Collider Foundation Receives $10,000 from Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s Inclusive and Equitable Communities Grant
Rochester 501(c)3 nonprofit Collider Foundation is pleased to announce that it has been awarded $10,000 from Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s Inclusive and Equitable Communities Grant, which seeks to build inclusive, welcoming environments and advance equitable opportunities in the lives of all people through the work of awarded grantees. Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) grants are awarded to nonprofits and local government units that support entrepreneurship, early childhood development and community vitality in SMIF’s 20-county region. These funds will be utilized by our organization to run two, two day business education cohorts in 2024. One cohort will be delivered in English and one in Spanish, with 75% of enrollees identifying women, immigrants, veterans, low income individuals, or BIPOC entrepreneurs.
Collider Foundation believes in a community with zero barriers to entrepreneurship for anyone with a great business idea and the passion to see it grow. Our major services are 1:1 startup support, education, coworking, and storytelling. Our education services provide a framework of business basics and help individuals go from idea to action. By providing the entrepreneurial community with accessible, easy to understand business education, we aim to create and advance initiatives to increase equity and inclusion within the community. We believe that entrepreneurship is a powerful tool to break generational poverty and provide a pathway toward independence. Providing people with tools that they can utilize for a lifeline is a strong way to diversify and increase inclusion in our community.
Moving forward with our business education services and projects in 2024, as funded in part by Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, we look forward to delivering accessible, easily understandable business information to help people critically think through their business idea and understand the next steps to move that idea forward, effectively creating and advancing inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial systems in communities of diverse backgrounds.
“We are very grateful to SMIF for their continued partnership and support for this work. We look forward to providing even more entrepreneurs with a solid framework of business skills to make their ideas a reality in this community,” said Amanda Leightner, Collider Foundation Executive Director.
Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), a donor-supported foundation, invests for economic growth in the 20 counties of south central and southeastern Minnesota. The Foundation has provided more than $154 million in grants, loans and programming within the region during the past 37 years. SMIF's key interests include entrepreneurship, early childhood development and community vitality. To learn more about their work and mission, visit www.smifoundation.org.
For any additional questions or comments regarding this grant or Collider Foundation’s work within the community, please contact Executive Director Amanda Leightner at amanda@collider.mn or call (507) 722-0306.
