr. Catherine Wiley, NDSU Department of Architecture & Landscape Architecture.

student Work52 Today’s Giving Fall 2010

VegetationThe plants that are being

used at this site were care-fully selected for the abil-

ity to dwell and thrive within this type of landscape.

InspirationStudents gathered

inspiration for the project from sites around them such as

these crop irrigation circles to bring into their designs.


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and ideas. The concept was to integrate the local char-acter of Regent into the Extending Enchantment project. Armed with this exposure to the rich rural environment of Regent, students began work on a series of designs for the Enchanted Highway.

First, the Landscape Architecture students worked on the visionary aspects of the project in a “vertical studio,” an environment in which students from different academ-ic years—in this case undergraduate and graduate—work together on the same project. This type of education is unique and allows students to learn from different skill levels cooperatively.

Next, designs were reviewed and discussed by the Con-struction Management students to help the Landscape Ar-chitecture students better understand the building stages of their design, as well as to help the students better un-derstand the creative processes and details which are val-ued by the designers.

The result is a stronger set of developed ideas for a sus-tainable future for Regent. The projects range from short

term to long term, with some very creative solutions for sustainabil-ity and ultimately growth. At the completion of this grant and proj-ect, a full set of inventory, analysis, studies, projects and research will be given to the town board of Re-gent for their review. The board will determine which ideas will become actual projects to be supported by grant programs.

All the students worked with the community on a project which not only directly affects Regent, but also other small towns in rural areas. This “real life” experience inspires and equips students to work towards more creative solutions. In Octo-ber 2009, students presented their work to Mr. Greff. The presenta-tion was held at NDSU as an online, live-interactive video at Dickinson


State University, which gave the citizens of Re-gent the opportunity to watch.

Regent stakeholders and community mem-bers have reviewed the entire group of student projects de-veloped through this collaboration. A “wish list” has been culled it down to five projects that are the most interesting and appropriate considering financial recourse.

The next phase involved architecture stu-dents who developed preliminary floor plans and exterior views for the proposed steak-house. Of the 50 submitted designs, Greff selected five designs as the award winners and presented those designers with gift cer-tificates. The proposed steakhouse will be located adjacent to one of Gary’s upcoming sculptures, the world’s largest motorcycle.

What’ next? The collaboration will continue with city officials, community members and NDSU. This summer, select NDSU students

have been hired by the Enchanted Highway to develop detailed plans and 3D renderings for the proposed steakhouse, which will be pre-sented to potential investors. In addition, a plan is being developed to actually construct some of the “visionary concepts” developed by the Landscape Architecture students, as a service-learning project.

Some may say that Greff has very high hopes for his ideas and they might not be doable. But seeing the 70-foot rainbow trout jumping out of water on the prairie is beauti-ful, breathtaking, and unimaginable until you have see it in person.

The benefits in projects such as this are tenfold. Collaboration

between students and the greater community offers

interdisciplinary work experience and opportunities to

further the role of landscape architecture and construction in

community revitalization. The effects of this experience go

well beyond the classroom. I am proud to be part of this project

which involves many people.

—Dr. Stevie Famulari, Environmental Artist, NDSU

Department of Architecture & Landscape Architecture,

International Phytoremediation Society Member


Dakota Daughter Makes Good Happen in the City of Angels OwnerofWNBA’sLosAngelesSparksdrawsonNorthDakotachildhoodtoinspireeducationandleadershipinwomennationwideBy Debora Dragseth

Carla Christofferson’s story is about overcoming obstacles and taking risks; about leadership and drive. But ultimately, it’s a story about the power of a woman boldly mov-ing forward while generously giving back.

As an owner of the W.N.B.A.’s Los Angeles Sparks and a trial lawyer with one of the nation’s most elite law firms, Christoffer-son is a long way from where she grew up in Tolna, North Dakota, a rural community of 200 people.

overCoMing obstaCLes anD taking risksThe New York Times calls Christ-offerson “a new breed of tycoon.” Christofferson’s journey started as a self-described “nerdy” looking little kid with huge glasses, top grades and nicknamed “The Mad Scientist” by her classmates. Carla was the young-


est of five children and her divorced mother struggled to support the family. As a teenager, Carla entered (and won) beauty pageants in order to gain scholarships to help pay for college. Looking at the former Miss North Dakota USA today, it’s difficult to believe that Christofferson was ever anything but beautiful, poised and confident. She laughed, “Some-one once asked me, ‘When did you realize it just wasn’t enough to be pretty?’ I’ve learned that being unat-tractive and being made fun of truly gives you empathy for others.”

Christofferson graduated from the University of North Da-

kota summa cum laude and received her law degree from Yale. At age 31, when most attorneys are just begin-ning their careers, Christofferson was named partner at O’Melveny & Myers, LLP in Los Angeles. She has been recognized as a Southern Cali-fornia “Super Lawyer,” named one of the Top 75 Women Lawyers in Cali-fornia, as well as one of California’s 100 Most Influential Lawyers.

LeaDership anD DriveUnder the tutorage of her high school basketball coach, Curt Her-man, Christofferson learned her first lessons in leadership. “When I started doing interviews after buy-ing the Sparks, I began to reflect on my own career as a high school ath-lete and only now have I come to un-derstand how much that experience formed who I am today. Coach Her-man coached us just like he did the boys. He taught us how to play hard, how to play through pain and how to win.”

Herman, now a coach at Lake Region Community College in Devils Lake, North Dakota, re-members Christofferson as highly motivated not just in sports, but in the classroom as well. Herman said, “Carla was a leader. When I pushed the team to do better, Carla would look me in the eye and say, ‘I’ll show you.’ She was a junior in 1983 when her team reached the Class B Tourna-ment. Carla was the first all-state player I ever coached.”

Christofferson believes that


one of the most valuable things young girls can do is to play team sports. “Sports help counter some of the tra-ditional messages that girls hear. Sports teach us that it’s okay for girls to compete and it’s okay to want to win.”

One of her goals in buying the Sparks was integrating them into the community as role models. Sparks play-ers bag groceries for Trader Joe’s Hoops for Hunger, they participate in the March of Dimes’ March for Babies, they redo rooms at organizations helping abused women.

Christofferson said, “In order to be eligible for the draft, W.N.B.A. players must be four years out of high school; therefore, most of the players are college graduates and most were given basketball scholarships. They talk to girls and boys about achieving in school. They tell them that basketball is important, but so is school.”

a boLD MoveChristofferson had been a Sparks season-ticket holder since 1999. She and co-owner Kathy Goodman, also a long-time season-ticket holder and fan, met when Good-man became one of her clients. Christofferson said, “We

would sit at the games and talk about how we would run the team if we owned it. We decided to go for it. We put together an investment group and made an offer on a team that, at the time, wasn’t even for sale.”

The duo bought the Sparks in December of 2006. Christ-offerson said, “I was able to buy the team because it was no more frightening than going to college or law school. You have to be willing to fail and make missteps and know that it’s not the end of the world. One of my favorite sayings is: ‘Go big or go home.’”

Another of Christofferson’s favorite sayings is, ‘Don’t ask. Don’t get.’ She gave us this example: “It was tough to raise the money to buy the Sparks. I hated it. But, if people tell you ‘no’ then you are in the same position you were before you asked, so you have nothing to lose. You have to be willing to fail fabulously.”

Balancing her dual careers as a trial lawyer and a profes-sional basketball team owner isn’t easy. “We use the man-tra: Real job before fake job,” said Christofferson. “The first couple of years, before I was married and our son Jack was born, the Sparks were my family.”

giving baCkA year after buying the Sparks, Christofferson knew that she wanted to become more deeply involved in philan-thropy. Not knowing how to start she began by literally saying ‘yes’ to everything; thus, getting exposed to many different issues. Through the ‘yes’ process, Christofferson learned what really spoke to her: education, the University of North Dakota, libraries and women’s issues.

“I got involved in the University of North Dakota Foun-dation because growing up I didn’t even think about going to college. I was the first one in my family to graduate. We didn’t have any money and I was able to go largely because many people before me had donated and created schol-arships. To help others go to college is so important to me. How can you not give back if you’ve been helped? In fact, don’t just give as much as you received, give more. If you’ve been helped, you should help two people in return.”

A member of the Board of Directors for the Los An-geles Public Library Foundation, Christofferson remem-bers the monthly visits of the bookmobile to Tolna. “The

Carla Christofferson, co-owner of the LA Sparks.


bookmobile was such an important thing for me when I was growing up. That’s one of the reasons I am involved in the LA library. It has many branches and reaches into the community.”

Christofferson is past president and current member of the Board of Directors for Women’s Care Cottage, an or-ganization that helps move women and children off the streets permanently. “I saw my Mom having to struggle to get a career and make it on her own. I have such an ap-preciation for women raising kids under difficult circum-stances with grace and strength.”

As a mother of a ten-month old son, Christofferson has been thinking a lot about raising children who do not feel entitled and teaching them about giving to those in need. “I like the three piggy banks concept. Spend, save, and give in equal measure from the age of four.”

What does the 42-year-old Christofferson see as her leg-acy? “So many people gave me opportunities and helped me,” she said. “What I hope is that somehow I’ve made things better for other women coming behind me and that those women will want to make it better for those who fol-low them. That’s all we can do—we have a finite life, but if we believe in that positive force, that’s how things change.”

One of her favorite quotes was spoken by Madeline Al-bright at a W.N.B.A. event: “There is a special place in hell reserved for women who don’t help other women.” Christ-offerson added, “A woman better not just be taking up ox-ygen. If you are not doing something to help others—why are you here?”

hoW Do WoMen phiLanthropists DiFFer FroM Men?Research published by The Chronicle of Phi-lanthropy shows that women give differently than men. Women tend to be more hands-on activists, are more involved in issue-centered philanthropy, the health of the community, and deliberately aiding women in need. In addition, women are less likely than men to want their names on things.

Seventy-one percent of women give to char-ity compared to 65 percent of men. In addition, women give a larger percentage of their in-come. Today, women control more than half of the private wealth in the U.S. (the best estimate is 60 percent). Add to that the growing earn-ing power of professional women and in 2005, for the first time, women donated more money than men.

A young Carla Christofferson--left in front row wearing number 15—with her ND high school basketball team, the Tolna Trojans, the year she made the All-State 2nd Team. (Photo courtesy of former Tolna coach Curt Herman)


Everyday people do extraordinary things. It’s great to hear stories about an individual making the leap from simply writing a check (often because of a mailing or phone-a-thon) to participating in a way that takes significant investment but creates immense change. Traditionally, development directors from nonprofit organizations engage this transformation by instigating and facilitating the process. However, a new approach is “engaged,” philanthropy—a process whereby donors reach-out to collaborate with organizations to make a difference through hands-on planning, giving, and reviewing ways to fulfill needs in our communities.

Noel and Judy Fedje were gracious enough to share their example. They were very clear that giving and hav-ing their names in this piece wasn’t about the recognition; for most it’s not, but it’s a way to encourage oth-ers to be proactive about the causes they love. In doing so, their role in this story created a return on invest-ment, mission achievement for the organization and a whole population of students, and personal fulfillment beyond measure.

writing scores, brought parents into the fold of their child’s development and had everyone working together.

tiMing is everythingIn 2008, Principal Chris Triggs at Fargo’s Madison Elementary School needed a way to increase student achievement in the areas of reading and writing. The school is one of 16 elementary schools in Fargo and has about 200 students in grades K-5.

Triggs had the first part of the plan

“Good friends of ours came up with an idea to help increase literacy rates in an underprivileged school in Arizona,” stated Noel. “We liked the concept and felt it could help students in our back-yard.” The program “Read to Ride” em-phasized school wide engagement and motivation to reach reading and lit-eracy goals. The students who reached these benchmarks consistently earned the chance to receive a bicycle. The re-sult was more than just a reward; the program created increased reading and

Engaged Philanthropy Increases Literary Skills

by Lisa Jackson, Today’s Giving


figured out. It would include add-ing technology—Interwrite/SMART boards, laptops, Play Away Book— along with tutorial reading and math technology. “Every classroom was equipped to increase student quality learning time and keep students on task and engaged in meaningful ac-tivities,” stated Triggs. The plan was rooted in the belief that if they in-creased the quality practice time and student directed time, there would be gains in reading and writing. It would also allow teachers to differentiate their instruction to provide smaller group or individual instruction.

At the same time, Noel and Judy, who were concerned that the joy and the necessity of reading was being lost on the younger genera-tion, contacted the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation to discuss their idea. They had a previous relation-ship working with Cher Hersrud, the Foundation’s development direc-tor, in establishing a Donor Advised Fund. A Donor Advised Fund is held by a community fund or other type of foundation, but the donors pro-vide directives on how to disperse grants throughout the year or years to help various organizations. This

type of fund provides immediate tax benefits and streamlines giving to many entities. They wanted to work with her to maximize their giving by helping to enact a reading program at a school that needed it. They didn’t want to direct education, but provide the resources for the teachers to do something special.

Hersrud knew just who to call: Madison Elementary School. The schools great diversity provides a wonderful opportunity for teach-ers and students to learn from each other but it also produces chal-lenges. Its student body represents


After the first year, “’Read to Ride” energized the student population to practice their reading at home and improve their reading goals,” stated Triggs. Each month, all of the stu-dents who met their monthly read-ing goal were recognized. At the end of the year, all of the students who met their individual reading goals throughout the year were also celebrated. The first year, Noel and Judy Fedje drew the names of six children who qualified for the chance of winning a new bike. The more they read, the more chances they had to win. More than 60 bikes were award-ed to Madison students during the 2008-09 school year.

The bikes were purchased through the Fedje’s donor-advised fund and Scheels of Fargo support-ed the program by providing free assembly and delivery of the bikes, hel-mets, and bike locks.

The result was a steady increase in reading time and over 130 students meeting their goal. It was the highest level the school had ever achieved. The aim was to have as many of the students understand that increased time practicing will help them im-prove their overall reading in the classroom. And it worked.

In 2009 the program was adapted and renamed to “Read to Lead.” Each month all the students who met their monthly reading were part of a draw-ing for an I-Pod Shuffle loaded with electronic books.

“We have prioritized reading at Madison and this is a strategy that will motivate some of our student

over 27 languages and cultures. About 42 percent of the school’s stu-dents are English Language Learn-ers as refugees coming from places as far away as Vietnam and Sudan. In addition, about 80 percent of Madison students receive free and reduced-price meals.

Although Principal Triggs was not big on “incentives” for getting work done, he liked the idea and felt there was a unique opportunity to create a well-rounded program that achieved the schools need for increased lit-eracy rates and balanced the first portion of his plan. He knew that to make a community school collabo-ration work, many people had to be involved and many intricate details would have to be worked out. Accord-ing to Triggs, “It became a school and community wide project, teacher’s aides were matching up younger kids with other kids as mentors, Head-start to 5th graders were given goals and reading materials, parents had to read with their kids at home and key staff such as Patricia Chadwick, the school’s administrative assistant, and Berta Schmidt, office assistant, took on the additional work of the small details and progress tracking.”


population who need an extra boost. It is a great way for us to teach stu-dents the connection between prac-ticing at home and increased student achievement. We have more kids reading at home than we did be-fore we implemented this program,” stated Triggs.

The program provided over 60 iPod Shuffles, book downloads, and books as a means to enhance student literacy development. Throughout the year, leaders in the community were also brought in to continue to tie in the message of why reading was important. Students heard from firefighters, students involved with the Fill the Dome project, and Roger Gress, Fargo Parks Director (Madi-son alum). At the end of the year over 95 percent of the entire student body (Headstart not included) met their reading goals and received a

learning experience by way of a trip to the Wahpeton Zoo.

Noel said, “The easiest thing to do was to give the money. The kids had to work for the incentives.” Judy has enjoyed seeing the residual effects of the program. It has engaged the entire staff and teachers at the school, the PTA group is involved, and the parents are now including things like going to the library as a family activity.

“Cher was a key to this process. She was willing to help everyone put the pieces to this program together and we will continue to do this program as long as it is worthwhile.” The Fedjes encourage the program to evolve as circumstances change. It’s not their goal to micromanage the structure from an implementation standpoint, but to provide ideas and resources that inspire a new way to learn.

“We are doing our part, but we can’t carry all the needs our commu-nities face. This is our position; there

are other tremendous opportunities for other people to pick-up on other ideas and collaborations like this at different schools or to solve different social issues,” says Noel.

“We’ve received better rewards than we’ve given.” —Judy Fedje


North East North DakotaSeptember 11

MemoryWalkHosted by: Alzheimer’s Association

8:00 a.m., Columbia Mall - Macy’s Court, Grand Forks, NDwww.alz.org | [email protected] | 701-277-9757

September 19

5thAnnualCar&BikeShowandBenefitHosted by: Rydell Auto Center

12:00 p.m.-4 p.m., Rydell Auto Center, Grand Forks, [email protected] | 701-746-1375

September 19

OutoftheDarknessWalkHosted by: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention ND Chapter

2:00-4:00 p.m., Town Square, Grand Forks, NDwww.outofthedarkness.org | 701-215-3480

October 2

GrandForksWomen’sShowHosted by: Leighton Broadcasting

9:00 a.m-4:00 p.m, Alerus Center, Grand Forks, NDwww.gfwomensshow.com | [email protected] | 701-775-4611

October 23

AutumnArtAuctionHosted by: North Dakota Museum of Art

6:30 p.m., ND Museum of Art, Grand Forks, [email protected] | 701-777-4195

October 16

Inaugural“SuccessWorks”5KRun/WalkHosted by: Success Unlimited, Inc.

10 AM, Success Unlimited, Inc. 3551 South 20th Street, Grand Forks

(behind Lumber Mart)[email protected] | Phone: (701) 775-3356

Registration forms can be downloaded at www.lakeagassizpacers.com

North West North DakotaAugust 28

BadlandsTrailRunTjaden Terrace, Medora, NDwww.medora.com | 701-623-4444

September 11


9:00 a.m., Dickinson Recreation Center, Dickinson, NDwww.alz.org | [email protected] | 701-258-4933

September 11

AnnualMinotAreaCounciloftheArtsGalaUSOSalute5:00 p.m., Dakota Territory Air Museum, Minot, [email protected] | 701-852-2787

September 18

AmericanFoundationforSuicidePreventionCommunityWalkHosted by: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

1:00 p.m., Roosevelt Park, Minot, NDwww.outofthedarkness.org | [email protected] | 701-838-5553

September 25


8:00 a.m., Dakota Square Mall, Minot, NDwww.alz.org | [email protected] | 701-258-4933

September 28-October 2

NorskHostfestAll day, ND State Fair Center, Minot, ND701-852-2368

October 2


9:00 a.m., Williston State College, Williston, NDwww.alz.org | [email protected] | 701-258-4933


South West North DakotaSeptember 9–12

UnitedTribesInternationalPowwowHosted by: United Tribes

United Tribes Technical College, Bismarck, NDwww.unitedtribespowwow.com | 701-255-3285 Ext. 1293

September 12

AppleDashWalk/RunforEducationHosted by: Bismarck Public Schools Alumni Foundation

4:00 p.m., Bismarck, NDwww.bismarckschools.org | [email protected] | 701-323-4093

September 18


8:00 a.m., Sertoma Park, Bismarck, NDwww.alz.org | [email protected] | 701-258-4933

September 25

“It’sfortheAnimals”Wine-tasting&SilentAuctionHosted by: Dakota Zoo

7:00-9:00 p.m., Bismarck, NDwww.dakotazoo.org | 701-223-7543

September 18

ZarfosSoftballTournamentHosted by: Missouri Slope Areawide United Way

Mandan softball complex, Mandan, NDwww.msaunitedway.org | 701-255-3601

October 5–23

FallArtExhibitionHosted by: Bismarck Art & Galleries Association

Bismarck Art & Galleries Association, Bismarck, NDwww.bismarck-art.org | 701-223-5986

October 7

SavortheFlavorHosted by: Medcenter One Foundation

6:00-10:00 p.m., Riverwood RV, Mandan, NDwww.medcenterone.com | 701-323-8450

South East North DakotaAugust 21

WildRideattheRedRiverZooHosted by: Red River Zoo

Red River Zoo, Fargo, NDwww.redriverzoo.org | 701-799-4878

September 2

NationalMuffler’sCruisinBroadway5:00-9:00 p.m., Broadway, Fargo, NDwww.fmdowntown.com | 701-364-9867

September 7

CollegeNightattheFargoDome6:00-8:00 p.m., FargoDome, Fargo, NDwww.fargodome.com | 701-241-9100

September 17–19, 23–26

BrightonBeachMemoirs2:30 p.m. (matinee), 7:30 p.m. (evening), Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre, Fargo, NDwww.fmct.org | 701-235-1901

September 18

CCRI’sWalk&Roll-a-thonFundraiser&PicnicHosted by: Creative Care for Reaching Independence (CCRI)

10:30 a.m., Oak Grove Park, Fargo, NDwww.creativecare.org | [email protected] | 218-331-2002

September 18

MemoryWalkHosted by: Alzheimers Association

8:00 a.m., Rendezvous Park, West Fargo, NDwww.alz.org | [email protected] | 701-277-9757

September 19

StreetsAlive!Hosted by: Dakota Medical Foundation

12:00 p.m.-5 p.m., Area Parks, Fargo-Moorhead www.fmstreetsalive.org | 701-271-0263

September 28

JuniorAchievementbigBOWLfundraiserHosted by: Junior Achievement

3:30-5:30 p.m., The Bowler, Fargo, [email protected] | 701-241-8628


October 16-17

22ndAnnualChristmasArt&CraftFairFargo Civic Center, Fargo, ND701-235-7171

Western MinnesotaSeptember 11

9thAnnualLakelandHospiceMotorcycleRideHosted by: Lakeland Hospice

12:00 p.m., Lakeland Hospice & Home Care, Fergus Falls, MNwww.hospice-ride.com | T [email protected] | 218-998-1423

September 15

UnitedWayChiliCookOffHosted by: United Way

11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Paul Bunyan Hall, Bemidji, MNwww.unitedwaybemidji.org | [email protected]

September 16

UnitedWayCommunityDayCelebrationHosted by: United Way

4:30-6:30 p.m., Detroit Lakes Pavilion, Detroit Lakes, MNwww.unitedwaybemidji.org | 218-847-6079

September 18

LakesAreaHumaneSocietypresentsthe5Kand10KRunHosted by: Lakes Area Humane Society

Big Ole Park, Alexandria, MN320-759-2260

September 18

5KRun/WalkforSuicidePreventionHosted by: Beltrami Area Suicide Prevention Program

9:00 a.m.-noon, Lake Bemidji Waterfront-Rotary Pavilion, Bemidji, [email protected] | 218-751-4332

October 1

20thAnnualNCHSAuxilaryGolfTournament&DinnerHosted by: North County Health Services

11:30 a.m., Bemidji Town and Country Club, Bemidji, MNwww.nchs.com | 333-5654

October 9

St.Mary’s“FireandIce”FundraiserHosted by: St. Mary’s Innovis Health

6:00-9:00 p.m., Fireside of Detroit Lakes, Detroit Lakes, MN218-844-0709

Eastern South DakotaSeptember 11–13, 18–20

FallParadeofHomeshours vary, Souix Empire, Souix Falls, SD

September 11

TheSidewalkArtsFestivalHosted by: Visual Arts Center of the Washington Pavilion

9:00 a.m., Downtown, Souix Falls, SD

www.washingtonpavilion.org | 605-367-7397

September 11

NewDirectionsDownSyndromeAssociationBuddyWalkHosted by: New Directions Down Syndrome Association

10:00 a.m., Sertoma Park, Souix Falls, SD605-310-7570

September 13

CavalierGolfClassicHosted by: Aberdeen Catholic School System

1:00 p.m.-6:45 p.m., Moccasin Creek Country Club, Aberdeen, SDwww.aberdeenroncalli.org | [email protected] | 605-226-2100

September 18

MemoryWalkHosted by: Alzheimers Association

9:00 a.m., Sertoma Park, Souix Falls, SDwww.alz.org | [email protected] | 605-339-4543

September 27

AdjustmentTrainingCenterFoundationGolfBenefitHosted by: Adjustment Training Center Foundation

11:00 a.m., Moccasin Creek Country Club, Aberdeen, [email protected] | 605-229-0263

October 23

SiouxFallsWalktoDefeatALSHosted by: ALS Association

9:00 a.m., Empire Mall, Souix Falls, SDwww.alsmn.org | 888-672-0484


Editor’s Note: Each issue of Giving

will include “Faces of Giving” to

recognize and thank some of those

across our region whose actions serve

as both leadership and inspiration for

thoughtful, meaningful contributions

that improve the lives of others. Do you

know of someone who fits the profile?

If so, please send recommendations to

[email protected] or mail to Faces

of Giving, 1407 1st Ave North, Fargo,

ND 58102

“Sometimes moving community

forward means helping those

outside of your community,

and sometimes moving your

country forward means help-

ing those outside your coun-

try,” states Mary Ann Sheets-Han-

son, Valley City, North Dakota. Her

Asante Network is doing just that. The organi-

zation provides “helping hands” to women in Uganda and

Tanzania by selling their wares in America. This organiza-

tion of unpaid volunteers helps women in East Africa do

what all parents want to do. Help their children get a good

education and move out of poverty. Learn more at http://

asantenetwork.org.

Dorothy and Howard Barlow

and a dozen other members of Peace Lu-

theran Church in north Fargo are growing a

“hunger garden” as part of a growing trend across

the Northern Plains to help meet the needs of the

hungry by raising and donating produce to local pan-

tries and food banks. Do you have farm or garden produce

to contribute? In eastern ND and western MN, contact the Great Plains Food Bank (701-232-6219 or Great-

[email protected]) or, in all areas of ND, contact the Hunger Free North Dakota Gardens Project (North

Dakota Department of Agriculture, 701-328-4763 or [email protected]). Your state department of agriculture can

also provide information about possible donations of wild game and other foods to local agencies.

Rachel Mertz, Volunteer Coor-

dinator at Giving+Learning of Fargo,

has worked with new Americans for

over 10 years and is currently the

only full time employee of the local

organization. Giving+Learning is a lo-

cal non-profit that connects adult vol-

unteer mentors with adult new Americans

to help them learn English language skills. Founded in 2001,

the organization has partnered almost 600 volunteer mentors

have partnered with over 600 new Americans to learn English.

Mertz’s mission is to connect volunteer mentors to refugee and

new American families in the area to help them practice Eng-

lish, and to study for their drivers’ permits, citizenship, CNA (cer-

tified nursing assistant) exams, or their GED.

Sharon E. Buhr, MPH, RD, LRD is the founder

and director of Young People’s Healthy Heart Program

at Mercy Hospital in Valley City. The program has de-

veloped dramatic visual aids that show how much

sugar, fat and salt are in the foods we eat, which

the group will market across the USA. Proceeds will

be used to promote healthy nutrition and increasing

physical activity across the state of ND. Because of the group’s work, there

are now three part-time licensed registered dietitians working for the pro-

gram, along with other personnel. The group works with schools to help

strengthen nutrition curriculums and with communities and worksites

on exercise programming and nutrition. The program encourages

local food consumption through purchases from farmers’ markets.

The group also partners with other non-profit organizations to create

county-wide programs focusing on nutrition and physical activity. Visit

www.healthyheartprogram.com for more information.


today's giving, issue 3

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