News Release: McKnight to establish nonprofit focused on Twin Cities youth
December 8, 2010 - New organization will manage and build upon McKnight’s ongoing support for direct service, out-of-school time programs and field building
Next year, The McKnight Foundation will establish a new nonprofit in support of Twin Cities out-of-school (OST) time programs. "High-quality, accessible youth programs are essential for strong communities," said Kate Wolford, McKnight Foundation president. "We aim to expand upon learning and development opportunities that measurably benefit our young people, their families, and our communities. If our young people succeed, we all succeed."
With ongoing funding from McKnight and others, the new organization will make grants and undertake activities to engage and support youth, improve policies statewide, and strengthen Minnesota's OST field overall. The nonprofit, which has not yet been named, will establish operations and program strategies throughout 2011, and begin making grants in 2012.
Prior to that, McKnight will continue to directly manage its OST grantmaking as in recent years; the annual application deadline for 2011 is January 10.
"This decision comes after two years reviewing McKnight's strategies and investments to support Minnesota's children and families," explained Wolford. "Having researched national models and gathered the input of many regional field leaders, our board and staff are confident this funding strategy will allow us to serve and empower youth more effectively."
McKnight's board has approved an initial $11 million commitment for 2011-2013. Funding will cover startup costs for the new nonprofit in 2011, as well as support for operations, youth engagement, and grantmaking in 2012 and 2013. McKnight's OST grant support through the new nonprofit will be on par with the Foundation's support level for the work in recent years.
Working with an advisory council of local field leaders, McKnight has recruited seven initial board members for the new nonprofit. Kit Hadley, Saint Paul Public Library director and former leader of Heading Home Minnesota and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, will serve as board chair. Hadley is joined on the board by Dale Blyth, associate dean for youth development at the University of Minnesota Extension; Irene Fernando, co-founder of Students Today Leaders Forever; and Tanya Bransford, district court judge in Hennepin County District Court. Representing McKnight on the startup board will be Erika L. Binger, McKnight board member; Kate Wolford, president; and Neal Cuthbert, vice president of program. (Bios below.)
The group's first order of business will be to post and hire a president in the first quarter of 2011. The board has retained KeyStone Search to assist in conducting the search. Those interested in learning more about the president position should contact Rebecca Driscoll at KeyStone Search via email at rebeccad@keystonesearch.com.
As planned, the new nonprofit will act as an independent grantee of The McKnight Foundation. Apart from limited staff support from McKnight during the 2011 transition year, the new nonprofit's board and president will set the plan and timeline for additional staffing, operations, and program strategies.
McKnight has helped create or strengthen several successful grantmaking intermediaries in Minnesota. Almost 25 years ago, McKnight established the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations to help channel McKnight's resources as effectively as possible throughout Greater Minnesota. The Family Housing Fund and the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund were each created with McKnight support. And since 1981, Minnesota's Regional Arts Councils have redistributed McKnight grant dollars to support arts and artists in each of their home regions.
"With family at the core, positive youth development depends on high-quality early learning, K 12 schooling, and out-of-school time opportunities," said Kit Hadley, board chair of the new organization. "Bringing the power of an intermediary to this important goal will help us reach further and achieve great outcomes among all Twin Cities youth."
ABOUT THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION
The McKnight Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations through grantmaking, coalition-building, and encouragement of strategic policy reform. Founded in 1953 and independently endowed by William and Maude McKnight, the Minnesota-based Foundation had assets of approximately $1.8 billion and granted about $98 million in 2009.
Youth OST Intermediary Board of Directors
Kit Hadley, Chair, is the director of the Saint Paul Public Library (since August 2009) and before that served as the executive director of Heading Home Minnesota, a statewide initiative to end homelessness and an umbrella organization for 12 state, regional, and county/city initiatives. Hadley has also served as the director of the Minneapolis Public Library from 2003-2007 and was commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency under two governors. At MHFA, she also served as deputy commissioner and director of government affairs. Hadley began her career as a staff attorney, first with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services and then with the Legal Services Advocacy Project.
Dale A. Blyth is the associate dean for youth development with the University of Minnesota Extension. He directs the Extension Center for Youth Development, which serves as a catalyst, resource, and advocate to ensure quality community opportunities for all young people to learn, lead, and contribute. The Center provides leadership for both the Minnesota 4-H Youth Development Program involving more than 130,000 youth and the Minnesota Youth Work Institute providing education and technical assistance to more than 4,000 youth workers and hundreds of youth programs each year. In 2004-2005 he served as chief of staff for the Minnesota Commission on Out of School Time and its report Journeys into Community: Transforming Youth Opportunities for Learning and Development. He serves on several youth-related advisory groups in Minneapolis and St. Paul as well as statewide.
Tanya M. Bransford has served as a District Court Judge in Hennepin County District Court since 1994, and currently presides over civil and criminal cases in Hennepin County District Court. From 2006 to 2008, Judge Bransford was the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge, handling juvenile cases including delinquency, child protection, truancy, adoptions and adult certification motions. Judge Bransford received a 2009 award from Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, the Distinguished Alumni Award from North St. Paul High School, and the 2000 Distinguished Alumna Award from Hamline University School of Law. She also serves as vice chair for the State Racial Fairness in the Courts Committee and co-chair of the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative.
Irene Fernando is co-executive director & co-founder of the nonprofit organization Students Today Leaders Forever. She also directs the Marketing & Human Resources at STLF. Fernando is originally from Carson, CA (Los Angeles area). She graduated in May 2007 with a Business degree in Marketing from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Education at the University of Minnesota, in the Youth Development Leadership program. Fernando also serves on the Board of Directors of the Academy of North Minneapolis.
Representing The McKnight Foundation
Erika L. Binger has been a member of McKnight's board of directors since 1994, and served as board chair from 2004 to 2008. In addition to her work at McKnight, Erika has a diverse background in mentoring programs and youth athletics. She is an honorary board member of Bolder Options, a mentoring program that aims to redirect and change youth behavior through running and biking. She also helped create the Minnesota Coalition for Adolescent Females, has coached youth sports, tutored at North High School, and developed the V3 Youth Triathlon Team for inner-city youth.
Neal Cuthbert, vice president of program, provides leadership, management, and oversight for all grant program–related activities at McKnight. He works closely with McKnight's president and other senior staff to allocate and manage resources in a manner consistent with the organization's mission and values. Cuthbert joined McKnight in 1991 as the Foundation’s first arts program officer; he was named program director in 2000. Prior to his work at McKnight, Cuthbert was director and publisher of the monthly art and culture journal Artpaper, and a planner at the Metropolitan Council in both its arts and housing programs.
Kate Wolford became president of The McKnight Foundation in December 2006. The Minnesota-based family foundation’s program interests include education and learning, the region and communities, the arts, the environment, and scientific research in selected fields, as well as youth development. Prior to joining McKnight, Wolford spent 13 years as president of Lutheran World Relief (LWR). From 1991 to 2006, she worked at LWR, where she was named president after two years as program director for Latin America. Previously, she established Church World Service's Caribbean regional office for disaster response and community-based development, and worked with Servicio Social de Iglesias Dominicanas.
Contact
Tim Hanrahan, Communications Director, 612-333-4220