At Sourcewell’s annual Nonprofit Impact Funding Review Day last week, the Initiative Foundation was able to provide additional funding to Employment Enterprises and Confidence Learning Center.

The funding review day at Sourcewell allows nonprofits and government agencies to work together on how to present their projects for impacting the communities.

Confidence Learning Center in Brainerd provides outdoor and recreation opportunities to people with developmental and cognitive disabilities, and Employment Enterprises is a group out of Little Falls that helps adults with developmental disabilities and mental illness. The two groups have partnered together to help build confidence and employment skills. To their amazement, after presenting their ideas, the two organizations were among several who were awarded funding for their program.

Together, the two groups were one of the four entities that were funded through Sourcewell and were awarded additional funding from the Initiative Foundation. This was a way to serve rural Minnesota and to have local foundations serve local communities.

This fund will now give them the ability to put programs into place that never existed in the past, all while changing lives in the future.

This wasn’t an easy process for all the many other applicants who applied. There were over 70 letters of inquiries that were submitted. The Initiative Foundation narrowed the search down to who would be allowed to apply for the programs funding grants.

This specific application that came through Employment Enterprises and Camp Confidential Learning Center was a surprise. They had no idea they were being considered for the grant, but the Initiative Foundation used Sourcwells application process. The use of their help would save administrative burden and time.

In total, there were 15 organizations across 14 counties but Confidence Learning Center was the first to receive a well-deserved and generous donation to keep investing in lives.

By — Hanky Hazelton