Northwest Minnesota: Building the Future Together

Karen White, President, Northwest Minnesota Foundation

“Some challenges are simply too large for one community or one organization to solve alone. That is where a regional community foundation can play a unique role—bringing together partners, listening across differences, and helping communities move from immediate response toward long-term solutions.”

A cold start to October 2018 in Bemidji had many in our community asking a simple but urgent question: Would everyone make it through the winter safely?

As concerns about emergency shelter capacity began filling inboxes, the Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) stepped in to help bring people together—inviting community members and partners to gather over lunch. What started as one conversation mobilized into something bigger. More than 100 people came together that season, united around a shared goal: zero deaths that winter.

That moment became a turning point, setting our region and NMF on a new path to address homelessness and housing in a deeper, more coordinated way. Conversations shifted from, “What can we do this winter?” to “What should we build next?”

Some challenges are simply too large for one community or one organization to solve alone. That is where a regional community foundation can play a unique role—bringing together partners, listening across differences, and helping communities move from immediate response toward long-term solutions.

When funding partners asked NMF to help coordinate a regional effort to end youth homelessness, we first asked our regional partners, “Do you want us in that role?” The answer was yes. We moved into a deep partnership with the Northwest Minnesota Continuum of Care (NWCoC), a regional group working to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring. Over time, that partnership has grown—through listening, learning, and building together.

Together, we examined how our region prioritized people for housing support, and the data revealed unsettling truths: the system was producing inequitable outcomes. Instead of defending it, leaders across the region paused and listened. Talking circles with people who had lived through the system informed our response, reshaping our approach from a deficit-based model to one centered on people and their experiences.

That same spirit shaped our work with local housing partners and property managers. In rural communities, housing challenges are not just about supply—they are also about risk. Establishing a risk mitigation fund created a safety net for those willing to rent to young adults facing barriers to housing.

Both efforts reminded us that the people closest to the challenge often hold the clearest insight into how to solve it.

Our collaborative, community-driven approach has not gone unnoticed. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $2 million to support a collaboration of the Minnesota Tribal Collaborative to Prevent and End Homelessness, the Northeast Minnesota Continuum of Care, and the NWCoC.

“We have heard that you are doing something very special. The way that you are working together caught our attention and we wanted to learn more and support you in the work that you’re doing,” said Marion McFadden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development for HUD, during her visit to our offices in Bemidji, where she presented the award.

As we stepped more fully into this work, it became clear that homelessness cannot be separated from the broader housing challenges facing our region.

In many of our communities, the issue is both affordability and availability, but building new housing presents its own barriers. Construction costs are often too high for local incomes, while appraised values can come in too low to support traditional financing. These gaps make it difficult for communities to grow and for families to find stable housing.

In response, NMF launched North Star Neighbors, a community land trust, in 2023. This model creates affordable homeownership opportunities by separating ownership of the home from the land, preserving affordability over time. By the end of 2026, North Star Neighbors will have built 20 new construction homes across six communities—Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Roseau, East Grand Forks, Warren, and Bemidji—in partnership with local cities and community leaders.

For Austin Ryba and Emily McLean, buying their first home felt both exciting and daunting. They toured homes across the region, from Grand Forks to Crookston, finding them all either out of their budget or too badly in need of major repairs. Once they were introduced to North Star Neighbors, the community land trust model fit their budget, lifestyle, and dreams for the future.

“It’s definitely the perfect starter home,” Austin said.

None of this work happens alone. It reflects the strength of Northwest Minnesota—resilient and creative communities, deep relationships, and a willingness to come together to solve hard problems.

It also reflects the vision of the McKnight Foundation. Forty years ago, the McKnight Foundation listened to communities across Greater Minnesota and created six independent, locally governed, right-sized foundations—small enough to stay close to community, and large enough to bring resources and partners together across a region.

That approach matters. A single community or county may not be able to coordinate a regional homelessness response or sustain a community land trust. And yet, together with partners throughout the region, we can.

Learn more about Northwest Minnesota Foundation and their work at nwmf.org.