Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) recently approved 23 grants totaling $206,000 to support small towns of 10,000 or less in SMIF’s 20-county region, which includes Goodhue, Wabasha, Winona, Olmsted, Dodge, and Rice counties.
$10,000 went to Lake City Port Authority to implement recommendations provided to Lake City from a Rethos Downtown Assessment. This will include downtown revitalization initiatives, community events and an updated website to allow residents to access information more easily.
$10,000 went to Dundas Oktoberfest to establish a new annual event unique to Dundas which will build community connections, is family-friendly and will attract visitors to town.
In addition to the grant awards, SMIF was also able to award an additional $24,000 to organizations that applied, but which projects aligned more directly with different grant funding in SMIF’s portfolio.
Kenyon-Wanamingo Schools Community Education received $10,000 to to provide the community and students with an outdoor learning space.
The Small Town Grant program was launched in 2017and the recent approval of 23 grants has pushed the total of Small Town Grants awarded beyond 100 for a total of 113 projects since the program began. Through this program, SMIF has invested a total of (over) $972,490 in the small towns of our region.