Northwest Blog

What is a Charitable Bequest? A charitable bequest is a gift traditionally made through a will that enables you to make a significant contribution to the quality of the places served by the Northwest Minnesota Foundation and its family of community and component funds. Today charitable bequests can also be made through a living trust or a beneficiary designation on a financial account. Almost anyone can afford to a make a charitable bequest and provide for loved ones—you can be a philanthropist. Plus, a charitable bequest costs you nothing to make today because you retain full control of your assets during life. A Future Gift for Northwest Minnesota--That Costs You Nothing to Make Today Planning a charitable bequest is one component of an overall financial, tax, and estate planning process. The process begins by asking: What will I do with what I’ve built during my life? It’s an important question. Without thoughtful planning, your ‘nest egg’ could be squandered through ta...

Events Funded by Northwest Minnesota Women’s Fund Mayor Rita Albrecht; Chairwoman Carri Jones; and Beltrami County Administrator Kay Mack.  Photo:   Bemidji Pioneer Bemidji State University’s Gender and Women’s Studies Program WHM Signature Event featured a panel of local women who were the epitome of the 2016 National Women’s History Month Theme: Working Toward a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Government and Public Service. Rita Albrecht, Mayor of Bemidji; Carri Jones, Chairwoman of Leech Lake Band Ojibwe and Kay Mack, Beltrami County Administrator - all BSU Alumni - spoke of the need for women in leadership. Senator Amy Klobuchar addressed the audience at BSU via recorded video message. ‘Sister Amata’ presentation.   Photo: Beltrami Historical Society Throughout the month March, Beltrami County Historical Society and Bemidji Public Library presented a series of six Women’s History Month lectures focused on multiple cultural/expe...

Click here to watch Ethel's story Chances are you’ve heard a thing or two about Early Learning Scholarships, but I’m guessing you’ve never heard from a family impacted by one. That may be because only 12% of children from eligible families for scholarships receive one . Bobbi Ordez has one such family. Bobbi is a mother of three. She tried to do her best for her kids and enrolled her oldest in a high-quality early learning program. It wasn’t long until Bobbi and her husband could no longer afford the program. They didn’t know what to do, but they definitely didn’t want to take their daughter out of the program. She was thriving. Luckily, they received an Early Learning Scholarship before it was too late. Minnesota must do better to reach children from low-income families, who need access to the best early learning opportunities the most. Early Learning Scholarships strengthen families and help children who need it the most by giving them the opportunity to atten...

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation continues to help communities across the region plan for their future.  Over the last two years, the foundation’s Community Planning Grant Program has awarded seventeen grants  totaling  $164,835 to address housing, economic development, recreation, and growth issues.  Cities like Ada, Crookston, Red Lake Falls, Bemidji, and Badger have accessed funding to help with comprehensive planning.  Much of the funding supports community input through surveys,  townhall  style meetings, informational interviews, and other methods.   The key is to collect as much information from a diverse set of community members (e.g. age, ethnicity, gender, income, business type) as possible.  Lessons are learned from the community on how to share information, what recreational amenities are desired, and how they want their community to look and feel.  Zoning and ordinance reviews also help communities...

Robert Maher, NMF business development specialist It's very common for NMF business development specialists to log a lot of road miles each week. When we're traveling the region - it is very beneficial for us to meet with several people in one day. We may be meeting with current and potential clients, or visiting with partners in the region as time allows. During the winter months, staff spends a significant amount of time with our clients discussing year-end financial information. It is always our goal to stay in contact with our customers and respond promptly to any concerns or questions. During a recent visit to Oslo, I met with a loan customer to review the company's FYE 2015 income statement and balance sheet. As part of any financial review it is important to look back at the 2015 budget and compare budgeted financial expectations with actual financial performance.  This is just one of the ways, we provide technical assistance to our clients....