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The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation works under a guiding principal that collaboration is a necessary component in creating communities that propel growth. During the last year, the foundation celebrated three decades, besides launching a new brand. So, the foundation decided to switch things up, by upping the monies available through its annual 'One Big Thing' grant, which rewards a single deserving entity, or regional project, that the foundation deems as having a positive impact on the social and business fabric of the community.
This year, the foundation made awards available to two deserving entities, culled from the foundation's 23 Early Childhood initiatives and its 26 community foundations. These entities were tasked with explaining how their projects would improve their overall community. They also had to explain how their work exemplified the foundation's mission of fostering collaborative efforts.
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
"The world's first water coaster for kids." That's what Cedar Fair, owner of Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, Texas, is banking on with its newest attraction: Schatze's Storybrook Park, a children's...more
A professor at the University of Texas at Austin has developed a play therapy approach that she says could help millions of children around the world, the Austin American-Statesman...more
If you're looking for a four-year degree in Ireland, Munster Technological University is the place for you. The school, which has campuses in Cork and Kerry, is the first university in the...more
One of the world's largest not-for-profit foundations has teamed up with a venture capital firm to invest $50 million in a fund that aims to improve the health of children around the world,...more
"For decades, people have often assumed that playing video games is somehow bad for children, undermining their well-being," UNICEF's Bo Viktor Nylund says in a press release. "But our new study...more
"As a family-owned company, we are humbled to give to organizations that provide hope and healing to so many families." So says Meijer CEO Rick Keyes in announcing a $3 million donation to help...more
Peter Kessler graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in chemical engineering, and now he's working on an AI invention that "stands on the brink of the educational...more
"They have over 100 lobbyists walking the halls here with us today and they're awash in money and it's really a Sisyphean challenge for a bunch of parents to fight against these big interests," says...more
"Now is the time for creative, collaborative solutions that will drive positive outcomes for all children." That's the message from the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard...more
A London-based tech startup has come up with 3D-printed headphones specifically designed for kidsand they're going on sale next year, Fast Company reports. The Kibu Headphones, which were...more
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Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Social Entrepreneurship: Meet the Disruptors of The World Of Philanthropy
William D. Eggers and Paul Macmillan of Dowser write about the social entrepreneurs slowly and steadily dirsupting the world of philanthropy. According to Forbes, philanthropy disruptors are those that believe “no one company is so vital that it can’t be replaced and no single business model too perfect to upend.”
