Northwest Minnesota Foundation impact report shows growth in business grants, housing and philanthropy

BEMIDJI, Minn. — Home building, philanthropic growth, new business grants and further work with communities are all high points from the Northwest Minnesota Foundation’s Fiscal Year 2024, said three members of the organization.

The impact report for the past fiscal year, from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, has been officially released, detailing stories of success across northwest Minnesota communities. While the full breadth of what the NWMF does can be hard to fully explain, the organization of the report will hopefully help people better understand it, said Bethany Wesley, communications director.

“It came together really well,” she said. “From a personal standpoint, looking at what our team did in FY24 was extremely successful. It was impactful work that will have long-lasting impacts.”

The NWMF gave out 138 mission-driven grants through the year, adding up to more than $4 million, and 25 business loans totaling $843,009. Within the organization’s family of funds, which are funds the NWMF helps communities and other individuals create and manage, 19 have been added, bringing the total up to 446.

The Northwest Small Business Development Center, which provides no-cost consulting to entrepreneurs and small businesses, served 381 clients.

Two new subsidiaries of the foundation — the Northwest Community Impact Corporation and North Star Neighbors — have also gotten a start in the last year, the latter of which is already setting up new housing and planning for more.

Two new grant programs have also given a boost to the organization’s ability to fund business growth. The Minnesota Main Street Economic Revitalization Program helps fund projects like property improvements and building renovations, and the PROMISE (Providing Resources and Opportunity and Maximizing Investments in Striving Entrepreneurs) Act, created by the Minnesota Legislature in partnership with the Department of Employment and Economic Development, gives one-time grants to businesses and qualified nonprofits.

The two newer grant opportunities have contributed to the total $3,268,846 given away in grants in support of businesses for fiscal year 2024, much higher than the usual amount. Grants in support of children and families totaled $613,700 and grants in support of community reached $231,350, which is on par with previous years, Wesley said.

The state chose to share the grant program with the NWMF and other Minnesota initiative foundations because it saw them as good partners in being able to mobilize funding into communities, said Karen White, president and CEO of the foundation.

“With our being rooted in community, our connections in community, we are able to really get the word out that this funding is available, what the uses are, who would be eligible, and then bring in those applications and being able to then process those and move that funding through,” she said.

Two new subsidiaries of the NWMF formed in 2023 are also solidifying their presence within the foundation. The Northwest Community Impact Corporation, which is about supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses that have barriers to traditional capital and services by accessing additional federal funding, has done some initial lending and has just received a federal grant to increase staff capacity and further growth, White said.

North Star Neighbors focuses on creating affordable homes, said Cory Boushee, director of programs. Phase one included getting started on four homes in Thief River Falls and two in Red Lake Falls.

“We’re really excited to kick off phase two,” Boushee said. “We’ll be building four homes in East Grand Forks and four homes in Roseau, and those homes will be made affordable to families making under $90,000 a year.”

Other philanthropic efforts and work to combat homelessness were also on the docket for FY 2024, as well as adding 19 more funds to the now 446 funds NWMF manages for communities across northwest Minnesota. Looking to the future, the three members said they want people to know NWMF is a community foundation.

“We’re here to serve the community, so we really welcome people to contact us, communicate with us,” Boushee said. “We love to be in the community. We need those folks to reach out to us so we can learn how we can help.”

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation’s

official website

contains more stories of what the foundation has done throughout the year.

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