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