Home
Focus Areas
About Us
The Early Literacy Grant Program of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation provided grants for more than 21,000 children's books to 46 local groups. This program provides books to kids to boost early literacy initiatives that improve preschoolers' preparedness for school. Brown County Public Health, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Early Childhood, Madelia Early Childhood Family Education, New Ulm ECFE, and Sleepy Eye ECFE were among the local organizations that received Early Literacy Grants because they offer exceptional early literacy opportunities for young children and their families.
Capstone and ABDO, two Mankato-based publishers of children's books and digital goods and services, collaborated on the distribution of the books.
Capstone collaborated with SMIF to establish the BookStart initiative in 2002, distributing thousands of books to kids in the area over a 15-year span.
In order to get even more books into the hands of kids from birth to age eight, SMIF and the two publishers launched the Early Literacy Grant in 2018.
Through funding and programs, SMIF has previously collaborated with both businesses to disperse more than 100,000 books around the area. According to Rae Jean Hansen, vice president of Early Childhood at SMIF, "getting books into the hands of early children fuels their growth with language, reading, and so much more."
Our efforts to provide parents and kids the help they need to be ready for school depend on our long-term collaborations with both Capstone and ABDO, the organization said. The publishing businesses contributed a variety of publications, including bilingual and early childhood books, to the award winners.
Young children will get books to take home and keep from the organizations as part of their activities and programs. Read the Entire Article
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
Indiana high schools dominated the third annual Lake Michigan College WAVE Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre, which honor high school theater students and arts educators.Concord...more
A high school freshman in rural Kentucky is getting a taste of what it's like to be an entrepreneur this summer. Sebastian Mosley, a 14-year-old student at Harlan County High School, has been...more
Matt Silliman's mother, a talented pianist and recorder, "not only taught art and creativity to children but also played a mean recorder," the Atlanta producer and DJ says in an interview with Fast...more
Jayden B. took home the top prize in the "People's Champ" category of the 15th annual Expressions by Walgreens creative arts contest with his essay "To You, My Mental Pet." The 17-year-old...more
If you're looking for a new city to call home, look no further than Leicester, England. The city has been named as one of the top five in the UK when it comes to having a thriving creative...more
Babe, the Sheep Pig, Henry V, and Men on Boats are all coming to the stage at Brigham Young University in Utah in the coming yearsall performed by an all-female cast, the Daily Herald...more
When Darsh Joshi graduated from Pace University in New York with a master's in data science last year, he didn't think he'd end up in Silicon Valley. But that's exactly what happened to the...more
The Houston Independent School District has been without a bond since 2012, and that's left it with more than $10 billion in projects that need to be completed. Now, in the wake of Hurricane...more
Students at two elementary schools in Charlotte, NC, got a surprise yesterday when Grammy-nominated rapper DaBaby stopped by to help them out with their end-of-year testing, WCNC reports. The...more
Britain's Channel 4 has come under fire for its lack of diversity, and now a government minister is acknowledging that it's a problem for all of the UK. Specifically, Channel 4 has a quota of 9%...more
Education News from...
Amgen Foundation
Stocker Foundation
Tulsa Community Foundation
MacArthur Foundation
Community Foundation of Sarasota County
Gulf Coast Community Foundation
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Central Valley Community Foundation
Barberton Community Foundation
Oshkosh Area Community Foundation
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Global Companies Appeal for Needed Market Changes in Renewable Energy
Global companies like General Motors, Wal-Mart, Bloomberg, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Mars, Novelis, Sprint, Proctor and Gamble and REI are calling out for necessary market changes to make it easier to buy and access more renewable energy.
