Red Rock On Air

Little Falls, Minn. (April 2, 2010) – The Initiative Foundation announced that it has awarded 18 community grants totaling $114,004 to support local projects. The following organizations were selected as grant recipients:

Amherst Wilder Foundation (St. Paul) – $5,000 to expand the Minnesota Compass project so that current data on social and economic trends is available for each central Minnesota county.

City of St. Cloud – $10,000 to establish an Urban Area River Corridor Plan that will help three cities and three counties coordinate efforts to balance natural resource protection with riverfront development on the Mississippi River.

Mora Public Schools – $2,500 to support the Kanabec County Inside-Out Connections coalition as they create a community response to address the needs of children of incarcerated parents.

St. Cloud State University – $20,000 to support the ongoing efforts of the Greater St. Cloud Area Thrive team as they increase strengthen the network of mental health services for young children and their families.

Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District (Waite Park) – $20,000 to develop lake management plans for eight lake associations through the foundation’s Healthy Lakes and Rivers Partnership program. The eight groups chosen represent Big Fish, Pelican of St. Anna, Rice & Koronis, Long & Crooked, Pearl, North Albany, Pierz, and Two Rivers Lakes.

Stimulating Economic Progress (Wadena) – $5,000 to operate the Prairie Rivers Demonstration Kitchen, a shared commercial kitchen that growers can use to produce and sell their goods year round.

WesMin Resource Conservation & Development Council (Alexandria) – $1,000 for an educational seminar on reducing winter feed costs for livestock owners while conserving natural resources.

GREATER PINE AREA FOUNDATION:

The Greater Pine Area Endowment, a component fund of the Initiative Foundation, announced the following grant awards:

•             Kettle Kinship (Sandstone) – $4,000 to provide support for the Pine City Mentors program.

•             Pine County Sheriff’s Department (Pine City) – $2,001 to equip defibrillators for infant/child emergency response for Project Headstart for Kids.

•             Pine Technical College (Pine City) – $1,400 to sponsor the Women in Technology Conference for sixth-grade girls to explore careers in technology.

•             Pregnancy Resource Center of Pine City – $603 to support the”24/7 Dad” Fatherhood Program aimed at improving fatherhood skills and attitudes.

BOB & MARSHA BUNGER ENDOWMENT:

The Bob & Marsha Bunger Endowment, a donor-advised fund, announced a $500 grant award to the Minnesota Humanities Center (St. Paul) to support the organization’s general operations.

SCHLAGEL ENDOWMENT:

The Schlagel Endowment, a donor-advised fund established by John and Bonnie Schlagel of Cambridge, announced two $1,000 grant awards to the Isanti County Humane Society (Cambridge) for animal care and the Trichotillomania Learning Center, Inc. (Santa Cruz) for program support.