Letter to the Community
From the Otto Bremer Foundation Trustees
March 2011
Over the last several months, Otto Bremer Foundation trustees and staff have engaged in a strategic planning process that has
reaffirmed our mission and our commitment to the places that are homes and neighbors to Bremer banks. We also explored ways to
make the most of our resources as we strive to help build healthy, vibrant communities. We think of this recent planning as a
step on a continuum that ties the Foundation's history and our past partnerships to the bright futures we envision for Bremer communities.
Some background about the catalyst for our planning: Over the past few years, as more and more people and organizations felt
the sting of the declining economy and demand for Foundation support increased, the Foundation faced two choices. One was to continue
assisting as many organizations as possible as they work to meet community needs. We knew this would be a daunting task, given the
number of Bremer communities and our desire to be effective with finite resources and capacity.
The second choice--the one we have made--is to sharpen our focus; to reassess and strategically reconfigure the use of our resources,
while still responding to broadly acknowledged community needs. We arrived at this new focus after studying how philanthropy has
made a difference in society and looking closely at our own history, data and operations. This letter describes our planning outcomes so far.
Mission and Vision. Our mission has always reflected the intent of our founder, Otto Bremer, whose vision and longstanding
commitment to communities during and after the Great Depression is carried forward through our work in Bremer communities today.
This mission will continue to guide our work. We will assist people in achieving full economic, civic and social participation
in and for the betterment of their communities.
Through our planning process, we came to a richer understanding of what our mission statement means and looks like in action.
Our discussions brought us to a vision of Bremer communities that are healthy and vibrant--places where basic needs are met,
mutual regard is prized and opportunities for economic, civic and social participation are within everyone's reach.
Our Mission and Meaning statement expands on that vision.
Focus on Bremer Bank communities. We will continue to give priority to communities that are homes and neighbors to Bremer banks.
We will listen to what Bremer communities define as their own goals and support efforts that are important to the communities and
consistent with the Foundation's mission.
In the spirit of Otto Bremer's intentions, we will remain open to a variety of requests while giving highest priority to those
opportunities with the potential to move a community forward in meaningful, powerful and broad-based ways. This broadness of vision
is intentional in order to encourage innovative responses to community opportunities and challenges.
Our new Guide to Grantmaking describes the information we are interested in reviewing
to understand how a proposal will move a community toward a healthy, vibrant future.
Funding in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. A portion of our funding is devoted to support for the seven-county
Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. This Twin Cities area is densely populated and is served by many other funders in addition
to the Otto Bremer Foundation. To achieve the greatest impact with our resources in the Twin Cities, we focus more narrowly there.
In 2011, grants in the Twin Cities metro area will focus on programs that meet basic needs and build on community and individual
assets to help people move out of poverty.
We have not yet finalized Twin Cities grantmaking priorities for the following year, but we have concluded that, beginning in 2012,
we will change the structure of our Twin Cities grantmaking. We will continue to make grants six times a year, but, starting in 2012,
applications from organizations serving the Twin Cities metro area will be accepted in only two of the six grant rounds; requests
from all other Bremer communities will be considered only during the other four grant cycles. Details about this new approach will be
available this spring on our website.
Looking ahead. As we look ahead, we see exciting opportunities to bring our strategic planning to life, to make the best use of
all the resources at our disposal and to increase our understanding of issues important to Bremer communities. We plan to enhance
our understanding of three areas of particular interest to those communities: children and youth; education, with a focus on libraries
and literacy; and economic well-being. Periodic updates on new learning and activities will be posted on our website, www.ottobremer.org.
We look forward to the year ahead and to continuing to build on the strong partnerships that have been the cornerstone of the
Foundation for almost 70 years.
Sincerely,
Charlotte Johnson
William Lipschultz
Daniel C. Reardon
