Northfield Shares Celebrates a Successful 2018

May 23, 2019

Northfield Shares seeks to sustain and transform the Northfield community by advancing philanthropy, inspiring volunteerism, and promoting collaborative leadership. Community members, donors, volunteers and grant recipients gathered to review the organization’s 2018 accomplishments at the Northfield Shares Annual Celebration on May 10. The event, which was held at Community Resource Bank, also highlighted the 2018-19 grant recipients, provided opportunities for discussion and learning, and for thanking all who helped make 2018 a successful year for our community foundation.

Highlights of the program included:

Advancing Philanthropy

Increased assets managed from $2.2 million in 2017 to $4.3 million (each year includes more than $400,000 in non-owned assets managed for local nonprofit organizations).
Received a $2.6 million estate gift from Pat Lamb and Ele Hanson that provided immediate community grants and established two new endowment funds.
Don Nelson made a substantial contribution to his original endowment, enabling the Engeseth-Rinde Restoration Fund to become Northfield Shares’ first $1 million endowed fund.
Coordinated and hosted another successful Defeat of Jesse James Days Run/Walk that raised nearly $31,000.
Hosted our first Community Breakfast, which featured former Minneapolis Mayor and Current President and CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation R.T. Rybak, which raised over $33,000.
The Ames Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation continues its generous support with a pledge of $150,000 over the next three years.
Offered nearly $1.3 million in grants to nonprofit organizations through our named endowments and donor advised funds.

Inspiring Volunteerism

Northfield Shares staff and key volunteers played a major role in the area’s Storm Cleanup Efforts and collaborated with city, county and statewide organizations in our efforts to connect approximately 500 volunteers with 100 property owners who needed storm debris cleanup assistance.
Coordinated 50 Carleton and St. Olaf students who canvassed 1,400 homes to determine damage and cleanup needs for the city.
Selected Galaxy Digital as a complimentary volunteer management platform for the Northfield community to use.

Promoting Collaborative Leadership

Last September, Northfield Shares brought Dan Buettner, the best-selling author of the Blue Zones® book series to Northfield to share the secrets to living a longer and healthier life. More than 600 people attended the event to hear Dan’s message and learn more about Northfield Shares. The event prompted the following:
Administered a survey that indicated high interest by over 80 percent of respondents to further discuss idea of Northfield becoming a Blue Zones® Community
Sparked an ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders about the feasibility of Northfield becoming a Blue Zones Community
Prompted a group of Northfield leaders to visit Albert Lea, Minn., in May 2019 to learn about their journey to become the world’s first Blue Zones® Community.

Grants Spotlight

Northfield Shares Grants Committee chair Donna Rae Scheffert turned the spotlight on to 10 local nonprofits who received $66,467 in grants through the Northfield Shares competitive grants cycle. Scheffert highlighted each organization’s funded program or project.

This year’s grant recipients included: Community Action Center of Northfield; Northfield Healthy Community Initiative/Northfield Promise; Northfield Youth Sports Collaborative; Age Friendly Northfield Initiative; Healthfinders Collaborative; Northfield Garden Club/Northfield in Bloom; Rice County Neighbors United; Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys; Northfield YouthBank; and Project Friendship.

Congratulations to all of our grant recipients. The work of these organizations shows the strength of the Northfield community and the impact of what can happen when we work together to make a difference.

Special Recognitions

Northfield Shares recognized outgoing Board members Kris Estenson, Denny Hanson and outgoing youth Board members Irvin Corona and Anna Weber. We also welcomed new Board members Katie Warren of St. Olaf College and Tara Berndt of First National Bank of Northfield. (Pictured below are are Northfield Shares past Board chair Jan Hanson, outgoing Board members Anna Weber and Denny Hanson, and Board vice chair Mary Lynn Oglesbee)

In addition, Northfield Shares presented a special recognition plaque to Neuger Communications Group in appreciation for their years of generous support in building the Northfield Shares brand and expanding its mission (Pictured below are Northield Shares executive director Mike Krance with Dave and Ruthie Neuger)

Looking forward to 2019:

While the celebration focused on all who made 2018 a success, 2019 is well underway with exciting new developments and programs along with enhancing others. Some highlights that are already in motion include:

Friends and Foundation of the Northfield Public Library establishing Northfield Shares’ first endowed nonprofit agency fund.
The rollout of Northfield’s community volunteer portal.
Coordinating a three-page spread spotlighting local volunteerism in the Northfield News
Coordinating a May 4-5 cleanup weekend for property owners still needing help removing storm debris from last September
Working with a large group of volunteers Hosting a free Community Dinner for 1,000 people on Sunday, August 25.

Table Discussions

During the one-hour program, there were two 10-minute table discussion sessions related to the following questions:

Now that we’ve looked back at 2018, what aspect of Northfield Shares resonates most with you?
What might Northfield Shares do to have even greater community impact through its grants?

Northfield Shares would like to thank everyone who attended our Annual Celebration, provided their feedback during our table discussions, and helped make 2018 a great year. We look forward to working together to make an even bigger impact on the community in 2019.