Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation awards $206,000 in Small Town grants
Sep. 5—ROCHESTER — Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation has approved 23 grants, totaling $206,000, to support small towns of 10,000 or fewer in the foundation's 20-county region.
The Small Town Grant program was launched in 2017 to support smaller communities which can benefit from additional financial resources to help them grow and address challenges. The recent approval of 23 grants has pushed the total of Small Town Grants awarded to 113 projects since the program began.
Through the program, SMIF has invested a total of $972,490 in the small towns of our region.
The 2023 Small Town Grant award recipients include:
* $10,000 to the city of Caledonia for a Holiday Pop-Up Shop incentive program to allow community members with business ideas to temporarily trial their business concept to introduce a new product line, test a new market or generate awareness for the new product.
* $7,500 to Elkton to transition an unused football field into a usable park with disc golf and other amenities. Additionally, the city will make its community center inclusive by adding sound boards which will make it easier to hear.
* $4,870 to Lewiston for a permanent shelter at the popular Lewiston Dog Park.
* $10,000 to Plainview to support the development of a National Service Park which will highlight all forms of national service including Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, military and other types of service.
* $10,000 to Rushford for the development of a lighted pedestrian, multi-use trail and sidewalk extension to provide a safe, off-street route for students and residents of the community.
* $10,000 to the Fillmore County Historical Society for educational signage to better accommodate tourists that come in search of the sinkholes that are unique to the area.
* $10,000 to Good Earth Village in Spring Valley to create interpretive signage and educational materials to help the community and visitors learn about the rare species that exist on the 477-acre property.
* $6,854.25 to the Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center to develop one cohesive brand for the community to be used by the Chamber and other city-wide organizations.
* $10,000 to Leo Augusta Children's Academy in Blooming Prairie for equipment that will make it possible to turn the gymnasium into a community space.
* $10,000 to Preston Historical Society to create an implementation plan for the historic campus and riverfront area. The plan will include key design elements such as the depot/museum, riverfront amenities, history and storybook trails, playground and park spaces and historic signage, as well as land use and historical cultural designations.
* $10,000 to Rushford Public Library to place a gazebo in the Library City Park to bring back nostalgic history to the park where the community can relax or attend local events.
* $7,395 to the Stewartville Public Library to update a room so that it can accommodate virtual meetings and test proctoring for the community.
"This grant gives our smallest towns the financial support they need to do things that can make a huge difference for the people living there," said Tim Penny, SMIF president and CEO, said in a statement announcing the latest grants.
In addition to the Small Town Grant awards, SMIF awarded an additional $24,000 to organizations that applied with projects that aligned more directly with different SMIF grant funding. The additional funding was:
* $4,000 to the city of St. James for Lunch and Learns for business owners and other community members to learn about various topics such as marketing, business planning, business succession, retaining a workforce and more.
* $10,000 to Dodge County Environmental Services to offer training for child care providers.
* $10,000 to Kenyon-Wanamingo Schools Community Education to provide the community and students with an outdoor learning space.
