Northeast Metro Business VHEDC 2018 | Page 50

By Cindy O’Donovan N onprofit organizations promote the health and well-being of their communities, providing essential services and assistance for unmet needs and improving the quality of life. They operate as a business – sometimes on “shoestring” budgets – with paid staff and volunteers wearing many hats to accomplish their mission. The Vadnais Heights Economic Development Corporation (VHEDC) serves as a conduit of resources for local businesses and organizations to support the economic vitality of our community. In early 2017, the VHEDC saw a need and an opportunity to expand their support to include local nonprofit organizations. Although there are other valuable associations available specific to nonprofit work, people expressed a need for something local and low-cost. The VHEDC sponsored a series of networking meetings for leaders of local nonprofit organizations to discuss the idea of forming a collaborative group that would support and benefit each other by sharing trends and best practices in nonprofit management. Prospective participants were invited to complete a brief survey with information to share about their organization, top challenges, current projects and a “wish list” for what they would like to get out of continued collaboration. Feedback from the survey responses and discussion from the initial brainstorming session led to several focused topic discussions and presentations. PARTICIPATING NONPROFITS: • Century College Foundation • Newtrax • Debz Eventz “Partners for Good Collaborative has given us a forum to discuss shared challenges and look for solutions. The more we can do together and become more efficient as nonprofits, the more benefit we can provide for our communities,” says Mike Greenbaum, Executive Director of Newtrax. • Northeast Residence, Inc. • Merrick, Inc. • White Bear Lake Area YMCA • H2O for Life Schools • White Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf • Lakeshore Players Theatre • PAI • Solid Ground • Greater White Bear Lake Community Foundation • White Bear Lake Area Educational Foundation • Vadnais Heights Lions Club and Foundation • Academy for Sciences & Agriculture • White Bear Area Senior Program • Northeast Youth & Family Services • White Bear Center for the Arts • TSE Inc. • Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization • Mahtomedi Area Educational Foundation To view handouts/slide presentations of sessions: vhedc.com/nonprofit- events/ For more information, contact VHEDC Exec