Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Sheyenne awarded grant from Strengthen N.D.

Through its second grantmaking round for the Creative Community Solutions grantmaking program, which is funded by the Bush Foundation, Strengthen ND has selected five organizations to receive $1 million to develop, test, and spread community-driven solutions to some of the state’s most critical needs.

“Through our second grantmaking round, we were, again, blown away by the creativity and innovation happening all across North Dakota” remarked Megan Langley Laudenschlager, Executive Director of Strengthen ND. “We hope the good work that the Creative Community Solutions grantmaking panel chose to elevate through investments in the selected organizations will further inspire North Dakotans to engage in projects that improve their communities and the lives of their friends and neighbors.”

In early 2022, the Bush Foundation announced Strengthen ND as one of its four partners to develop, implement, and evaluate a new funding initiative: Community-Based Grantmaking Programs. Strengthen ND’s approach has been to deconstruct current inequitable and ineffective systems involved in philanthropy by increasing the accessibility and flexibility of available charitable dollars, leaning into the spirit of “community innovation” as demonstrated in North Dakota’s many diverse communities, and elevating fellow North Dakotans to design the criteria and make decisions about how the funds will be invested. Organizations were able to apply for up to $300,000 over a six-year period. The following are the projects selected:

Sheyenne GRIT (Sheyenne, N.D.): $150,000 to develop and test housing and economic development solutions for new neighbors and existing businesses to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for the community.

Ka Joog (Fargo, N.D.): $300,000 to spread and scale The Takeoff, a culturally-attuned 4-H program, in Fargo.

Newburg United Public School (Newburg, N.D.): $150,000 to develop a regionally-designed and collaborative STEM education incubator and associated programming for rural youth.

The Journal (Crosby, N.D.): $100,000 to scale and spread Kids News Scoop across North Dakota, as a strategy for increasing literacy and democracy.

South Sudanese Foundation (Fargo, N.D.): $300,000 to test and spread family-support strategies to increase the number of women in the workforce.

Strengthen ND will accept proposals for the third round of the Creative Community Solutions grantmaking program through September 30, 2023. Individuals and organizations interested in learning more are encouraged to review the program criteria on the Strengthen ND website (www.StrengthenND.com) and to then schedule an introductory call with Strengthen ND’s staff.