The Northland Foundation awarded 54 grant funds totaling more than $975,000 to help support people and communities in the seven northeast Minnesota counties and five Tribal Nations within its service area.
A number of grants were made in partnership with other funding sources to strengthen access to child care in the region.
Following a regional research study, the Northland Foundation launched a Child Care Workforce Solutions Pilot Project to make flexible funding available through a competitive process to help licensed child care programs address staff recruitment and retention. In partnership with the City of Duluth 1200 Fund, the Northland Foundation awarded 17 grants, totaling $120,500 to assist licensed child care programs with implementing creative recruitment and retention strategies. In partnership with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation and other partners, Northland awarded funding to 30 licensed child care programs totaling $212,061 to implement workforce solution strategies.
Northland is also currently offering grant opportunities to help child care businesses start and expand in the region, including special funding for Greater St. Louis County child care, as well as grants to existing licensed family- and center-based child care to help pay for critical needs that allow them to sustain services.
In late March, the Maada’ookiing Board awarded seven grants totaling $17,310 to individuals or small groups to support creative projects that strengthen Indigenous community, culture, and regional capacity.
In addition, two grants were approved by the young people of the Youth In Philanthropy Board in their final grant round of the school year. These grants help support school and community projects that are planned and developed by children and youth, with funding from the Scott and Holly Martin Family Foundation and other Northland Foundation Emeritus Trustee Group members.
Read all details including grantee names, locations, and dollar amounts at the link below:
New support for crowdfunded micro-loans + four businesses receive financing
Recently closed loans
The Northland Foundation closed on four loans totaling $475,000 to support northeast Minnesota small businesses. They are:
Bali Asian Cuisine, LLC, Duluth
Grumpelstiltskin’s Fiber Mill, LLC, Culver
El Oasis del Norte, LLC, Hermantown
First Strike Safety Solutions, Inc., Duluth
To learn more about Business Services and loan tools available, please email our Business Services Director, Michael Colclough.
New service designed to increase access to capital
Free support for entrepreneurs to crowdfund microloans
The Northland Foundation has partnered with Kiva, a non-profit working in the microloan space, to help more small businesses in our region successfully access capital to start, sustain, and grow. Kiva uses a unique online crowdfunding platform.
Loan amounts range from $1,000 – $15,000 at 0% interest with a repayment term of up to 3 years. Loan agreements and repayment terms are managed directly by Kiva.
“As a Kiva Trustee, we help answer entrepreneurs’ questions and, for those who seek our support, connect them to a Northland SBDC consultant. The SBDC works with the borrower to complete a one-page business plan, Kiva online ‘pitch’, and promote their loan once it appears on Kiva’s web platform,” explained Amanda Vuicich, Small Business Lender. “We may also be able to match funds to help them reach their loan goal amount.”
The program helps entrepreneurs access a more sustainable funding option for growth than payday lenders or other predatory lending schemes.
“We were looking for a way to provide small loans to entrepreneurs who may not qualify for financing from traditional sources.” said Michael Colclough, Business Services Director. “This is a promising option.”
More about the process
What is the timeline from application to funding? After pre-application work is completed with the help of a local Northland SBDC consultant, the entire process takes between 45 and 60 days to complete.
What niche in the local financing landscape will Kiva help fill? Northland’s Kiva program will help fill the gap of small loans under $15,000 for entrepreneurs from all walks of life. This program will help advance Northland Foundation’s work around equity and belonging by making capital available to more entrepreneurs who are Black, Indigenous, of Latin or Hispanic heritage, Asian, or other people of color, and other under-served entrepreneurs. Because Kiva loans don’t require a strong credit history, collateral, or equity, it’s also an option for anyone who may have those types of barriers to securing traditional loan sources. Kiva does conduct online research on the borrower’s business and their social networks.
Can a Kiva loan be used as part of a capital stack for a project larger than $15,000? Absolutely! Kiva loans can be standalone financing for a project or be part of a larger funding package in partnership with traditional and nontraditional lenders.
How to get started
Download a flyer, visit NorthlandKiva.org for important details and to fill out an online Intake Form, or email Amanda Vuicich, Small Business Lender.
Funding Notes
Sheltering Arms Foundation grant supports trainings on Culturally Responsive and Trauma-informed Care
The Northland Foundation has been awarded a $15,000 grant from The Sheltering Arms Foundation to provide a series of trainings focused on cultural awareness, responsive care, and healing-centered practice.
The funding will help provide educational workshops with state and national experts in the field for people working with young children and families in a variety of settings, including informal family, friend, and neighbor care; licensed child care; school-based early childhood programs; and early elementary classrooms.
“The Sheltering Arms Foundation is a strong partner for young children and families in northeast Minnesota,” stated Zane Bail, Chief Operating Officer. “This grant will help bring accessible, high-quality training and supports to the adults who work with young children and their families to foster social-emotional well-being and create equitable learning environments.”
MDE Grant to support information-gathering from our region
The Northland Foundation received $25,000 Early Childhood Community Engagement Grant awarded through the Minnesota Department of Education.
As part of Minnesota’s Preschool Development Grant, several projects have been identified where additional community engagement is needed to advance priorities that support children, families and those who work with children and families. This funding will help support outreach and information-gathering from early care and education professionals and families with young children in northeast Minnesota, in order to better understand their experiences, challenges, and ideas about ways to improve early learning opportunities for our youngest children.
“Increasing high-quality child care and early education programs in our rural region continues to be a major focus of our work,” said Tony Sertich, President of the Northland Foundation. “We are pleased to be able to leverage our partnerships and community connections to collect important feedback from the people living and working in our region, and share that feedback with decision-makers at the state level.”
Introducing our new Director of Grantmaking
Michelle Ufford will officially start her work with the Northland Foundation on June 7
We are thrilled to welcome Michelle Ufford as Director of Grantmaking. Ufford steps into the role previously held by Erik Torch, who moved on to the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation in April.
She brings extensive experience throughout the region working with nonprofits, schools, governmental agencies, and businesses. Most recently, she was Director of Workforce Strategy & Talent Pipeline Development at Essentia Health. Prior to that, she worked at the Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training, including 12 as its Executive Director and later worked as Director of Program Development/School-Business Coordinator.
“Michelle has worked in our region and with many of the same organizations with which Northland Foundation partners. Her deep understanding of the strengths and challenges of our communities is a great asset,” said Tony Sertich, Northland Foundation President.
Michelle’s résumé also includes a wide range of board service including Northern St. Louis County Family Collaborative Services Board, Iron Range Tourism Board, East Range Tech Prep/School to Work Board, and the Minnesota Governor’s Workforce Development Board. She holds a degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota.
“Joining the Northland Foundation and leading its grant program offers a wonderful opportunity to further serve and strengthen the region I love.”
Michelle Ufford
A proud Iron Range resident, Michelle and her family live in Eveleth. “Having been involved in workforce development for over 22 years and as a 5th generation Iron Ranger raising a family here, I have a vested interest in ensuring our communities thrive today and in the future,” she said.
Q&A with Michelle
Q: As you step into your new job, what are you really jazzed about?
A: I am most excited to be joining a team of people who are highly invested in helping our region thrive and being able to personally contribute to the important work of the foundation. This role is a great culmination of my personal and professional background, and I am beyond thrilled to help support the continued growth and vitality of Northeast Minnesota.
Q: You’re a born-and-raised northeastern Minnesotan. How has that helped shape your thinking?
A: Being a northeastern Minnesota is a big part of my identity and has influenced me in many ways. I grew up in Eveleth and was in the first class to go from 7th to 12th grade under the initial “pairing and sharing” between the Eveleth and Gilbert school districts before they were officially consolidated. This was an early introduction to how doing things differently is for the greater benefit of all, a lesson I’ve never forgotten. In addition, my dad was a business owner in Eveleth for over 30 years, so I grew up with a strong sense of entrepreneurship and how vital small businesses are to the economic health of our region. I’m very happy to be part of a region that has such community pride and thrilled to be working for an organization that plays such an important supporting role to keep us all strong.
Q: In thinking about promoting ‘belonging’ for all people in the region, what grounds you?
A: Community is very important to me. As one with deep roots on the Iron Range, I’ve always been fascinated with local history. I believe it’s critical to learn from the past and understand how we all got to where we are today. Likewise, we must recognize the importance of creating more welcoming communities for everyone who lives here now and for others who want to move here. We know it can be difficult for new people to feel welcome in our communities, which I think is more a function of people already having existing, long-standing personal networks than particular biases, but it’s a complicated issue. Fostering and promoting a sense of belonging for not only our new neighbors but also people who grew up here who may feel on the fringe will only help us become stronger and able to weather the inevitable ups and downs that come with living in a rural place.
Q: What are some of the things you appreciate about living and working in this part of the state?
A: There is no better place to live, with all the distinct seasons and different ways to enjoy each one. In the warmer months, I love to garden and be in the woods or up at the lake. In the winter, I like to be out on the snowmobile trails. I would never live anywhere else!
