Blandin Foundation

09/01/2026

Calling all rural Minnesota leaders: Information on the 2027 Bush Fellowship is now available!

The Bush Foundation welcomes leaders from all sectors to apply for 30 available fellowships, with each receiving $150,000 to grow their ability to lead more effectively.

Curious? Take any of the following steps to learn more. Applications open on September 22nd and close on October 6th.

💻 Read about the fellowship, the application process, eligibility, and more: https://bit.ly/46dVB4h

💡 Test your readiness and your leadership idea through a 1:1 call with staff: https://bit.ly/4xr1RS9

🗓️ Join a live Q&A with staff September 3, 15 or 22.

We look forward to seeing leaders from across rural Minnesota in the next Bush Fellows cohort!

We support leaders to invest in themselves, to be stronger and more effective leaders in making good change happen.

08/31/2026

Last week, Blandin Foundation trustees gathered in our home area for our quarterly board meeting, with much of our time together spent learning directly from the people and organizations helping their communities thrive.

Former Blandin scholars shared where their journeys have taken them. Community Economic Development Associates and the Greenway Area Community Fund brought perspectives from their work alongside rural communities. And trustees got out into the community for site visits and conversations with local leaders.

These experiences are an important part of Blandin Foundation’s listen, learn and respond approach. Hearing directly from rural people about what’s working, what’s changing, and what their communities need keeps their experiences and ideas at the center of our work.

Thank you to everyone who welcomed us, shared their stories, and helped us learn.

08/28/2026

Last weekend, Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center celebrated Zagaandagaa-Anishinaabeg, People of the Thick Coniferous Forest, a new permanent exhibit exploring the history, culture and experiences of Ojibwe-Anishinaabe people in the border lakes region. More than 100 people gathered to celebrate the exhibit and the many artists, storytellers and partners who helped bring it to life.

Through art, artifacts, maps, animation and stories passed down through generations, the exhibit creates new opportunities for visitors to learn about the people whose connections to this land stretch back long before the Gunflint Trail became what it is today.

Blandin Foundation is proud to be among the partners that supported this work and to celebrate an important new resource for learning, connection and understanding in northeast Minnesota.

🎨 Muralist Sam Zimmerman describes his expansion artwork.

🏠 The trappers shack down by the water, among other places, included Ojibwe interpretation.

🐢 The Turtle Island sculpture is made of bronze, and the figures on top are magnetic so they can be repositioned.

Read Boreal Community Media's story and see more from the celebration: https://bit.ly/3SeV66C

08/26/2026

The world lost a rural icon yesterday.

Dolly Parton broke barriers and records. She built an extraordinary career and became a global name. And through it all, she remained deeply connected to the rural Tennessee community that shaped her.

That part of Dolly’s story resonates with us at Blandin Foundation.

She showed that rural roots are a source of strength, not something to leave behind on the way to success. She understood that leadership can be bold and ambitious while remaining humble and true to where you come from. And she demonstrated what philanthropy can look like at its best: using what you have to create opportunity for others.

Perhaps no example captures that better than Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. What began in her home county in East Tennessee in 1995 — inspired by her father, who could not read or write — grew into a global effort that has put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children.

Dolly could have measured her success by what she accumulated. Instead, so much of her legacy will be measured by what she gave away — and by what she made possible for others.

For those of us who believe deeply in rural people, rural places and the power of generosity rooted in community, that is a legacy worth celebrating.

In lieu of flowers, Dolly’s family has asked people to honor her memory with donations to the Imagination Library: https://imaginationlibrary.com

Thank you, Dolly, for reminding the world that you can come from a small place, dream enormously, stay true to your roots — and bring a whole lot of people along with you.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.

08/26/2026

Blandin Foundation is proud to announce 46 grants totaling $4.5 million to support locally led projects across rural Minnesota.

From community gathering spaces and housing solutions to food systems, entrepreneurship, language revitalization, and civic participation, these investments reflect the ingenuity and leadership already present in rural communities.

More than 60% of funded projects serve communities with fewer than 3,000 residents, and nearly half of all grant dollars support projects focused on communities least able to access resources in rural Minnesota.

Together, these investments strengthen community wealth, create more welcoming places, and help rural communities build the future they envision.

Congratulations to every grantee. We look forward to seeing what's possible when local leadership is matched with investment.

Explore the full list of grant awards: https://bit.ly/46n4DvA

08/25/2026

There’s exciting momentum building in New York Mills!

The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center recently received $110,000 in new grants to support the first phase of its Cultivating Community Capital Campaign, bringing total commitments to 75% of its $2.3 million campaign goal.

The aptly named “Windows to the Future” project will replace the windows and doors of the Center’s historic 1885 downtown building, improving energy efficiency while preserving the character of a place that has become a rural hub for arts, learning and community connection. The improvements are expected to reduce annual energy use by about 15%, while creating a more comfortable and sustainable space for artists and community members.

And this is just the beginning. Future plans include improved accessibility, an elevator and new spaces for gathering and creativity.

Blandin Foundation is proud to support the broader campaign and excited to see other partners investing alongside this community to ensure an important rural gathering place can continue serving the region for generations to come.

Learn more about what’s ahead:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Betsy Roder | Executive Director | 218/385-3339 | [email protected] New York Mills Regional Cultural Center Receives $110,000 in Grants to Advance Windows to the Future Capital Campaign Project New York Mills, MN—July 13, 2026— The New York Mills Regional Cultural ...

08/21/2026

When we invest in rural students, their impact can ripple right back into rural communities.

For Samantha Hildebrandt, a 2019 Northome High School graduate, a Blandin Foundation Scholarship helped make college more accessible and provided stability when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted her first year.

After earning her degree in public health from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Samantha chose to stay rooted in northern Minnesota. Today, she works to improve maternal and infant health across the state while living just 15 minutes from the community where she grew up.

Her story is a reminder that investing in rural students is about more than helping them earn a degree. It's about supporting their potential, wherever it leads, and building the knowledge, leadership and talent that help communities thrive.

Meet Samantha and read her Scholar Voice: https://bit.ly/4x5tXlO

08/20/2026

For decades, Blandin Foundation has championed broadband as essential infrastructure for rural communities. Today, the conversation is evolving.

As a recent Daily Yonder story puts it, broadband has become the “price of admission” for rural economic development, not an economic development strategy on its own. That distinction matters.

Reliable, high-quality broadband gives rural communities the foundation to grow businesses, deliver health care and education, attract and retain residents, and create new opportunities. But infrastructure alone doesn't make those things happen. Communities also need the leadership, skills, partnerships and vision to put connectivity to work.

And as major federal investments move from planning toward construction, the decisions being made now matter for the long haul. The Farm Bill could shape the future of USDA's ReConnect program, while Minnesota's BEAD projects are expected to connect nearly 75,000 locations.

The latest Blandin on Broadband looks at what's happening and what it means for rural communities.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4g9QTZL

The Daily Yonder posts an article from Broadband Breakfast’s Drew Clark about broadband in rural areas. It starts with a look at the impact of the Farm Bill on Reconnect funding… The current fight …

08/19/2026

In Granite Falls, The YES House started with a vacant downtown building and a community willing to keep saying “yes.”

Today, it’s a place to make art, learn something new, gather with neighbors, test an idea or step into a leadership role. And that’s exactly the point. The Department of Public Transformation built The YES! House with the community, creating the conditions for people to see themselves not simply as participants, but as co-creators of their community’s future.

As founder Ash Hanson puts it, one sign that transformation is happening is when people stop saying “you should” and start saying “we should.”

Blandin Foundation was proud to be an early partner in bringing this vision to life, and to support the final steps that helped make The YES! House a lasting piece of rural community infrastructure.

Read the full story about creativity, belonging and what becomes possible when rural communities have places to build together: https://bit.ly/4cmudnT

08/18/2026

Rural communities are more than “not urban.” They are places with distinct strengths, identities, ideas and stories worth understanding on their own terms.

Next Tuesday, August 25, the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm will host the Smithsonian Institution’s Rural Initiative for a free community conversation about the future of the Iron Range and the Smithsonian’s growing work with rural and Tribal communities across the country.

It’s an opportunity to explore the region’s strengths and challenges, what other communities can learn from the Iron Range, and how national institutions can better partner with rural places.

📅 Tuesday, August 25, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
📍 Minnesota Discovery Center, Chisholm
🎟️ Free and open to all

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4gb4u2U

🗓️ Tuesday, August 25 ⏰ 5:30–7:30pm 📍 Minnesota Discovery Center’s Theater 💸 FREE & OPEN TO ALL The Smithsonian Institution’s Rural Initiative: More Than “Not Urban”: Serving People and Place in the Iron Range Join us for a community conversation exploring how the Smithsonian ...