4 Finalists for Northwest Minnesota Among 16 Finalists Named for Initiators Fellowship

2 of the 4 to be named Fellows for two-year program through the Northwest Minnesota Foundation

 

Sixteen social entrepreneurs have been chosen as finalists from a pool of 85 applicants to move to the next stage of the 2022-2023 Initiators Fellowship selection process.

Following Selection Day, to be held Tuesday, Oct. 5, eight social entrepreneurs will be named Fellows for the 2022-2023 cohort for the Initiators Fellowship. Two will be chosen from the Northwest Minnesota region specifically.

Each of the four participating Minnesota Initiative Foundations will have two fellows from their region, each receiving an annual $30,000 stipend during the two-year program, executive-level mentoring, leadership training, and ongoing education and support to advance their mission-driven business or nonprofit endeavor.

“We were blown away by the many folks doing important social enterprise work throughout Greater Minnesota,” said Brian Voerding, Initiative Foundation vice president of inclusive entrepreneurship. “We had a tough job narrowing the pool, and we look forward to finalist day when we can meet the finalists and learn even more about their work.”

Meet the Finalists for Northwest Minnesota

Initiators Fellowship is new to Northwest Minnesota

 

The Initiators Fellowship, launched by the Initiative Foundation in 2016, expanded to include the Northwest Minnesota Foundation for this next cohort, offering the fellowship opportunity to social entrepreneurs throughout NMF’s 12-county service area and two native nations, Red Lake and White Earth.

Aligned with the Fellowship’s existing partners — including the Initiative Foundation, Southwest Initiative Foundation and West Central Initiative — the program for emerging social entrepreneurs is now open to applicants from 53 Greater Minnesota counties and six native nations.

Finalists for this next cohort were chosen following an open application period.

The first cohort of four Fellows graduated in December 2019. In December, seven Fellows will graduate from the 2020-2021 cohort.

The finalists for the 2022-2023 cohort represent a diverse range of interests—from an entrepreneur with a goal to increase immigrant home ownership to an artist-in-residence program for rural communities to a social justice champion with a health and wellness business.

Learn More Here