News Items

$114,720 grant to use community-driven planning to strengthen Grand Rapids as a regional hub and improve infrastructure, safety and economic opportunity Key Points: Boost Regional Revitalization: Blandin awarded $114,720 to the Grand Rapids Economic Development Authority (GREDA) to revitalize the Highway 2 corridor with MNDOT, improving infrastructure, safety and economic development. Strategic Community Alignment: This …

Grants to Minnesota’s smallest towns highlight needs, dreams and innovation in rural areas. Key Points: Blandin announced funding to 72 grantees in rural MN communities with populations under 5,000 in Blandin’s local giving area and throughout the state. Rural communities in MN receive only eight percent of philanthropic funding despite hosting 23 percent of the …

Unique $500,000 Capital Grant to Northern Dental Access Center in Park Rapids Expands Nationally Recognized Model Key points: $500,000 grant enables Northern Dental Access Center to acquire and expand the Park Rapids Community Dental Clinic, serve new patients and improve access to essential dental and health care in rural Minnesota. Addresses critical needs with a …

Key points: Following a 10-year tenure as a grants officer with Blandin Foundation, Kyle Erickson was named Blandin Foundation director of rural grantmaking. As a grants officer, Erickson oversaw a multi-million-dollar grant portfolio addressing some of rural Minnesota’s most pressing needs, including affordable housing, support for first-generation college students, and expansion of legal services for …

Funding will help fight poverty and build community through long-term planning, program evaluation and organizational development. Key Points:
 KOOTASCA supports vital community needs, including affordable housing, early childhood education, community engagement and poverty reduction.  The combined service area of Itasca and Koochiching counties experiences higher rates of poverty and food insecurity and lower median household …

Steady and strong toward the horizon I grabbed my phone the other day, talked with one of my kids, checked texts and emails, and looked up the route to my next meeting. It struck me how deeply my phone has changed my life. It also got me to thinking – maybe it has you, too …