Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation

Penny: SMIF supports small towns

May 31, 2023

Summer is a wonderful time to take a drive through our state. In southern Minnesota you can enjoy beautiful lakes, bluffs and small towns. Chances are, you may already live in one of those small towns. Of the 173 communities in south central and southeastern Minnesota that comprise our region, only...

SMIF seeks applicants for small-town grants

May 24, 2023

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) is currently accepting applications for its Small Town Grant program. Towns with populations of 10,000 or less in SMIF’s 20-county region are eligible. Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, public institutions and units or agencies of local, state and...

SMIF accepts farmland donations

May 3, 2023

As president of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) I travel across our region nearly every day visiting people and places in the 20 counties that we serve. Over the 16 years that I have worked at SMIF, I have watched farming practices change and adapt. As someone who comes from a...

Penny: SMIF grantmaking to cross $50 million threshold this year

Mar 1, 2023

This year at Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), we will reach a milestone of investing more than $50 million in our communities through grantmaking since our start in 1986. While these grants support a wide range of projects – from providing books to young children to supporting small...

Penny: Strengthening the fabric of our region

Feb 1, 2023

At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) we are starting off the new year by reflecting on how we have worked to strengthen the fabric of our region over time. In part, we do this by celebrating a handful of our partners through stories in our Foundation’s annual Impact Report. In the...

SMIF grateful for our partners in 2022

Jan 4, 2023

At the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) our motto is collaborating for regional vitality, and we do our best to live up to that commitment. In each area of our work – early childhood, entrepreneurship, and community vitality – we are mindful of partners in the state and region with...

Tim Penny speaks to Lake City Kiwanis Club

Dec 21, 2022

Tim Penny spoke to the Lake City Kiwanis Club about his work as President and CEO of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. His work there included recently working with the State of Minnesota to issue over 2,000 federally funded grants to regional businesses affected by the Covid...

Do your holiday shopping locally

Nov 30, 2022

In this season of giving and gratitude, I am inspired by how generously the people in our region showed up on Give to the Max day, which was Nov. 17 this year. In just five days, over $85k was raised by Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s (SMIF) 30 community foundations. As a donor myself, I...

SMIF hosting professional development for entrepreneurs, childcare professionals

Aug 31, 2022

Continuing education in a business or profession is critical for growth, but trainings can be difficult to participate in when classes are held far away or are too costly. At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) we take pride in hosting a variety of high-quality, low-cost training...

Penny: Early literacy promotes lifelong success

Aug 3, 2022

As summer days turn into evening, many parents pull out a book or two to read to their kids at bedtime. This is important because studies consistently show that reading at a young age drastically improves a child’s educational trajectory. At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) we know...