NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kristin Anderson, Program Officer
email: kristina@nwmf.org
The Northwest Minnesota Foundation has been named one of 10 participants in the Rural Welcoming Initiative for 2024.
The initiative is led by Welcoming America, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that leads a movement of inclusive communities becoming more prosperous by ensuring everyone belongs. Specifically, the nonprofit believes that all people, including immigrants, are valued contributors and vital to the success of our communities and shared future.
Participants in the Rural Welcoming Initiative access technical assistance and coaching, free Welcoming America membership, and ongoing learning opportunities to strengthen welcoming efforts in rural communities. Communities will be tasked with cultivating relationships, examining their current policies and programs, and aligning their local immigrant inclusion efforts to the “Welcoming Standard,” which sets benchmarks that local governments, community organizations, residents, and others can use to hold welcoming places accountable and spur innovation.
“We’re thrilled to be a part of this year’s cohort,” said Kristin Anderson, a Northwest Minnesota Foundation program officer that leads its Thriving Together program. “We want all the communities in Northwest Minnesota to be places where all people are welcome and have equal opportunities to live, work, raise families, and retire. We look forward to learning and connecting with other communities in this initiative.”
The 2024 cohort includes:
- Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation – Brattleboro, Vermont
- Catholic Charities of East Tennessee & HOLA Lakeway (partner participants) – Morristown, Tennessee
- City of Garden City – Garden City, Kansas
- City of New Ulm – New Ulm, Minnesota
- City of Willmar – Willmar, Minnesota
- Hello, Range! – Eveleth, Minnesota
- Meeker-McLeod-Sibley Community Health Services – Litchfield, Minnesota
- Nooksack Valley School District – Everson, Washington
- Northwest Minnesota Foundation – Bemidji, Minnesota
- Uniting Cultures/Uniendo Culturas – St. James, Minnesota
Since 2021, the Rural Welcoming Initiative has offered a competitive application process where selected nonprofits and local government entities with less than 50,000 people an opportunity to join the Welcoming Network and receive coaching and technical assistance, peer learning, and more.
This year, Rural Welcoming Initiative (RWI) participants will be paired with another organization, many of which are former RWI participants, to gain additional insights into welcoming work within a rural context. The Northwest Minnesota Foundation has been paired with the West Central Initiative; both foundations are Minnesota Initiative Foundations.
You can learn more about the initiative online at https://welcomingamerica.org/initiatives/rural-welcoming-initiative/
To learn more about the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, visit www.nwmf.org