The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) recently approved six grants totaling $48,800 to support small towns of 5,000 or less in SMIF’s 20-county region.

The Small Town Grant Program seeks to build sustainable and vibrant communities by engaging community members, enhancing existing leadership and creating opportunities for new leadership to emerge. Rather than funding one-time projects, the program seeks to build collaborative efforts and partnerships that will perpetuate collaboration for future work.

The 2019 Small Town Grant award recipients are:

• $10,000 to the Amboy Area Community Club to create a visionary plan for the continued viability of the historic downtown area of Amboy.

• $7,500 to the Blue Earth Economic Development Authority to support SHOP Blue Earth ,which will provide local high school students with resources to learn more about career options in the community.

• $5,000 to the City of Eagle Lake to support a Music in the Park program in order to promote the collective enjoyment of music in an outdoor setting.

• $6,300 to the City of Grand Meadow to support the development of “community nights,” which will focus on providing opportunities for people to be more engaged in the community.

• $10,000 to the City of Kasota to develop a strategic plan and shared mission for the community of Kasota.

• $10,000 to Saint Charles Public Schools to create a vision for the future of shared community spaces in Saint Charles.

“SMIF’s Small Town Grant Program is intended to breathe life into ideas that support important community initiatives,” said SMIF President and CEO Tim Penny. “In its third year, this program continues to be an important tool for small towns in our region to support community vitality efforts.”

For more information on SMIF’s grant process, contact Jennifer Heien at jenniferh@smifoundation.org or 507-214-7040.