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InterContinental Saint Paul

Riverfront Hotel

11 East Kellogg Blvd. Saint Paul, Minnesota

55101 1.651.292.1900

Airport

Directions

The hotel is accessible from the airport by

Light Rail Transit. Take the Blue Line from the airport and transfer in

Minneapolis at the U.S. Bank Stadium station to the Green

Line. Take the Green Line to Saint Paul and

exit at the Central station. From there, walk 1/4-mile to the hotel. Estimated trip

length is 45 – 60 minutes.

Transportation

Options

The hotel is approximately a 20-

minute drive from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Options include: Super Shuttle ($18) and taxi

service ($35).

Welcome to Saint Paul! As co-chairs of the conference, we are thrilled to be in Saint Paul for another great TFN conference. Our 2017 conference takes place in a vibrant city, built along the bluffs of the Mississippi and which prides itself on being one of the most livable cities in the country. Like other cities, Saint Paul’s government and philanthropic leaders are working together to address critical issues that will determine how we build stronger, more just, and sustainable communities. We know the unique and unparalleled role philanthropy has in creating innovative tools and supporting best practices that ensure environmental stewardship, create economic prosperity, and remove barriers to opportunity. Our three-day conference will offer a wealth of plenaries, mobile workshops, and breakout sessions that leverage the extensive resources and expertise we have in our field. We’re excited to share the impactful work being done in the Twin Cities, and encourage you to share your best and boldest ideas as well. We hope you will take the time to forge new bonds, strengthen existing relationships, and be inspired by great ideas. (We also hope you manage to squeeze in some fun in the process!) Thank you for joining us in Saint Paul! Sincerely,

Phillip W. Henderson

President,

Surdna Foundation

Dr. Eric J. Jolly

President and CEO,

The Saint Paul Foundation

Kate Wolford

President,

The McKnight Foundation

The hotel is owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe,

which acquired and renovated the

property in 2013.

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Saint Paul native Erik Takeshita, portfolio director for community creativity at the Bush Foundation, and Regina R. Smith, managing director of The Kresge Foundation’s Arts & Culture Program, will lead a bus tour showcasing how artists and culture-bearers are leading equitable community development in three Minneapolis-Saint Paul neighborhoods: ▪ Lyn-Lake: Learn how Intermedia Arts turned an old car repair shop into a thriving center that cultivates artists as community leaders and collaborates with the City of Minneapolis.

▪ North Minneapolis: Meet with the leaders at Juxtaposition Arts, whose art center has helped anchor neighborhood revitalization, while also fostering opportunities for young people to lead arts-based enterprises. ▪ Little Mekong/Historic Rondo: See how Springboard for the Arts works with artists to maintain neighborhood identity amid development pressures, as well as how CDCs and other business associations are integrating arts and culture into their work to advance social and economic growth.

Photo Credit: Intermedia Arts

Parking

The InterContinental offers front door valet

parking for $29 daily, as well as covered self-parking for $18 daily.

Conference Wi-Fi

Registration and

Check-In

Conference registration will open at

3:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 19th in the hotel’s Great River Court. It will open again daily at 7:00 a.m. and

remain available throughout each day.

Visit registration to check in,

pick up your name badge and

conference program, access the

conference Guidebook app, suggest ad hoc breakfast topics, and

sign up for mobile workshops and “Doctor

Is In” consulting appointments.

Complimentary Wi-Fi is accessible in all meeting and

lodging rooms at the

InterContinental Hotel.

Pre-Conference Tour Meet at 11:15 a.m. in the hotel lobby by the

main entrance on Kellogg Boulevard. The bus will depart at 11:30

a.m.

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The Funders’ Network, in partnership with Media Impact Funders, presents a screening of select scenes from three impactful and timely documentaries. The screenings will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, moderated by Vince Stehle, executive director of Media Impact Funders. Councilwoman: A Dominican housekeeper in a Providence hotel wins a seat in City Council, taking her advocacy for low-income workers from the margins to city politics. Q&A with Margo Guernsey, director and producer. Time for Ilhan: Ilhan Omar won a hard-fought race for State Representative in Minnesota, becoming the first East-African Muslim woman in America to be elected to state office — a tri-umph that came against the backdrop of the anti-immigrant rhetoric of the new presidential administration. Q&A with Norah Shapiro, director and producer. End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock: The incredible story of a group of indige-nous women willing to risk their lives to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline construction that desecrated their ancient burial and prayer sites and threatens their land, water, and very existence. Q&A with Shannon Kring, writer, director and producer.

Mobile App Download the

program, follow the conference, and

connect with other attendees using our Guidebook

conference app. Use the code

“TFNSTPAUL” once you’ve

downloaded the Guidebook app.

BYOWB Please Bring Your Own Water Bottle

(BYOWB). Through-out the conference, we will have water

stations available, but will not be providing plastic water bottles.

Dinner on Your Own

Participants who do not attend

Sunday Night at the Movies are encouraged to

dine in small groups throughout

downtown Saint Paul. A list of

local restaurants is available in the Guidebook

app.

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This deep-dive session explores how cities and regions across the country are tackling climate mitigation and adaptation. While climate change poses many dangers, addressing these dangers also provides an opportunity to build a more sustainable world, one that is more equitable and fair. Our Pre-Conference Institute will give funders a sense of the real world successes being achieved — and the challenges that remain. Learn from environmental thought-leaders, municipal sustainability officers and other experts. Topics include critical capacities needed in communities; city-led work underway in Boston and Salt Lake City; how cities are leading on buildings and renewables; and efforts to ensure that climate mitigation strategies incorporate an emphasis on equity.

Speakers:

Jessica Boehland, Senior Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation (co-moderator)

Darryl Young, Director, Sustainable Cities, The Summit Foundation (co-moderator)

Vicki Bennett, Sustainability Director, Salt Lake City Corporation

Austin Blackmon, Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space, City of Boston

Jessica Finn Coven, Director, Office of Sustainability and Environment,

City of Seattle

Glenn Harris, President, Center for Social Inclusion

Cecilia Martinez, Director of Research Programs, Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy

Peter Plastrik, Vice President, Innovation Network for Communities

William Updike, Chief, Green Building and Climate Branch, DC Department of Energy and Environment

Meeting Rooms

First Floor: Great River Ball-

room Great River Court

Lobby Level:

Kellogg I Kellogg II & III

Lower Level: Governors II Governors IV

State I & II State III

PLACES Alumni

Gathering

8:00—11:30 a.m.

Neighborhood House

179 Robie St E, St. Paul, MN 55107

Anna Heilmaier

Meeting Room

Alumni Gathering, 8:00-11:30 a.m.

Facilitated learning and discussions on how to approach issues of race,

equity and inclusion in your grantmaking, practicing self-care

and building networks.

Meet in lobby at 7:30 a.m.

Bus leaves at 7:45 a.m.

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Our annual conference kicks off with a special presentation of Pillsbury House Theatre’s award-winning Breaking Ice, an entertaining and thought-provoking theater experience that explores the tough issues of equity, race, and privilege. Founded in 1992, Pillsbury House Theatre creates challenging theatre to inspire choice, change and connection. Pillsbury House has been hailed as a model for community-minded arts organizations and is part of Pillsbury United Communities, one of the largest human services organiza-tions in Minnesota.

Photo Credit: Pillsbury House Theatre

We’re Social! Follow us on Twitter: @funders_network

#TFNSTPAUL

TFN fosters an open exchange of ideas

and experiences for those unable to

attend the conference. If you’re

interested in tweeting or using

other social media at the conference,

please use hashtag #TFNSTPAUL.

Remember that

social media easily reaches a large

audience. Please frame your remarks accordingly, as the event may include

privileged or confidential

information that is intended only for

funders.

TFN in the Blogosphere

Check out our blog featuring your

thoughts and ours. Contact Tere

Figueras Negrete (tere@fundersnetwork.

org) for details on how to submit a blog entry.

Sign-up to receive the regular blog di-gest at: fundersnet-

work.org/blog.

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Do you want to know more about how your

foundation can support advocacy —

or engage in advocacy itself?

Abby will be available throughout the

conference for free, one-on-one

consultations to answer questions and

share tools and resources about how

private and public foundations can

support grantees’ advocacy efforts. She’ll also offer

guidance on how foundations can

engage in advocacy themselves. Sign up

is available at the conference

registration table.

Too often the conversations around creating sustainable communities do not include the topic of incarceration and its devastating impacts on communities of color. These conversations, both with advocates and with funders, tend to be siloed. How can we speak of sustainable communities without addressing the fact that in many communities, thousands of people are permanently disenfranchised from full community participation, such as education and employment, because of their offender status? This session gives funders the chance to see the links and opportunities in broadening their coalitions, conversations and potential grantee partnerships. Speakers:

Leticia Peguero, Executive Director, Andrus Family Fund (moderator)

Katayoon Majd, Program Director for Juvenile Justice, Public Welfare Foundation

Glenn Martin, President and Founder, JustLeadershipUSA

Rashad Robinson, Executive Director, Color Of Change

Liz Ryan, President and CEO, Youth First Initiative

Educational and healthcare institutions, local government agencies, and other major employers are important anchors in local economies. Anchor institutions are increasingly aware of their influence in their local communities, especially in considering hiring practices, purchasing power, and community investment potential. Networks of anchor institutions are banding together to multiply their influence. But this work doesn’t always come easily. Foundations have an important role in catalyzing and supporting anchors’ work. In this session, we will look at new research that examines funder support of anchor institutions and hear from a variety of organizations and funders working with these community anchors. Speakers:

Shawn Escoffery, Program Director, Strong Local Economies, Surdna Foundation

(moderator)

Deborah Bennett, Senior Program Officer, Polk Bros. Foundation

Elena Gaarder, Program Officer, Nexus Community Partners

Katherine Pease, Program Consultant, The Funders’ Network

Karleen Porcena, Program Officer, LISC Boston

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In order to build understanding and engagement around an issue or campaign, it is important to acknowledge and respond to varied points of view. Considering the current political climate, are leaders equipped to interact with diverse stakeholders and offer pragmatic solutions? This session will highlight case studies from Texas and the Great Lakes states, where creative approaches effectively engaged conservative communities and ultimately resulted in wins. Speakers:

Elizabeth Love, Senior Program Officer, Houston Endowment (moderator)

Yvette Arellano, Research Fellow, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy

Services

Michael Noble, Executive Director, Fresh Energy

Tom “Smitty” Smith, Director, Public Citizen

For many cities, addressing climate, sustainability, and equity should start with community and environmental justice. And yet cities rarely consider approaches that advance sustainability and climate resiliency in a way that puts community residents first. This session will share work underway in two very different cities – Seattle and Providence – that have launched collaborative initiatives at the intersection of racial justice, environmental protection, and sustainability. In each case, this work has been supported by diverse partners: a government/community/funder collaborative in Seattle, and a city/funder partnership in Providence that spurred creation of an Equity Subcommittee of the City’s Environmental Sustainability Task Force, with efforts in both cities funded by the Partners for Places grant program.

Speakers:

Susan Dobkins, Program Officer, The Russell Family Foundation (moderator)

Leah Bamberger, Director of Sustainability, City of Providence

Sudha Nandagopal, Program Coordinator, Equity & Environment Initiative,

Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment

Jenny Pereira, Director, Grant Programs, Rhode Island Foundation

Alberto Rodriguez, Duwamish Valley Advisor, City of Seattle, Office of Sustainability & Environment

Mobile Workshops We encourage you to signup early for

the Tuesday afternoon mobile workshop of your

choice, as space is limited for each.

Visit the signup boards in the

on-site registration area and choose a mobile workshop

when you check in and pick up your

name badge.

Many policy makers and advocacy groups across the U.S. are concerned about the impact that new transportation technology, such as self-driving vehicles, will have on greenhouse gases, roads, and the built environment. This session will unveil new and ongoing research on this rapidly evolving tech front, which can be used to inform international and national policy-making. What are the worldwide new mo-bility trends? What services are expected to grow, and which will be dominant in what areas? What types of impacts can we expect? Panelists will share research and thoughts on the future of transporta-tion and what role philanthropy can play to help create a more desirable, low-carbon future.

Speakers:

Mary Skelton Roberts, Senior Program Officer, Barr Foundation (moderator)

Anthony Eggert, Program Director, Climate Works Foundation

Aimee Gauthier, Chief Program Officer, Institute for Transportation and

Development Policy

Daniel Sperling, Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies,

University of California, Davis

2017 Conference Supporters

The Funders’

Network is grateful to the many individuals who volunteered their time, ideas, and efforts to provide conference

attendees with a rich experience. Thank you to the conference co-chairs,

sponsors, planning meeting attendees, and

session designers, moderators, and speak-ers for your support and

guidance!

Special thanks to our conference planning

chairs and their designees: Kate Wolford and Eric Muschler, The McKnight Foundation;

Dr. Eric Jolly and Carrie Jo Short, The Saint Paul

Foundation; and Phil Henderson and Shawn Escoffery,

Surdna Foundation.

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The results of the 2016 elections created a new political and social climate that has impacted many issues of importance to philanthropy, for better or for worse. Funders are thinking through ways to seize opportunities and address challenges at the federal, state, and local levels. Whether the issue is creating inclusive economic opportunity, mitigating climate change, protecting civil rights, increasing the minimum wage, providing affordable housing, improving transportation, supporting social justice, or moving toward a cleaner energy future, funders are seeking non-partisan and forward-looking strategies, whether they are working in urban or rural regions and communities. This interactive panel of foundation leaders will engage in a lively discussion of what new strategies and approaches they are looking to test and try, as we all grapple with a changing landscape and shifting roles for philanthropy.

Scot Spencer

Associate Director for Advocacy and Influence Annie E. Casey Foundation (moderator)

David Abbott

Executive Director The George Gund

Foundation

Dr. Eric Jolly

President and CEO Minnesota Philanthropy Partners

Phillip Henderson

President Surdna Foundation

Tonya Allen

President and CEO The Skillman Foundation

2017 Annual

Conference Sponsors

Knight Foundation

The McKnight Foundation

William Penn Foundation

Surdna

Foundation

Margaret A. Cargill Foundation

Barr

Foundation

Bush Foundation

The Saint Paul

Foundation

Walton Family Foundation

The Minneapolis

Foundation

Minnesota Initiative Foundations:

Initiative Foundation

Northland Foundation

Northwest

Minnesota Foundation

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation

Southwest Initiative

Foundation

West Central Initiative

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City of Saint Paul Mayor Christopher B. Coleman will join us at the reception to welcome conference attendees to Saint Paul. Mayor Coleman was first elected in 2006 after several years as a city councilmember, community and neighborhood leader, and he immediately set forth initiatives to make Saint Paul one of the most livable cities in America. His priorities include working to close the achievement gap, creating sustainable and responsible budgets, and investing in the infrastructure of Saint Paul. Mayor Coleman was instrumental in championing the Green Line (Central Corridor Light Rail line)—the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in the state of Minnesota.

Directions Walk left (east) out of the front door of the hotel along

Kellogg Boulevard. After eight blocks turn left onto North Broadway. The ballfield will be one block further on your right. Enter Securian Club at CHS Field by using the VIP

gate, which is 30 yards north of the main entrance gates on Broadway Street.

Did You Know?

- Minnesota is home to 10,000 lakes!

- Historic Rice Park

in downtown Saint Paul is older

than Central Park in New York City.

- Bill Murray is part-

owner of the St. Paul Saints, and can often be seen at games.

- Peanuts creator

Charles Shulz was born in Minneapolis and grew up in Saint

Paul.

- As of 2011, nearly 40% of adults in Minneapolis and

Saint Paul devoted some of their free time to volunteer

work.

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A list of ad hoc topics will be posted in the registration area. Please feel free to join a group or suggest an ad hoc session of your own.

Unless noted otherwise, breakfast discussions will be held in the Great River Ballroom.

Topics already suggested and scheduled for Tuesday morning include:

GREEN! working group [Kellogg I]

Restoring Prosperity in Older Industrial Cities funder working group [Kellogg II & III]

Philanthropic Support for Indigenous Communities [State I]

Using Media and Storytelling to Reimagine the Civic Commons

Fun Facts

- Minnesota is infamous for its cold

winters. Luckily, Minneapolis resi-

dents can stay warm with the Minneapolis Skyway, an indoor pedestrian walkway

system that links many downtown

buildings. Spanning 69 blocks and seven miles, it's the longest continuous skyway system in the world.

- Minnesota’s

capital city isn’t Minneapolis—it’s

Saint Paul. Although Minneapolis is a bigger city, Saint

Paul is home to the state’s government.

- In 2012, the Walker

Art Center in Minneapolis hosted

the world’s first Internet Cat Video

Festival, which was, well, a celebration of

cat videos on the internet. An

estimated 10,000 people showed up

for the event.

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In the aftermath of an election that revealed deep divisions across the U.S., how can philanthropy effectively navigate the road ahead? This panel discussion will provide post-election insight on issues such as equity, economic opportunity, and environmental stewardship. Our speakers will offer analyses on these issues of importance to our funder community, as well as forward-looking strategies to address challenges and opportunities at the federal, state and local levels.

Phillip Henderson

President

Surdna Foundation (moderator)

Tamara Draut

Vice President of

Policy and Research

Demos

Brentin Mock

Staff Writer

CityLab

More Fun Facts...

- Prince was born and raised in Minneapolis, and was a proud and

vocal advocate of the Twin

Cities. In the late1970s, he

pioneered what music magazines would

soon dub the “Minneapolis

sound”— a hybrid of R&B, funk, rock, pop,

and new wave.

- In the fall of 1885, East Coast reporters visited Minnesota and

called Saint Paul “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.”

The Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce

responded by hosting a giant winter

carnival replete with food, ice palaces, and

winter sports. The event was held on

and off over the years until the St. Paul

Winter Carnival finally became an official

seasonal tradition in 1946.

- Bob Dylan attended the University of Min-nesota from 1959 to 1960, and became involved in the local

Minneapolis folk music scene. He

dropped out after his freshman year to

move to New York City.

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Voters in smaller cities and towns played an outsize role in determining the results of the 2016 election. This was especially true of industrialized areas, which have struggled for decades at the intersection of deep structural changes affecting people, place, and economy. Join your colleagues and a distinguished panel of researchers, practitioners, and funders for an interactive session that grapples with the competitive advantages and disadvantages of smaller places in a global economy and strategies for achieving truly inclusive recovery and growth.

Speakers:

Jeremiah Boyle, Managing Director, Community and Economic Development, Federal

Reserve Bank of Chicago (moderator)

Ivye Allen, President, Foundation for the Mid South

David Eichenthal, Executive Director, National Resource Network

Torey Hollingsworth, Senior Researcher, Greater Ohio Policy Center

Foundations have a growing interest in impact investing, but how can we effectively break down the silos that divide grantmaking and the financing expertise that leads to impact investing? In this session, hear three examples of how program-driven ideas were translated into creative impact investment responses: the new Vikings Stadium, which broke records for minority business involvement; job creation in communities in and around the Green Line; and the first regionally focused Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) Impact Fund to capture affordable housing being lost to outside investors. Speakers:

Susan Hammel, Executive in Residence, Minnesota Council on Foundations (moderator)

Elizabeth McGeveran, Impact Investing Program Director, The McKnight Foundation

Ann Mulholland, Vice President of Community Impact, The Saint Paul Foundation

Jo-Anne Stately, Director of Impact Strategy - Economic

Vitality, The Minneapolis Foundation

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Nodes. Links. Hubs. Clusters. Networks. You’ve heard the lingo about social impact networks, but how can funders best evaluate their promise and invest in them? Working with Network Impact, TFN commissioned the development of a learning module intended to help funders make strategic decisions about when to invest in networks to support their social impact goals and how to support network practice most effectively. During this session, the author will preview components of the learning module, with feedback and perspective from a long-time and innovative philanthropic investor in social impact networks.

Speakers:

Jennie Curtis, Executive Director, Garfield Foundation (moderator)

Madeleine Taylor, Founder and CEO, Network Impact

Building on the Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning plenaries, this concurrent session will offer an opportunity for funders interested in going deeper in processing the implications of the Novem-ber elections while also putting the current situation into context. If you’re a place-based funder just trying to make a difference in your region supporting, say, better jobs, clean water, or youth engagement, how does all the heat and light from today’s national political scene affect your work? Are you searching for ways to work differently? Are you grateful to have something local to focus on instead, even while knowing that federal funding and programs remain critically important? This session will allow funders to share questions and approaches with their peers on how they have approached their work since the election. On hand to assist the discussion will be a handful of experts and advocates who bring knowledge on issues ranging from voter engagement to civil rights to federal and state policies and more.

Speakers:

Diana Williams, Program Consultant, The Funders’ Network (moderator)

Sam Munger, Director of Strategic Engagement, State Innovation Exchange

(discussion starter)

Cities across the country are facing myriad water challenges, including aging infrastructure, pollu-tion, drinking water contamination, flooding, and affordability. Both Detroit and New Orleans are grappling with these issues and have become laboratories for testing new water projects, policies, and principles to address climate resilience and equity. This session will talk about some of the new models in integrated water management and resilience that address community engagement, as well as share information on the role the philanthropic community is playing to develop this work. Speakers:

Jalonne White-Newsome, Senior Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation (moderator)

Ella Delio, Director of Environmental Programs, Greater New Orleans

Foundation

Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, Claiborne Corridor Program Manager, The Network for Economic

Opportunity, City of New Orleans

Monica Lewis-Patrick, Co-Founder, We the People of Detroit

Jodee Raines, Vice President of Programs, Erb Family Foundation

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Join us for our annual luncheon and presentation of the Nicholas P. Bollman Award to our 2017 recipient, Tonya Allen, president and CEO of The Skillman

Foundation in Detroit.

In addition to the awards ceremony, TFN members also will be asked to elect the 2019 class of the board of directors.

The Nicholas P. Bollman Award

honors the memory of longtime friend

and Funders’ Network co-founder, Nick Bollman, who died in 2007. The values that guided Nick’s life and his

work, and his influence on

others, personify the values and hopes of

the Funders’ Net-work and continue to provide inspiration. Nick was a beacon of hope for all peo-

ple who believe strongly in their

obligation to improve conditions

for future generations without

hesitation or expectation of

reward.

We are proud to recognize leaders in the field who contin-ue Nick’s legacy of

advancing thoughtful and

progressive solu-tions to a variety of

contemporary problems.

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Meet in the lobby to depart for

all mobile workshops. All

buses and groups will

depart at 1:30 p.m. sharp. Don’t

forget to BYOWB!

Three of the

tours (Stadium, Green Line, and Downtown) will feature audio

commentary by conference line,

so that all participants can easily hear the

speakers.

Please bring your mobile

phone and ear buds so that you

can easily access the

audio. We will have a small

number of ear buds available.

Tour West Broadway, the main commercial corridor of North Minneapolis, which has emerged as a showpiece of community-driven revitalization. The neighborhood surrounding the corridor was at the epicenter of the region’s foreclosure crisis; in 2011, a deadly tornado ripped through the area damaging nearby homes and businesses. See and hear how creative place-based non-profits, philan-thropy, and the City of Minneapolis teamed up to support investments that not only trans-formed city blocks, but community perspec-tives as well. We’ll hear about efforts to sup-port local businesses, integrate arts and cul-ture, and cultivate a culture of entrepreneur-ship — including a stop at Cookie Cart, a non-profit bakery that provides local teens with meaningful work and essential leadership skills.

This year, Saint Paul will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its groundbreaking Saint Paul on the Mississippi Development Framework — a community-driven vision for a revitalized urban core and downtown riverfront. On this tour you’ll see many of these invest-ments firsthand, while hearing from the leaders who have helped to make them possible. Learn about the public-private effort to create the River Balcony, a pedes-trian promenade overlooking the river. You’ll also hear from District Energy St. Paul, which operates the largest hot water district heating system in North America using renewable energy. The tour includes a stop in Lowertown, a neighborhood on

the National Register of Historic Places that is home to a vibrant arts community. While sam-pling foods at a local deli, we'll learn how changing demand for downtown living is impacting artist workspaces.

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From flour mills on the Mississippi in Minneapolis, to a Saint Paul-based Ethiopian-American entrepreneur launching new machinery to make injera flatbread, to the cultivation of the Honeycrisp apple at University of Minnesota, the Twin Cities food economy has been strong, innovative, and rooted in the agricultural histories of its residents. On this tour you will travel to Frogtown Farms, one of the largest urban farms in the country, and travel to the East Side Enterprise Center, a rehabbed historic structure which is now home to 10 community partners that work with and support local farmers and businesses. Finally, you will travel to Hmong Village, a privately-owned shopping mall reminiscent of outdoor markets in Southeast Asia, where next to shops selling beauty supplies, traditional Hmong handicrafts, and cooking tools, there are dozens of food stalls that offer traditional cuisine and take advantage of the nearby farmers market.

U.S. Bank Stadium — the new $1.1 billion home for the Minnesota Vikings that opened last fall — has yielded significant and early victories for the community. Enjoy a tour of this NFL team stadium and hear how a diverse group of public, private, and non-profit partners shaped a plan that ultimately surpassed expectations for minorities and women to take part in the billion-dollar con-struction project. Learn how the stadium’s connec-tion to light rail lines, as well as other projects in the area, served as a catalyst for redevelopment while neighbors worked to ensure that affordable housing, workforce opportunities, and recreational assets were secured.

Towerside is 370 acres of commercial, industrial, and

institutionally zoned land — and is the only designated innovation district in the Twin Cities. As the Prospect Park neighborhood began planning for the Green Line LRT, local leaders, seeking a new model of urban development rooted in sustainability, forged a partner-ship with landowners, businesses, non-profits, government agencies and others. On this tour, you will hear from neighbors who were the early champions of this effort, developers who have co-funded a district stormwater system before their pro-jects have even broken ground, and leaders from the cross-sector partnership. You will visit the Textile

Center, the arts anchor of the neighborhood, as well as the new public “stormwater park.” The tour concludes at Surly Brewing Company, one of the first businesses to locate in the district.

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The 11-mile Green Line LRT travels be-tween downtown Saint Paul and Minneapolis, connecting multiple neigh-borhoods, businesses and commercial districts. Early in the project’s history, philanthropy recognized the potentially transformative power of this billion-dollar investment. On this tour, you’ll ride the Green Line and visit a new mixed-income project on the Minneapolis-Saint Paul border, and travel to the Creative Enterprise Zone to hear about neighborhood businesses united together around their common “maker” roots. We will also stop at the Western Avenue station area, where the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods come together and the Little Mekong business district makes its home.

We’re delighted to again feature our annual dining extravaganza, Eat Here!, where you will be treated to local and seasonal ingredients from innovative farmers, providers, and chefs. We want to thank the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders Group (SAFSF) for their incredible partnership to organize this annual event for the past 15 years, and for all of the work they have dedicated to planning this strolling dinner. Our deepest gratitude to SAFSF’s Virginia Clarke, Bridget Dobrowski, and Huyen Nguyen!

Walk right (west) out of the front door of

the hotel onto Kellogg Boulevard. Walk two blocks and turn right

onto Market Street. In another two blocks, you’ll pass the park and see the historic Landmark Center on

your left.

Pre-Eat Here!

The “Pre-Eat Here!” conversation will be

held at 6:00 p.m. Pakou Hang, Executive Director of the

Hmong American Farmers

Association, will discuss the

history of the local food movement in the region, and the

nexus between immigration, food, and place and how they’re all affected by each other. To attend the Pre-Eat Here conversation, please meet in the

lobby at the InterContinental

Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel at 5:30 p.m. to walk as a group to

the Landmark Center.

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A list of ad hoc topics, including the opportunity to debrief Tuesday’s mobile work-shops, will be posted in the registration area. Please feel free to join a group or sug-gest an ad hoc session of your own. Unless noted otherwise, breakfast discussions will be held in the Great River Ballroom. Topics already suggested and scheduled for Wednesday morning include:

Stormwater Funders’ Group

Smart Growth California

Support for Anchor Institutions

Philanthropy’s Role in Advocacy and Public Policy

PLACES Book Club [State I]

The threats of climate change to people and the environment are increasingly well understood, including how negative impacts fall disproportionately on our most vulnerable communities and neighbors. This session will look at climate change action from the perspective of frontline communities whose health and well-being are most at risk. Hear a national overview of the climate justice issue and why it deserves philanthropic attention. Learn how vulnerable communities, environmental justice leaders, and other allies are linking arms in California’s Central Valley and Massachusetts neighborhoods, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs prioritized. Regional examples will show how leading with justice and equity is not just morally right, but has resulted in superior economic and environmental outcomes.

Speakers:

Shamar Bibbins, Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation (moderator)

Veronica Garibay, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Ac-

countability

Darlene Lombos, Executive Director, Community Labor United

Jacqueline Patterson, Director, Environmental and Climate

Justice, NAACP

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Across the country, low-wealth communities and people of color are not able to set priorities for their neighborhood, and as a result seldom reap the benefits of development. Neighborhoods and their residents suffer from generations of disinvestment and environmental degradation. And when a neighborhood's fortunes turn and these neighborhoods attract the attention of outsiders, these same low-wealth residents are too often left out and driven away. The good news is that this pattern is shifting in some places, where grassroots groups are partnering in new ways with advocates and intermediaries to build community power in decision-making. Funders are also coming together across issues to democratize the development process. This session will share strategies and tools from around the country and set the stage for advancing and scaling efforts to democratize development. Speakers:

Helen Chin, Program Director, Sustainable Environments, Surdna Foundation

(co-moderator)

Amy Kenyon, Program Officer, Ford Foundation (co-moderator)

Nikki Fortunato Bas, Executive Director, Partnership for Working

Families

Julie Nelson, Senior Vice President, Center for Social Inclusion /

Government Alliance on Race and Equity

Anthony Newby, Executive Director, MN Neighborhoods Organizing for Change

Rich Stolz, Executive Director, OneAmerica

In this session we’ll hear from three podcast producers who are working to lift up hidden sto-ries and to bring new perspectives to the growing audience for podcasts: an investigative reporter whose podcast tells the story of how the 1989 abduction of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling in central Minnesota baffled local, state and federal investigators for years; a multimedia producer who delves deep into the 300-year history of New Orleans, exploring lost and neglected stories and questioning what we think we know about the city’s history; and a Pulitzer-winning journalist who co-hosts a podcast exploring modern-day inequality through a historical lens. We’ll learn about their work, the lessons they’ve learned from their audiences, and how this format offers new opportunities for grantmakers to build informed and engaged communities Speakers:

Sam Gill, Vice President for Learning and Impact, John S. and James L. Knight Founda-

tion (moderator)

Madeleine Baran, Investigative Reporter, APM Reports; Host, In the Dark (Minnesota

Public Radio)

Stephen Henderson, Editorial Page Director, Detroit Free Press; Co-Host, Created Equal

(WDET)

Laine Kaplan-Levenson, Multimedia Producer and

Host, TriPod: New Orleans at 300 (WWNO)

This session will take place off-site

at Minnesota Public Radio. Speakers and

session attendees will meet in the

lobby at 8:15 a.m. and walk together

to the meeting location.

Staff at the Minnesota Public Radio also will of-

fer an optional tour of the facility.

For those who opt

to not take the tour, a second

group will depart from the hotel at

8:45 a.m. .

Don’t Forget!

Hotel check-out

is at 12:00 noon.

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A retired U.S. Marine, Mark Mykleby is one of the authors of The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America’s Prosperity, Security and Sustainability in the 21st Century, which details a business plan for America, born at the Pentagon, that embeds sustainability as a national strategic imperative. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former fighter pilot, he developed strategy at the U.S. Special Operations Command and served as a special strategic assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Formerly co-director of the Strategic Inno-vation Lab at Case Western Reserve University, he is also the co-founder of Long Haul Capital Group, a company dedicated to creating sustainable, walkable, and healthy communities.

Even More Facts!

- The Honeycrisp Apple was named

the Minnesota State Fruit in 2006, and for

good reason—it was invented by the

University of Minnesota as part of an apple breeding

program.

- Garrison Keillor lives in Saint Paul,

where he broadcasted

A Prairie Home Companion from an old converted movie palace called The Fitzgerald Theatre.

- The greater Twin Cities area has one

of the highest concentrations of

Fortune 500 Companies in the

country. Seventeen corporate

behemoths—including Target,

Best Buy, General Mills, and Land

O’Lakes—currently call the

region home.

Save The Date TFN 2018 Annual Conference

March 19 – 21, 2018 Houston, Texas

Mark “Puck” Mykleby

Co-Founder Long Haul Capital Group

Kate Wolford

President The McKnight Foundation

(moderator)

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TFN Staff

Dion Cartwright Director of Equitable

Initiatives and Leadership

Development

Jennifer

Cummings Director of Finance

and Operations

Tere Figueras

Negrete Director of

Communications

Alicia Kitsuse Director, Restoring Prosperity in Older

Industrial Cities

Maureen Lawless Vice President and

Director, Member Services

Melissa Mihm

Administrative

Associate

Lesmarie

Nicholson Senior Program

Associate, Conference and

Learning

Marci Ovadia

Senior Program Associate,

Equity and

Communications

In 2008, TFN launched PLACES (Professionals Learning About Community, Equity, and Smart Growth)—a philanthropic leadership development initiative. PLACES is designed as a year-long fellowship program that offers tools, knowledge, and best practices to enhance funder grantmaking decisions in ways that are responsive to the needs and assets of low-income neighbor-hoods and communities of color.

With the incoming 2017 class, TFN celebrates

supporting and igniting over 100 fellows!

Alex Camardelle, Annie E. Casey Foundation

Mordecai Cargill, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress

Camille Cyprian, Greater Twin Cities United Way

Mekaelia Davis, Prudential Foundation

Michelle Huttenhoff, Knight Foundation

Lisa Jacobson, Barr Foundation

Patrick Johnson, Toledo Community Foundation

Melanie Mitros, Vitalyst Health Foundation

Tyler Nickerson, The Solutions Project

Anne Laplante Phillips, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation

Marisa Aurora Quiroz, International Community Foundation

Chantel M. Rush, The Kresge Foundation's American Cities Practice

Kelly Thompson, Community Foundation of The Great River Bend

Heather Smith, The Field Foundation of Illinois

Jalonne L. White-Newsome, The Kresge Foundation

Cheri Wright-Jones, Allegany Franciscan Ministries

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TFN Staff

Navita Persaud Manager,

Member Services

Ashley Quintana Senior Program

Associate, Sustainability and

Environment

Justin Seara Program Associate

Ben Starrett President & CEO

Ann Fowler

Wallace Director of

Programs

TFN

Contractors Mary Kay Bailey

Nina Bohlen

Hooper Brooks

Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Center for

Social Inclusion

Marcia Kingslow

Ron Milam

Danyelle O’Hara

Julia Parzen

Anita Patel

Bina Patel

Katherine Pease

Diane Schrauth

Julia Seward

Amy Swiatek

Madeleine Taylor

Diana Williams

The Funders’ Network board of directors is composed of representatives from the membership. Directors are elected each March to serve a two-year term (with maximum service of four consecutive terms). As of March 2017, we say good-bye with gratitude to three members—Sharon Alpert, Nancy Van Milligen, and Orson Watson—and welcome two new members, Michelle Knapik and Alece Montez-Griego.

Sharon Alpert, President and CEO, Nathan Cummings Foundation

Cheryl Casciani (Treasurer), Director of Neighborhood Sustainability, Baltimore Community Foundation

Shawn Escoffery, Program Director, Strong Local Economies,

Surdna Foundation

Wendy Lewis Jackson, Co-Managing Director, Detroit, The Kresge

Foundation

Elizabeth Lynn, Executive Director, van Beuren Charitable

Foundation

Craig Martinez, Program Manager, The California Endowment

John Mitterholzer (Chair), Senior Program Officer, Environment,

The George Gund Foundation

Neelima Shah, Program Officer, Bullitt Foundation

Mary Skelton Roberts, Senior Program Officer, Barr Foundation,

Scot Spencer, Associate Director for Advocacy and Influence,

Annie E. Casey Foundation

Nancy Van Milligen (Immediate Past Chair), President and CEO, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

Todd Vogel, Managing Director, Loom Foundation

Orson Watson (Vice-Chair), Community Revitalization

Program Advisor, Garfield Foundation

Thomas Woiwode, Director, GreenWays Initiative, Community

Foundation for Southeast Michigan

Darryl Young (Secretary), Director, Sustainable Cities,

The Summit Foundation

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The Minnesota Initiative Foundations include:

Initiative Foundation Northland Foundation

Northwest Minnesota Foundation Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation

Southwest Initiative Foundation West Central Initiative

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