FAIRMONT — Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation will host a new event called “Sprout” on Thursday at Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont.

Designed to engage local communities and bring awareness to all the programs the foundation has to offer, the event is free and will run from 4:30-6:30 p.m., with a short program at 5:15 p.m.

Katie Godfrey, SMIF communications coordinator, shared why the event came about, and where she hopes it will lead.

“The idea is really to get into the different corners of our region,” she said. “We cover 20 different counties in southern Minnesota and we just want to touch base with people who don’t know that much about SMIF and make sure that they understand we have a lot of resources for their communities and organizations.

“We also want our existing partners to attend because they are a great resource to get in touch with new people. But often our partners might only know a piece of what we do and they may not have an understanding of all the different areas that we touch. So it’s also helpful for them.”

Godfrey noted the big three focus areas for the foundation.

“We have three different program areas, and under each of those areas we do a lot of different programs. Those areas are economic development, early childhood and community vitality.

“With economic development, we work with a lot of businesses in the region so we have a lending program, and have a grants program for non-profits. We also work with a lot of local foods groups and small towns and there’s just a lot of different programs.

“With early childhood, that’s pre-K to grade 3, and we work with a lot of childcare providers to make sure they’re getting quality child care training. The child care crisis is big, and we want to make sure providers in their regions can remain as child care providers. We also have a new grant program where we’re working with five communities in the region to help them address the shortage of providers in their communities.

“As far as community vitality, we have an affiliate fund program. We have quite a few affiliate funds that fall under our umbrella including donor-advised funds, over 30 community foundations.

“We also have farmland retention program where we work with farmers who might not have an heir, but want to make sure that their land stays in production. There are different ways that they can do that through the program that we have. So that’s something where we’re trying to connect with farmers and make sure they know they have an option.”

Godfrey said the foundation will collect survey results after each event to make sure the events were helpful, with an eye toward future events. She says people who are interested in the event can register at www.smifoundation.org or contact her at (507) 455-3215.