The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation Awards Grant to Collider Foundation through the Otto Bremer Trust Community Responsive Fund

Aug 13

Collider Foundation was recently awarded a grant by the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) through the Otto Bremer Trust and its Community Responsive Fund.

This grant support specifically will be used to fill gaps in support for the earliest stages of entrepreneurship within the Rochester community through free or low cost and accessible services to help get great business ideas off the ground. This includes supporting entrepreneurs through delivery of business education cohorts, including Collider’s longstanding CO.STARTERS programming and new community incubator program.

Key goals of the project include helping individuals with innovative ideas create a solid business model and allowing participants to test that business model through the development of a workable prototype or by demonstrating product/market fit through sales growth. Additionally, this project aims to create an increased number of sustainable businesses in our local ecosystem and help entrepreneurs, especially those most disconnected from networks of support, feel seen and heard.

Collider Foundation believes that entrepreneurship should be accessible to anyone with a great idea and a passion to see it grow, and that everyone should have access to high quality, accessible business education. Through our CO.STARTERS and incubator cohorts, entrepreneurs gain access to high quality education, business mentors, community resources, and a framework to grow and scale sustainable businesses in the Rochester community, at all low or no cost to the entrepreneur.

In the past six months, participants in these programs have accessed over $56,000 in capital, created 5.5 full time jobs within the community with an average wage of $40/hour, and launched 5 brand new companies in the Rochester community, including two brick and mortar spaces within the downtown area.

“Both SMIF and Otto Bremer Trust have been critical partners for Collider Foundation and believers in our mission since the early stages of our nonprofit journey. Their continued trust in our organization will continue to uplift and empower early stage entrepreneurs within Rochester and equip them with the knowledge, resources, and skills to create businesses with a lasting local impact,” said Amanda Leightner, Executive Director of Collider Founder.

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation is a regional development and philanthropic organization that fosters economic and community vitality in 20 counties of southern Minnesota through a culture of collaboration and partnership.The Otto Bremer Trust is a private charitable trust based in St. Paul, Minn. Created in 1944 by Otto Bremer, it is committed to supporting a better quality of life for residents of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Since its founding, OBT has invested nearly $1 billion in people, places, and opportunities in its region. For additional information, visit ottobremer.org and smifoundation.org.

If you have any questions about Collider or our work within the community, please contact Amanda Leightner at amanda@collider.mn or call (507) 722-0306.