Introducing a new board trustee and three new staff members
The Northland Foundation is thrilled to have welcomed a new board member and three new staff members in the past few months.
“It’s been several years since we’ve had a member from Koochiching County. Ashley’s experience in both nonprofit and small business leadership is a great match for our mission,” stated Northland Foundation’s President, Tony Sertich. “And, it’s been great to see small business activity steadily increasing across the region. Amanda, Christopher, and Katherine add much-needed financing and technical assistance capacity.”
Ashley Hall joined the Board of Trustees in September. She is the Executive Director of the Falls Hunger Coalition, a nonprofit food shelf addressing food insecurity in Koochiching County. She is also an entrepreneur and fitness instructor who has owned Evolve U Fitness and Wellness since 2013. In addition to the Northland Foundation, Hall sits on the board of Second Harvest North Central Food Bank and is a past president of the International Falls Rotary Club as well as served at the Rotary Club district level.
Ashley Hall, Board Trustee
Katherine Lahti began as a Business Consultant with the Northland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in July and primarily serves small business clients in northern St. Louis County within the Quad Cities and East Range area. Katherine graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a BA in History. She previously worked at Barr Engineering Co. providing support on regional-to-international engineering and design projects. She and her husband also operate his family’s fourth-generation farm.
Katherine Lahti, SBDC Business Consultant
Christopher Henagin came on board as a Business Consultant with the Northland SBDC in October. He will be serving the Northeast region of the state. Christopher graduated from the College of St. Scholastica with a BA in Marketing. He has previous experience as a financial advisor, digital marketing specialist, and is a small business owner.
Christopher Henagin, SBDC Business Consultant
Amanda Vuicich recently joined the Northland Foundation’s Business Services Program as an Economic Development Specialist/Small Business Lender. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She spent the past four years managing internal operations for Northspan while also consulting with clients on a range of projects. A large concentration of her work has focused on supporting non-profit lending requests, administering grant programs, and assisting local lenders with packaging SBA 7a small business loans.
Amanda Vuicich, Economic Development Specialist & Small Business Lender
Business Services News: $1.28 million in loans closed
Recently Closed Loans
The Northland Foundation closed three loans totaling $1, 280,000 since July, providing flexible financing to help bolster a diverse, thriving economy and support job expansion in northeast Minnesota.
Eye Clinic North, PA, Virginia
Midwest Partners, LLC, d/b/a Red Rocks Hotel & Suites, Hibbing
During the 3rd quarter of 2022, the Northland Foundation awarded 30 quarterly grants totaling $796,000 to support people and communities for a thriving region. Seven grants were made in partnership with State of Minnesota funding to expand child care in the region, with $95,000 in total going to child care entities in Cloquet, Duluth, Ely, Finland, and Grand Marais.
A number of grants went toward school and community based out-of-school time programs, including $50,000 toward the creation of a tech hub to provide learning and enrichment opportunities for students in the Deer River area and $100,000 for children and youth programming in Duluth’s Central Hillside neighborhood. A large percentage of children and youth in both these communities live in low-income households.
Basic needs supports comprised a significant share of grants funded last quarter, as well, with $300,000 awarded to increase affordable and emergency housing, medical care, food, winter clothing and other essentials.
“Supporting high quality, safe and nurturing programming for youth after school is a critical need and one that the Northland Foundation places a high priority on. We are honored to support this important work that helps youth develop to their fullest potential,” stated Director of Grantmaking, Erik Torch.
In addition, the students serving on the 2022-2023 Youth In Philanthropy Boardawarded three grants in October totaling $2,500 to support regional school and community projects planned and developed by children and youth.
Find detaila including grantee name, location, and dollar amount at the links below.
McKnight Foundation grant to support expanded “Belonging” work in northeast Minnesota
The Northland Foundation was recently awarded a one-year, $200,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation to expand our “Belonging” work. The grant will advance work to to 1) support Indigenous communities and individuals to assert their self-determination, achieve their full potential, and thrive, and 2) help rural communities address structural inequities by engaging community members in understanding and taking action on systemic bias and its impacts. Resources from the McKnight Foundation will help build on existing programs, including our Indigenous-designed and led Maada’ookiing Program, Business Services, and other programming to:
Foster leadership development
Support peer learning and networking
Increase access to financial resources
“McKnight is a longstanding partner to us, supporting our work in rural northeast Minnesota. This new funding provided through their Vibrant & Equitable Communities program will help bring additional, valuable resources to Indigenous communities and increase efforts to ensure all people in our region feel welcomed and connected,” said Northland Foundation President, Tony Sertich.
City of Duluth 1200 Fund awards $300,000 for Child Care Workforce Strategies Pilot Project
The City of Duluth’s Duluth 1200 Fund is contributing $300,000 to the Northland Foundation’s Child Care Workforce Strategies Pilot Project.
Through the Pilot project, licensed child care center and family programs may apply for funding of $1,500-$12,000 for staff recruitment and retention efforts. The goal of the project is to help stabilize and/or grow child care capacity and increase quality to serve more families with young children in northeast Minnesota communities and Tribal nations. Applications for these grants are being accepted on the Foundation’s website through December 13, 2022.
Tony Sertich, President of the Northland Foundation stated, “Right now, there are 3,700 children in our region who do not have access to child care. The shortage of child care openings is, like many other industries, affected by workforce shortages. The $300,000 from the 1200 Fund means virtually every licensed child care in Duluth could receive a grant to help boost their staffing, which will in turn help stretch additional funding from other partners throughout the seven counties and five Tribal nations in our region.”
