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Guest column by Tim Penny

Despite the holiday rush at the close of the year, I like to pause and reflect on the work of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation across our 20-county region. In no particular order, I would like to recognize some of the activities I am most proud of in 2024:

• Young children received additional support: A year ago, extra funds allowed SMIF to approve additional Early Care and Education Grant awards. From supporting the emotional development of children in Byron to providing mobile trainings to child care providers in New Ulm, this grant was able to enhance the care that children receive in the region.

• FEAST! was the biggest yet: The 11th annual FEAST! Local Foods Marketplace was brimming with businesses and attendees. More food and beverage businesses participated than ever before with 35% of the 215 vendors being new to the festival. The event attracted 25% more attendees than the previous year for a new record!

• The Paint the Town Grant expanded: SMIF awarded 256 gallons of paint to brighten 10 communities across our 20-county region through murals, welcome signs and historic structures. This year, the grant expanded to accept applications for public art and creative placemaking (an effort to use art, culture and community development to enhance public areas or revitalize vacant spaces). One of the grants provided a fresh coat of paint for a 1930s building at Farmamerica in Waseca that will house the 2024 presidentially pardoned turkeys.

• More books were distributed: In continuation of our mission to support early literacy, SMIF awarded 19,040 children’s books to 53 organizations through our Early Literacy Grant Program. The books helped organizations support young readers through summer reading programs, library classes, literacy tutoring services and more.

• Small towns received more support: SMIF’s Small Town Grant, an effort to improve the quality of life in small towns with populations under 10,000, surpassed a milestone: more than $1 million has been invested in the small towns of our region since the program began. On top of that, small towns received additional support from the Taylor Rural Improvements Grant and the Taylor Rural Child Care Grant, a pilot program started with a generous donation by Glen A. Taylor through the Taylor Family Farms Foundation. These grants helped start a mobile resource bus program in the Gibbon-Winthrop-Fairfax School District, replace an unsafe merry-go-round in Rushford Village, create an interactive, historical museum in Lake Crystal and more.

• Loan clients reached new heights: New loan clients — Cento, Woodfire Pizza in Albert Lea, The Rolling Cones in Blue Earth, Nick’s Car Care in North Mankato and more — joined the SMIF family, and some went national. SMIF loan client, Busy Baby LLC, in Oronoco added their innovative silicone baby products to Walmart and Target shelves across the country.

• SMIF’s Community Foundations continued to make an impact: Between SMIF’s 32 Community Foundations and 67 Designated Funds, a collective $12 million has been invested to benefit southern Minnesota. To name a few projects, the Spring Valley Area Community Foundation helped fund an annual summer reading program and a new walking path at a school, while the Mapleton Area Foundation provided Community Capacity grants to fund city-wide projects including new signs and youth programs.

• More Early Childhood professionals attended trainings: Early Childhood training attendance increased by more than 26% from the previous year. Our trainings, which range from understanding common child behaviors to encouraging imagination, strive to strengthen our region’s Early Childhood professionals and equip them with the tools they need to support the next generation.

• REV communities received a boost: Our new Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) communities have already seen great outcomes in their efforts to advance their small-town economies. This year, the REV communities received a special grant, which provided REV communities with funds to reach out to entrepreneurs, connect entrepreneurs with critical business services, pay for training, develop a sustainable funding strategy and more.

• Partnerships grew: We would not be able to accomplish all we do without the contributions of our partners. Some of our partners reach far into our history, such as our FEAST! Local Foods Network partner, Renewing the Countryside, and lending program partners like local banks and economic development agencies. We were able to get more books into the hands of young children thanks to our longstanding partnership with Capstone and ABDO Publishing. We are also grateful for our partnerships that are just beginning, such as the Taylor Family Farm Foundation, which will breathe new life into our small town efforts.

Last, but certainly not least, I am grateful to our donors and staff for their effort in strengthening our impact in southern Minnesota. The work we do today is creating the future we want to see for southern Minnesota.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can reach me at timp@smifoundation.org or 507-455-3215.

Tim Penny is the president and CEO of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. He represented Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1982 to 1994.