Cook County Higher Education

Support Services and Scholarship Program

Located in Grand Marais Minnesota, Cook County Higher Education (CCHE) has a mission to provide local access and support for college education and training on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Through their unique model, CCHE is able to collaborate with area colleges and universities using a blend of technology and local professionals, to bring high quality degree and certification programs to a community that would otherwise not be served. The organization also provides workforce training and lifelong opportunities to Cook County residents. In 2019, the Foundation awarded a grant to CCHE in the amount of $65,000 to provide scholarships and to ensure strong support services for students.

Lake Superior College

Eco Entrepreneur Program

Lake Superior College (LSC) located in Duluth, is an open-enrollment, two-year, post-secondary, public education institution dedicated to academic excellence and committed to student success. In 2019, LSC kicked off a long-anticipated Eco Entrepreneurship Program to serve as a key vehicle for LSC’s innovation for sustainable community development. Eco Entrepreneurship integrates environmental sustainability (science), field learning and experiences (applied science), and entrepreneurship (business), with social analysis focused on creating sustainable and equitable community development; creating a broad array of opportunities in regenerative agriculture, value added food production, and the utilization of sustainable energy systems. In 2019, the Foundation awarded a grant of $25,000 LSC to assist with tools, equipment, supplies, garden building materials, and ecological infrastructure to construct an outdoor classroom that will serve as the living laboratory for the program.

Care Partners of Cook County

Mindfulness & Memory Care Programming

Care Partners of Cook County supports the health, independence and quality of life of seniors with a stated mission of providing support and companionship to those on the journey of aging and serious illness. Seeing a need in the community to support individuals dealing with dementia as well as caregivers, Care Partners piloted two programs to help reduce isolation, offer mental stimulation, and provide coping skills to improve the quality of life and care: Memory Café and a Mindfulness-Based Dementia Care class. In 2019, the Foundation provided a grant of $12,000 to assist in the launch of these two important programs in Grand Marais.

Superior Hiking Trail Association

Hiking Trail Improvements

The Superior Hiking Trail Association (SHTA) was founded for the expressed purpose of creating, building and maintaining the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT). This natural footpath hiking trail along the North Shore of Lake Superior, is an iconic outdoor resource spanning 300 miles from the Ontario boarder to the Minnesota-Wisconsin state line. The goals of SHTA are to imbed a sense of environmental responsibility to the land, and trail resilience by adopting a "water mindfulness" best-practice for the organization. This means that all physical work on the trail considers the trail's interactions with waters, which occurs on every yard of the SHT. In 2019, the Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to support and train volunteers in national trail building standards with a goal to reduce soil erosion, minimize wetland damage, and protect stream banks to help ensure that the SHT is preserved for generations to come.

The Duluth Library Foundation

Every Child Ready Duluth

The Duluth Library Foundation exists to enhance the work of the Duluth Public Library. The Library Foundation provides funds for library programs, equipment, computer resources, and needed hands-on learning materials for all library branches in Duluth, through raising private funds and growing their existing endowment. In 2019, the Foundation awarded a $25,000 for start-up support for the "Every Child Ready Duluth" initiative. The initiative seeks to build a community-wide coalition of parents, educators, health professionals and others, to optimize existing opportunities and develop new approaches for school readiness. Project goals include: Increase birth-to-kindergarten books and materials, obtain and provide early literacy training, and develop the community coalition focused on promoting school readiness.

Duluth Superior Area Educational Television Corporation (WDSE)

Making it Up North Program

Duluth Superior Area Educational Television (WDSE) has a mission to be a trusted nonprofit community partner providing media and services for the public good. Their goals are to provide programs and services that inform, educate, enlighten, and enrich the pubic; and to help inform civil discourse essential to communities both regionally and nationally. In 2019, the Foundation provided a grant of $10,000 to support the Making it Up North program. The program explores stories of people who are creating products and services, allowing for them to make a living in Minnesota’s Northland. Making It was created to raise awareness of the creative culture in the region; connect viewing audiences to entrepreneurial artists, craftsmen, musicians and authors; stimulate local economic growth for artists; and encourage understanding of the use of arts in education.