Agency Description: The Minneapolis Foundation is a statewide center for philanthropy, where Minnesotans make a difference every day. Founded in 1915, The Minneapolis Foundation is one of the nation's oldest and largest community foundations. It is the oldest foundation in Minnesota and has helped generations of Minnesotans create a charitable legacy and it is invested in the future of the community. The Foundation provides a variety of charitable fund and gift options to help Minnesotans make a difference. Families, individuals, and businesses have established more than 900 charitable funds that the Foundation invests and administers in accordance with their wishes. Together, these donors, along with the Foundation’s funding partners and competitive grantmaking programs, contribute more than $30 million each year to support nonprofits in Minnesota and around the world.

Project Description: The Minneapolis Foundation supports communities through a variety of programs. The B.C. Gamble and P.W. Skogmo Special Grants program gives grants based on five focus areas: disadvantaged youth and families; disabled people; low-income senior citizens; secondary and higher education; and health care, research and education. One particular program that ACET collaborated on was the Creating Elder Friendly Communities Initiative (CEFCI), sponsored by the B.C. Gamble and P.W. Skogmo Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation. The goal of CEFCI was to improve health outcomes and improve the quality of life of older adults in the Twin Cities area.

ACET services: ACET was selected to provide evaluation services including the development of a report protocol to provide grantees with an opportunity to describe their achievements at the conclusion of the grant while reflecting upon their transition from the planning to implementation phase. The protocol served as a tool for grantees to self assess the extent in which fidelity to anticipated activities, milestones, and outcomes, identified in previous “planning and implementation reports” were achieved. Additionally, protocol items allowed grantees to articulate year-end accomplishments, strengths, challenges, networking among grantees, any unintended and intended observed benefits to grantee stakeholders, and next steps/post grant plans. The evaluation also included identification of best practices among grantees and an assessment of the impact of community-based organizations in sustaining or improving health outcomes or quality of life. ACET provided evaluation TA to grantees including the Carver County Health Partnership Senior Commission, Crest View Senior Communities and Anoka County, and the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

Date of Service: 2004-2005