Fellowship Expands to Bolster Rural Social Enterprise

The Initiative Foundation announced today a major expansion of its Initiators Fellowship to serve and grow social enterprise businesses across rural Minnesota.

Thanks to a $4.2 million multi-year grant from the Bush Foundation, and backed by founding and ongoing investments from Granite Partners, the Fellowship is expanding beyond its two-year cohort program to create a statewide model unique in the nation to support and provide resources to social entrepreneurs in rural Minnesota communities.

“Through our Community Innovation program, we look for ideas to develop, test and spread, and the work of the Initiative Foundation is a great example,” said Adora Land, grantmaking director at the Bush Foundation. “They are working through partnerships to grow a fellowship model that helps equip rural leaders throughout Greater Minnesota to build thriving social businesses.”

The Initiators Fellowship has helped alumni turn promising ideas into community impact across Greater Minnesota:

• Alex Ostenson of the Evansville area used his Fellowship experience to create Rural Grocery Solutions to help small towns sustain local grocery stores and address food access gaps.
• Hudda Ibrahim drew upon her experience to support cross-cultural understanding and civic leadership. She now serves as a St. Cloud City Council member and executive director of OneCommunity Alliance.
• Erin Schutte Wadzinski launched Kivu Immigration Law in Worthington, expanding access to affordable legal services for individuals, families and employers in southwest Minnesota.
• Shannon Murray is building Lead for Inclusion in Bemidji, a youth-centered enterprise that expands community engagement and leadership opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Nora Hertel’s Project Optimist focuses on solutions journalism, sharing community-centered stories that connect residents with practical ways to address local challenges.

Together, these Fellows show how social enterprise can strengthen rural communities through business, leadership and service.

About the Fellowship

The Initiators Fellowship was started by the Initiative Foundation in 2017. It is a collaborative, statewide effort made possible through additional support from Sourcewell, Southwest Initiative Foundation, West Central Initiative and Northwest Minnesota Foundation. In 2026–27, the partnership expanded to include Northspan, a Duluth-based nonprofit focused on advancing economic opportunity and systems change.

The Bush Foundation grant also supports storytelling efforts to share what works, helping rural communities learn from each other and strengthening social enterprise development across the state.

“The social enterprise model has the potential to transform rural Minnesota by creating sustainable, locally rooted businesses that employ people and meet vital community needs,” said Brian Voerding, president of the Initiative Foundation. “With this visionary investment from the Bush Foundation, backed by our founder Granite Partners’ commitment, we’re equipping rural leaders to build enterprises that strengthen communities and create lasting economic opportunities.”