Collider Foundation to Host Community Incubator Informational Session

Rochester 501(c)3 nonprofit Collider Foundation will be hosting a community incubator informational session on Wednesday, February 14th from 8:30-9:30AM within their offices at the Minnesota BioBusiness Center. During this session, Collider Foundation’s leadership will provide details regarding a brand new incubator program they are poised to launch in April of this year to provide support as individuals go from business idea to a working model of their product or service. This project is focused on women and minority entrepreneurs in Rochester, MN as to support their mission to reduce barriers to entrepreneurship, especially for historically underserved groups. 

Collider Foundation intends to pilot 3 incubator programs throughout FY2024-2025. Through involvement in this incubator program, individuals will develop the skill sets and relationships that will help them pursue economic freedom and improve their financial situation through entrepreneurship, with the end goal of developing a minimally functional product or service by the end of the 3 month cohort. This program builds upon years of experience and community feedback, taking services Collider is experienced in providing and placing them under a community incubator program. 

Although  this project is focused on women and minority entrepreneurs in Rochester, MN, anyone is welcome and encouraged to apply. Interested applicants should attend this informational session, contact the Collider Foundation team at hello@collider.mn,  and consider registering for the upcoming CO.STARTERS Bootcamp event on Monday, February 19th. 

This work is supported, in part, by the State of Minnesota through a grant from The Office of Small Business and Innovation, Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), which is the state’s principal economic development agency.  DEED programs promote business recruitment; expansion and retention; international trade; workforce development; and community development. 

For any additional questions or comments regarding Collider Foundation’s incubator program or work within the community, please contact Executive Director Amanda Leightner at amanda@collider.mn or call (507) 722-0306.

Registration information for this event can be found here.

Q&A with Angie Ellsworth of Time Out Behavior Coaching

Meet Angie Ellsworth, local business owner and member of the Women's Peer Group at Collider!

Business: Time Out Behavior Coaching, LLC

Q: Share a bit about your business! What problem are you addressing, what is your solution, and who is your target customer base?

A: We provide in-home, on-site, and online behavior coaching and training for adults who love and work with children with challenging behaviors. Our coaches utilize research-based education, skills, and strategies to help manage emotions more positively, communicate more effectively, and create more connected relationships.

We are side by side with parents during meltdowns and arguments, helping build confidence and maintain calm, with strategies proven to work. 98% of our clients report improvement in their relationships when applying what our coaches teach and model. In-home parent coaching gets to the heart of the matter, with kind, clear, specific and sincere observations and conversations about how we can help you break the patterns of yelling, guilt, shame, and frustration and be on a path to more joyful parenting.

Community organizations, schools, and businesses can also benefit from our years of experience and training by hosting us for customized behavior management classes, training and coaching. Research shows when employees feel like they are being heard, have tools to successfully manage their daily interactions with others, and build their confidence learning with others, they are more productive, happier, and committed to their work and the people around them.

Our services are open to all families and organizations in a 90 mile radius of Rochester, MN and online for everyone.

Q: How has being a part of Collider's peer group has impacted you and your business?

A: The Collider peer group has been a valuable source of inspiration, with other women business owners who share creative ideas and resources to support me and my business. Each of the women bring a unique insight and opinion that is honest and sincere, with encouragement to find a way that not only fits for my business, but feels good as a woman, mother, entrepreneur, and leader.

Thanks so much to Angie for sharing about her work and for being a valuable part of the Collider community!

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.

Collider Foundation Q4 Quarterly Report

---

Want to support Collider’s ongoing work with the Rochester entrepreneurial community? Follow this link to donate!

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Awards Grant to Collider Foundation

Rochester 501(c)3 nonprofit Collider Foundation is pleased to announce that it has been awarded $67,000 by The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) through the Small Business Assistance Partnership Competitive Grant program. The awarded funds will be used to provide small business development and technical assistance services to entrepreneurs and small business owners in Minnesota during FY2024-2025. This assistance supports Collider’s ongoing mission to empower early stage entrepreneurs throughout Rochester, Minnesota, specifically to pilot 3 incubator cohorts, as well as support the ongoing delivery of CO.STARTERS cohort programs, monthly educational workshops, and 1:1 startup support. 

Collider Foundation’s work in Rochester is founded upon a strong track record of trust and feedback from the entrepreneurial community. This funding is critical to support the launch of Collider’s brand new incubator program, focused on early stage women-led food, technology, and business consultancy companies. Through this incubator program, individuals will develop the skill sets and relationships that will help them pursue economic freedom and improve their financial situation through entrepreneurship, with the end goal of developing a minimally functional product or service by the end of the 3 month cohort. 

A formal information session about the incubator will be hosted by Collider Foundation in early 2024. The first incubator cohort is anticipated to start in spring 2024.

This program builds upon years of experience and community feedback, taking services Collider is experienced providing and placing them under a community incubator program. We believe that this work best answers the needs deeply felt by women-led businesses in Rochester and are grateful that this work is supported, in part, by the State of Minnesota through a grant from The Office of Small Business and Innovation, Department of Employment and Economic Development.

This is Collider Foundation’s first grant from the State of Minnesota. Collider is seeking donation matches from the local community to fully operationalize this program.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is the state’s principal economic development agency.  DEED programs promote business recruitment; expansion and retention; international trade; workforce development; and community development. DEED’s Mission is to empower the growth of the Minnesota economy, for everyone.

“We are extremely grateful to DEED for supporting our mission and providing us with funds to pilot the launch of a formalized community incubator program. This work is a natural next step for our organization to fulfill our mission and more deeply serve entrepreneurs. As a first ever grant from the state, we see this opportunity as an important milestone in our growth and sustainability as an organization. I am personally grateful to everyone who has dedicated their time to Collider’s work and mission since we started our work in the community,” said Amanda Leightner, Collider Foundation Executive Director.

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.