Featured Stories

"A Very Feminine, Very Driven Business Incubator": The WBDC

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, May 08, 2013

The local office of the Chicago-based Women's Business Development Center gives majority-women-owned ventures here support and connections they might not otherwise have--as long as they can pass a rigorous qualifying process. It's women helping women to shatter the glass ceiling.

Creative Leadership, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, Strong Local Economy

North Side

A Line or Two: Urbanist Katherine Loflin Coming to town to talk placemaking and "talent magnetism"

Jon Spayde Wednesday, April 24, 2013

She was the key consultant on the Knight Foundation/Gallup Soul of the Community project, which looked at why people love where they live and how that attachment can drive economic development. The in-demand placemaker is the star attraction at a weeklong series of discussions next week, cosponsored by The Line.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, Regionalism, Strong Local Economy

At the U of M, a confab for designers who want to change the world

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Consolidating its position as a laboratory for cutting-edge design thinking, the University of Minnesota's College of Design hosted the first Public Interest Design Week. Its climax was an awards show that displayed ingenious design-driven solutions to the dilemmas of poverty and ill health in America and around the world.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Emerging Technology, Higher Education, Philanthropy, Sustainability

University

The Building Sustainable Communities Program: Art for Everybody's Neighborhood

Jay Walljasper Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Art lives in the Twin Cities--and not just in the tonier parts of town. Thanks to initiatives like Twin Cities LISC's Building Sustainable Communities program, art and artists are taking major roles in helping some of our most challenged inner-city communities thrive.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Philanthropy, Reuse / Rebuild, Talent Dividend, Transit Oriented Development

Phillips, North Side, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Powderhorn, Summit - University

The Bush Foundation's Lars Leafblad on Leadership: from "top down" to "around"

Jon Spayde Wednesday, January 23, 2013

For executive-search professional Lars Leafblad, recently named head of the Bush Foundation's leadership program, the top-down leadership paradigm is dying. Despite political gridlock, a new ethic of connectivity, consensus, and compromise is struggling to be born--and he has some ideas on how we can all help it happen.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Philanthropy

A Line or Two: Dinner with LaDuke

Jon Spayde Wednesday, January 16, 2013

In A Line or Two, I share some of my enthusiasms and discoveries as I make my way around the Twin Cities. Call it an editor's note as blog entry. This week: Thanks to the cooks-with-a-conscience at Eat for Equity, you've got a chance to share a meal, and a cause, with famed activist (and Green Party vice-presidential candidate) Winona La Duke.

Creative Leadership, diversity, Philanthropy, Sustainability

Emily's Feasts: Eating well and doing good with Eat for Equity

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, January 09, 2013

As a college student, Emily Torgrimson wanted to help with Hurricane Katrina relief. She cooked dinner for friends and collected donations. Seven years later, she's got a national nonprofit on her hands, with coverage on the Today show and plans for a nationwide trailer tour.

Creative Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy

Young Leaders 1: Architect/Philanthropist John Larsen on Going Beyond Grantmaking

Jon Spayde Wednesday, December 12, 2012

In this first of an occasional series of interviews with young movers and shakers in the Twin Cities, we talk with John Larsen, an architect whose personal giving, and family foundation, support deeply held personal values rooted in personal experiences. For Larsen, philanthropy needs to explore options beyond writing checks--like new partnerships with government.

Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Philanthropy, Sustainability

Calhoun - Isles

Local nonprofits redefine aid to Africa

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, October 31, 2012

With 150,000 immigrants and refugees from Africa living within its borders, Minnesota's ties to the continent are growing. Some nonprofits here are leading the way toward a new model for helping Africa develop, replacing the top-down aid mentality with models of mutuality, transparency, and--most of all--face-to-face friendship.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Healthcare, Philanthropy

The Big Picture: Dane Smith and Maureen Ramirez on justice, jobs, and education

Jon Spayde Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The president and the research/policy director of the local think tank Growth and Justice are "business-oriented progressives." In the face of dogma to the contrary, they dare to assert that there's an unbreakable link between economic fairness and economic growth. And they're bringing that spirit to the most compelling economic issue of all: jobs.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Higher Education, Philanthropy, Strong Local Economy, Talent Dividend

Saint Anthony Park

After-School Specials: Innovative Programs Engage Kids Before They Go Home

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, August 08, 2012

With a new school year approaching, we take a look at three unique programs that show how Minnesota has become a "thought leader" in developing--and funding--positive alternatives for youth.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Green Jobs, Philanthropy, Talent Dividend

University, North Side, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown

Grassroots and Groundwork: Escaping poverty by blending tech and tradition

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, June 13, 2012

At the Grassroots and Groundwork anti-poverty conference--held at Mystic Lake Casino, of all places--attendees heard about ingenious ways to build wealth in struggling communities by adapting old-school immigrant self-help tactics to the digital age.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Philanthropy, Regionalism, Strong Local Economy

The gorilla yogis: instant philanthropy on a mat

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, June 06, 2012

They show up in unlikely places around town--scores of yoga practitioners practicing their poses and tossing charitable contributions into a kitty. It's rogue yoga and grassroots philanthropy, and as it grows in popularity, the three women who started it want to keep it unpredictable.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy

Geoffrey Canada in Minneapolis: "Get Ready for Your Moment"

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, April 18, 2012

From books to documentaries to television appearances, Geoffrey Canada has earned accolades as an education reform leader and the head of Harlem Children’s Zone. Last week he was in Minneapolis to speak to a convention of youth and educators involved in the service-learning movement, where he told them "you never know when you'll be needed."

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Philanthropy, Talent Dividend

Downtown

Connecting two continents with teeshirts

Nancy Crotti Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The teeshirts bearing the brand Forgotten are articles of faith as well as articles of clothing. The fledgling company was created to help the Ugandan farmers and cotton spinners who create the shirts and the inner-city Minneapolis teens who screen-print them. Now a major rock tour is set to take Forgotten gear to a new level.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs, Philanthropy

Philanthropy : Featured Stories