Philanthropy : Innovation + Job News

The Lean Startup Conference
December 3
University of Minnesota
Carlson School of Management
11am - 7pm
free
 
Those who aren't able to attend The Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco can still see great speakers, thanks to this simulcast event that showcases the conference's experts. Presented by the university's Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship and the Minnesota Lean Startup Circle, the event will help attendees jumpstart their businesses.
 
Women in the Boardroom
December 4
University of St. Thomas
Law School Atrium, 11th St. and Harmon Place, Minneapolis
3pm - 6pm
$105
 
An organization designed to assist women in pursuing board service, Women in the Boardroom hosts several types of in-person and virtual events throughout the year. This signature event brings together a panel of experts, including the Chief Administrative Officer of the Mayo Clinic.
 
Automation for the Cloud
December 5
Open Book
1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis
4pm - 5:30pm
free
 
Hosted by cloud management company enStratus, this event looks at extending automation to cloud environments, including auto-provisioning, auto-scaling, and setting automated backups. Attendees will learn more about cloud management and see a product demo.
 
No Coast Craft-O-Rama
December 7 & 8
Midtown Global Market
3pm - 8pm on Dec. 7; 9am - 5pm on Dec. 8
free
 
Started in 2005 as a way to feature designers, artists, and creators of handmade crafts, the No Coast Craft-O-Rama has grown into a true showcase for artisans of every type. From letterpress operators to knitters to jewelry makers to many others, the breadth of work is staggering--and the fair is showing up just in time for holiday shopping, too.
 

Can you make the world a better place by building software for companies that do great things? Casey Helbling and his team at Software for Good are willing to give it a shot.
 
Helbling started his own software consulting firm in 2003, and found success over the next handful of years, but as he brought on more clients, he felt like something was missing.
 
"I realized that I wanted to create alignment between my need to do good in the world and my day job," he says. "Then, everything would be perfect."
 
He came up with a model that became Software for Good, a startup firm he runs in addition to his regular consulting work. The new company builds software for progressive companies, nonprofits, and companies that focus on world-changing work.
 
Recent projects have included revamping the website of the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance, creating software for a diabetes prevention program, and doing bug fixes on the registration site for the National Down Syndrome Congress annual conference.
 
"We're still too young as a company to pick and choose our projects, so we do some clients that aren't part of the model," Helbling says. "But we hope to get to that point soon."
 
The company employs five full-time software engineers, but expects to bring on more in the near future. Helbling notes, "I think people are getting the message about what we do, and they like the idea of doing something more with their time than the usual 9 to 5 tasks."
 
As Software for Good increases its pace over the next couple years, Helbling is hopeful that he'll find the alignment he seeks, and do good while doing well.
 
Source: Casey Helbling, Software for Good
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

When Kristin Pardue left her high-profile corporate position at Carlson Companies, she envisioned starting a distinctive strategic management firm, but she also considered founding a non-profit that helps teens in North Minneapolis learn digital marketing.
 
Instead of choosing, she established both.
 
"I felt there was a great need in the marketplace for people to understand organizational purpose," she says. "At the same time, we wanted a way to give back and we thought, why wait?"
 
Rêve Consulting was started in 2009, and Pardue's husband, Brad von Bank, joined a year later to help round out the team. Pardue says the combination works well, since they bring different skills to the mix. Together, they offer insight to a range of clients like Capella University, Engine for Social Innovation, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Caribou Coffee.
 
"Clients come to us with questions about how their organizations can grow, and how their systems might be impacting the levels of their employees," says Pardue. "We encourage them to think strategically on every level, about how they're engaging their organizations."
 
The company is going strong, and plans to double the size of its small staff in the next year, she adds. She's especially excited about bringing more jobs to North Minneapolis, where the company's located.
 
For the teens in the area, there's Rêve Academy, an innovative after-school program that prepares students for careers in digital marketing. With an immersive curriculum and potential internships, the program is helping to shape the kind of leaders who could shape the local creative community someday.
 
"We believe this is a true pathway for these kids," says von Bank. "They're learning real-world skills that they can apply now, and at the end of the program, they make a presentation as if they're at an agency. It's very exciting."
 
With Rêve Consulting and Rêve Academy going strong, it's obvious that when it comes to choosing a rêve (the French word for "dream"), sometimes it's possible to go even bigger than planned.
 
Source: Kristin Pardue & Brad von Bank, Rêve Consulting
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

It's a simple idea, artfully executed: people who are seriously ill create one central, online page where they can update friends and family about health changes and treatments. This reduces the need for the ill person to repeat the same information, while still keeping loved ones informed.
 
That concept sparked the creation of CaringBridge back in 1997, and since then the site has recorded more than 1.8 billion visits, with more than 250,000 personal pages created. Founder and CEO Sona Mehring notes that as the site keeps growing, the potential for its use expands.
 
"When we started, the phrase 'social networking' didn't exist," she recalls. "But the idea that you can support people through online connections was a powerful one, and it still is. We're looking at how to take CaringBridge to the next level of connection."
 
A nonprofit organization, CaringBridge employs 68 people, and hired nearly 40 percent of them within the last year and a half. That surge came from increased popularity and a stronger focus on innovation, Mehring notes.
 
The next iteration of the site will have a new service that will allow users to schedule tasks for the friend or family member who's ill. For example, a visitor to a page might see a calendar that lists doctor visits and a request for rides to the clinic offices. Using the online planner, the visitor can sign up to provide a ride on a specific day.
 
This significantly reduces the need for an ill person to ask for help with certain tasks, and it gives friends and family members more options for assistance.
 
"This is our first step in expanding our services, and we're very excited about providing more options like this," says Mehring. "People who use CaringBridge are going through a journey, and we want to be able to help them with that, in any way we can."
 
Source: Sona Mehring, CaringBridge
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

In 2010, Sonal Gerten was pregnant, and began looking for cute clothes for the baby boy she was expecting. "I just wanted clothes he could get dirty," she recalls. "Something really bright and fun."
 
Although there were no shortage of clothes options, nothing seemed quite right, especially for boys. She found a wealth of muted colors, but nothing like the beautiful colors and patterns that she saw every time she visited relatives in India.
 
She decided to abandon her search and start her own company instead, launching Tumblewalla (the Hindi word for "one who tumbles") in December 2011. She focused on making play clothes without zippers, stiff fabrics, or complicated button closures, and the colors are crayon-level bright.
 
One distinctive part of the company is Gerten's emphasis on initiatives that give kids more opportunities to play (whether wearing their Tumblewalla duds or not). In an effort she calls Tumble & Tickle, the entrepreneur supports The Priynaka Foundation, which supports children facing chronic and terminal illness, as well as One Home Many Hopes, a Kenyan organization that houses and educates abandoned and orphaned girls in that country.
 
Over a year after starting the company, Gerten is seeing traction and is hopeful about growing and expanding operations over the coming year. She wants to increase awareness of the two Tumble & Tickle organizations, and to expand her product line as well. She's been getting picked up in some local retail stores, and envisions going beyond clothing into other play-related items like coloring books and toys.
 
"I have high hopes for this, and I'm excited about how it's been going," she says. "We're just gauging the consumer appetite right now, but it's looking like a very bright future."
 
Source: Sonal Gerten, Tumblewalla
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The unemployment rate for teenagers is dismal, currently at about 25 to 35 percent, but one startup is hoping to change those numbers for local kids.
 
Rock Your Block aims to provide an easy, simple way for teens to find odd jobs within their neighborhoods--and create a deeper sense of community as a result.
 
First conceived in late 2010 (see The Line's previous coverage here) by entrepreneur Sarah Young, the organization's site has been developed over the past year, and has just gone into beta launch. Young and co-founders John Hibscher and Steven Ladin have been meeting with business owners and community organization leaders in the meantime, to find job opportunities that can be posted.
 
"We want to have the site at the point where teens can apply right away, and that's been a big challenge," she says. "But we're working out those issues, and we're excited by what we see ahead."
 
Young believes that the model is sound, and once the initial beta is over, the site has the ability to take off. "We're empowering teenagers to develop a strong work ethic, and at the same time we're addressing the needs of the community," she says. "That's a powerful combination."
 
The site will also include information on internship opportunities and other education, to give teens a chance to develop new skills. For example, they can learn to build a resume, handle a job interview, or budget their time effectively.
 
Source: Sarah Young, Rock Your Block
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Just in time to kick off the International Year of Cooperatives, nine community organizations will get a bit more operating power thanks to the Minneapolis-based Wedge Co-op.
 
The natural food grocer, which has 15,000 members, recently announced the recipients of their annual Wedgeshare grant program: The Emergency Foodshelf Network, Youth Farm and Market Project, The Cornucopia Institute, Open Arms of Minnesota, Farmers Legal Action Group, Water Legacy, Minnesota Food Association, Gardening Matters, and Urban Baby.
 
Since 1997, Wedgeshare grants have been awarded to numerous community organizations, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. The recipients are chosen by the grocer's members, giving them a strong voice in the process.
 
"Our members love that they can vote on this, and be involved," says Lindy Bannister, General Manager of The Wedge. "The recipients are always closely linked to our neighborhood, and that helps members feel connected to what's going on here."
 
The program started as a way for the co-op to give back to the community, and Bannister notes that it's grown into a very popular program.
 
"It's getting stronger every year, and the applications are becoming better in terms of detail and storytelling," she says. "I think people are more and more aware of the needs in the community; they're paying attention."
 
The grants are particularly notable this year, since the United Nations declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives, with the aim of celebrating the social and economic benefits of cooperative businesses.
 
Source: Lindy Bannister, The Wedge Co-op
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Billing itself as a site for "all things cool and canine," DogWonderful.com makes it easier for people to travel without leaving their dogs behind. The site offers hotel deals, listings of dog-friendly accommodations, and handy tips for traveling with dogs.
 
The pet travel site is the creation of Teresa Matsui Sanders, founder of a hospitality management and consulting firm, InnWorks.
 
After the economic downturn in 2009, and battling breast cancer twice within a year, Sanders was looking for a fresh start and different consulting opportunities. She did some work for an online publisher and learned about monetizing websites, but wasn't sure what to do with the knowledge until her beloved dog, Kendall, died at the end of June.
 
"The day after she died, I had the inspiration to do a website about dogs and travel," she says. "From my experience in the hospitality industry, I knew there were databases and booking engines that could give dog owners access to thousands of hotels."
 
Sanders hopes to steadily boost visitor numbers and have DogWonderful.com become a major destination site for people who want to travel with their animal companions. Part of the site's revenue is donated to dog-focused charities like NEADS, an organization that trains hearing dogs by using prisoners and combat veterans as trainers.
 
The site launched in late October, on a day that would have been Kendall's 17th birthday, Sanders notes. "Dogs just become such a huge part of your life, and what I've found from working on this site is how much people want to share their love of dogs. It's been amazing."
 
Source: Teresa Matsui Sanders, DogWonderful.com
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Volunteerism's many benefits include expanded social and professional networks, new-skill building, and community enhancement. And it just plain feels good. So, it's no surprise that job seekers who might feel discouraged and frustrated would have much to gain in taking on volunteer roles.

That's the thinking behind a new effort at the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA), a statewide organization that acts as a resource around volunteerism.

The group recently did a survey on volunteer trends and found that there's been a significant rise in volunteerism among people looking for work. That shift makes sense, since job seekers tend to have time to spare and can expand their networks that way. Recent college graduates have always been part of the volunteer pool, but now, MAVA is seeing more volunteerism among those who've been laid off.

The group also has distinct needs, believes Mary Quirk, MAVA's Volunteer Resources Leadership Project Manager, since people tend to take on short-term projects and have unpredictable schedules. In order to create a more positive volunteer experience on both sides, MAVA has worked to create more tools and resources for organizations that bring job seekers into their environments.

"When people are laid off, volunteering can make a lot of difference for them," says Quirk. "They might volunteer to learn skills like project management, for example. Beyond that, they're getting assurance that their work has value, which is something they might not have been feeling otherwise. Job loss is a depressing experience, and volunteering can bring people back to a place of strength and confidence."

To help organizations draw more job seekers as volunteers, MAVA created a toolkit, which is offered for free on its website. The resource helps an organization to understand the dynamics of job seekers and gives tips for volunteer roles and tasks that work well with that particular group. MAVA also put together a workshop on the topic that it will be bringing to different parts of the state.

Source: Mary Quirk, MAVA
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Because immigrants are settling in areas outside of the Twin Cities, the African Development Council (ADC) decided to begin reaching out beyond its Minneapolis offices.

"The pattern of movement with African immigrants is changing," says Hussein Samatar, ADC's Executive Director. "They were coming to the Cities in the beginning, but gradually, they've been moving outside the metro for job opportunities or housing, or to have more space for their children."

In order to offer assistance to those in other cities, the ADC recently purchased a building in Willmar to serve as a regional satellite office, with plans to open in mid-September. A new location in Rochester opened in June to serve those in that region of the state. Samatar notes that in downtown Willmar, more than 40 percent of businesses are owned by African or Latino people.

ADC was established in 2003, with its first major funding and full-time staff positions coming just a year later. The group believes that immigrant groups help to revitalize neglected neighborhoods, boost the economy through new businesses, and increase home ownership. The organization focuses on these areas with strategic lending, housing assistance, and other services.

According to a report by The Minneapolis Foundation, about 13 percent of the state's foreign-born residents are from Africa--a higher percentage than in any other U.S. state. Most Africans have come to Minnesota from Somalia, Liberia, and the Sudan, according to the ADC, but there's an increasing influx from Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Eritrea as well.

ADC formed to fill a gap that some saw with mainstream development corporations and the complex needs of African immigrants.

Just as the group is expanding northward and southward outside the metro, it got some help itself recently, when it garnered a two-year grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation. Samatar points out that Bremer's founder was a German immigrant, who came to the U.S at a different time, but faced many of the same business and housing issues that still challenge immigrants today.

"We feel that there are so many opportunities where we can provide services, and the grant will help us to keep expanding and serving more people," says Samatar. "We're always seeing where we can fill in gaps and provide assistance."

Source: Hussein Samatar, African Development Council
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Everyone was a winner, and nothing was lost but sleep, quips The Nerdery of its fourth annual Nerdery Overnight Website Challenge, March 26�27, at which 175 web development professionals donated approximately a half million dollars worth of web design to help nonprofits further their missions.

Eighteen web design teams worked from 9 a.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday, after which the winner was announced: team TST Media, for their redesign of Bloomington United for Youth's (BUY) website.

(The new site was not yet live as of April 6, but you can see before and after snapshots on BUY's challenge page.)

Speaking with The Line, Nerdery Communications Manager Mark Malmberg reiterated that "it's a win" for each of the web teams to be chosen from the 46 that applied to donate their time. The number of teams has steadily increased each year, from 11 to this year's 18.

"What drives that number up is we keep getting qualified teams that want to do this, and it's hard to turn them away," says Mamlberg.

Through the event's four-year history, $1.5 million of pro bono services have been delivered to 57 Minnesota nonprofits, not including the hundreds of hours of follow-up support that web teams pledge before entering.

Like its signature event, The Nerdery has grown since its 2003 founding; the Bloomington-based web development company employs just shy of 200 people and consumes enough caffeine in a week to kill five adults, according to its website.

The Nerdery has a smaller, 12-employee office in Chicago, as well, where it plans to host a similar challenge in the early summer, says Malmberg.

Source: Mark Malmberg, The Nerdery
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

When he took the call last December from Ellen Prosser of Fort Lucas Farm in Massachusetts, Dan Ellsworth could sense the sincerity and concern in her voice.

Hundreds of llamas were starving and in need of rescue at the defunct Montana Large Animal Sanctuary.

"It was a simple answer," says Ellsworth, vice president of marketing for Destron Fearing, a South St. Paul company specializing in animal identification solutions. The company donated 600 of its LifeChip microchips and four microchip readers to aid in the effort.

The chips and readers saved the rescue effort "thousands of dollars," says Gary Kaufman, spokesperson for the Camelid Rescue Coalition, made up of several regional llama rescue organizations from around the country. The chips were used to "provide a permanent form of non-invasive identification of the animals, similar to what people use on their dogs and cats," says Kaufman.

By the first week of February, "well in excess of 500" llamas had been rescued and shipped to recovery areas in at least eight states, according to Kaufman. (Not all the llamas survived; Kaufman estimates the original number was 700.)

Kaufmann had little information about why the rescue was necessary, except that the animal sanctuary "no longer had money for the llamas." It will take months to nurse the animals back to health, he says. Those interested in donating to the effort may contact Northeast Llama Rescue.

Founded in 1945, Destron Fearing was the first animal identification company in the country, according to Ellsworth. Their radio frequency identification (RFID) systems are used to identify livestock, wildlife,  fish, pets, and companion animals.

Destron Fearing has 150 employees globally, about three-quarters of them at their headquarters a few miles downriver from downtown St. Paul.

Sources: Dan Ellsworth, Destron Fearing; Gary Kaufman, Camelid Rescue Coalition.

Writer: Jeremy Stratton

'Tis the season for "prize philanthropy."

StoneArch Creative, a Minneapolis company that specializes in health and medical marketing, is giving away $1,000 a day this week to the causes that generate the most tweets for its campaign.

Anyone can vote for a non-profit by posting a public message to Twitter that includes the tag #MyTweetWish. At the end of each day StoneArch will tally a winner.

"My hope would be that we get a nice response from across the country or globally versus just locally," says Jessica Boden, StoneArch's executive creative director.

Boden says StoneArch is celebrating "a great year." Its focus on health and medical marketing has made the 26-year-old agency less vulnerable to economic ups and downs.

Health and medical companies make up 95 percent of StoneArch's clients. The agency bolsters that specialty by hiring employees who come from both the medical and creative worlds, Boden says. That's key to understanding  the technical aspects of products they support.

"It's just a much different dialogue than talking to someone who's buying shoes," says Boden.

Until a few years ago, the company's clients were almost entirely based in the Twin Cities, but in 2010 StoneArch continued to gain traction nationally, says Boden. Highlights included winning work as the agency for Abbott Vascular's drug-eluding stent business.

Source: Jessica Boden, StoneArch Creative
Writer: Dan Haugen

Give, and you shall receive. That's a lesson learned for Minneapolis branding and design consultancy Imagehaus.

Creative Director Jay Miller started a giving program when he founded the company in 2000. Last month, the firm calculated that it's provided more than $2 million worth of services to nonprofits.

When Imagehaus saw its big-box retailer work shrink in recent years, it was able to fall back on some of those same nonprofits when they returned as paying customers, says Miller.

Twin Cities nonprofits are invited to apply for a grant on Imagehaus' website. The company chooses about one per quarter. Alumni can later get additional services at cost.

The four-person firm recently purchased an 1,800-square-foot commercial condo in the SOHO Lofts building and will be moving there from the other side of downtown early next spring.

As a branding firm, Imagehaus helps retailers come up with names, logos, and store concepts. Besides its nonprofit work, Miller says they benefit from having a mix of large and small clients.

"Our business model has always been very diversified," says Miller.

That's helped them in terms of stability, but also in a creative sense. They're able to take what they learn from working with big-box retailers and apply it to mom-and-pop stores, and vice versa.

"We learn from both--different things," says Miller. "When you have your smaller companies and smaller budgets, it challenges you to be creative in different ways."

Miller says he expects owning instead of renting will reduce the company's overhead and hopefully help it add employees in 2011.

Source: Jay Miller, Imagehaus
Writer: Dan Haugen

What if companies were to pledge a portion of their sales to help fight global poverty?

Nick Pearson believes it would have a substantial impact.

Pearson is founder of 1% For Humanity, an organization seeking to sign up companies to donate 1 percent of their revenues (that's revenues, not profit) to humanitarian causes.

"It's been challenging, for sure," says Pearson, of Robbinsdale. "A lot of entrepreneurs are just getting started and they're trying to build their brands in a really tough economy anyway."

It's taken Pearson longer than he hoped to get the project to where it's at today, but he's not pessimistic. Last year, five members raised over $100,000 for its network of charities.

Pearson, who used to work in real estate and property management, has made 1% For Humanity a full-time volunteer endeavor. He launched the organization in March 2009.

So far he has seven participating companies, which file annual reports with Pearson, who certifies that they are giving the amount they claim to humanitarian-related nonprofits.

1% For Humanity does not take a cut of the donations. Its revenue comes from separate donations and from a marketing fee for member companies to use its logo.

Pearson says he knew he didn't have a passion for real estate, and that he was inspired by the success of 1% For The Planet, which raises millions for environmental causes.

Pearson believes there's a similar need for humanitarian causes. Today, he's focused on continuing to get the word out in order to find more potential partners.

Member companies include two Minneapolis firms, 10,000 Pixel Agency and Bull Run Roasting Co.

Source: Nick Pearson, 1% For Humanity
Writer: Dan Haugen