Tim Penny

For the second year, Minnesota ranks first of the 25 largest states in the Kauffman Index for Main Street Entrepreneurship. We have the highest rate of business owners (7.75 percent), established small business density (687.2 small businesses per 1,000 firms) and business survival...

By Tim Penny, President of Southern Minnesota Initiative Fund In the height of this election season, pollsters are busy making calls. More useful (and less annoying) are poll results from an ongoing survey called the Rural Pulse. Grand Rapids-based Blandin Foundation also spent the...

At this time of the year we are surrounded with opportunities to share good will and help others who are less fortunate. It's also when we hear wonderful stories about lives that were changed because of someone's generosity. Here at Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation we have...

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation has invested in the economic future of rural Minnesota for 24 years. Our investments have typically been made in partnership with local banks and economic development agencies.

For 24 years, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation has engaged in partnerships that inspire economic success throughout our 20-county region. In fiscal 2010 (July 2009-June 2010), SMIF invested more than $4.7 million into 151 successful workforce and business projects. Each...

Last month, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation's BookStart program, in partnership with Capstone Publishing, granted 28 community organizations a total of 5,000 books. These organizations -- schools, early learning centers and libraries -- are committed to distributing books...

It appears there's an uptick in small business creation here in Minnesota, according to data compiled by Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. His office has seen a big spike in new business filings that translates into a 15 percent increase from 2008 to 2009. The state's small business...

Research shows that nearly one in every two children entering Minnesota kindergartners is not ready to learn. That is why Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation has made early childhood education one of its primary areas of interest, and has invested more than $4.3 million in...

Even with signs of a slow economic recovery, it is hard to be optimistic. Almost every sector is still struggling to regain ground after a harrowing 2008-2009. But from housing to manufacturing to retail to services, employers, large and small, are starting to hire workers.

For each of its seven years, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation's BookStart has strived to put a book into the hands of every child across our 20-county region. Together with donor partner Capstone Publishers, SMIF established BookStart with a mission to encourage a lifelong...