Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2022 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$25,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Fireweed Community Woodshop
Recipient Type
K-12 Education
Status
Completed
Start Date
May 2022
End Date
April 2023
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Anoka
Carver
Dakota
Goodhue
Hennepin
Ramsey
Rice
Scott
Washington
Anoka
Carver
Dakota
Goodhue
Hennepin
Ramsey
Rice
Scott
Washington
Project Overview

Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details

Fireweed Community Woodshop will develop and present virtual and in person educational programming in the art of woodcraft for women, nonbinary, and BIPOC individuals and communities in Minnesota.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Peggy Burnet: entrepreneur, art collector, and community volunteer; Uri Camarena: director of business consulting with Metroplitan Economic Development Association (MEDA); Michael Charron: arts educator and an arts and civic leader; Richard Cohen: attorney in private practice and a former state legislator; Sean Dowse: arts advocate, arts practitioner, and civic leader; Emily Galusha, arts and civic leader, former arts administrator; Anthony Gardner: vice president, marketing and communications at CentraCare; Philip McKenzie: team lead with Boutique Air, founder and owner of Bluedoor 74, adjunct college faculty; Mary McReynolds-Pellinen: executive director, Lyric Center for the Arts; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Diane Anastos: Anastos is program coordinator for Saint Paul Public Housing Agency. She has been in this position for more than five years. She has served as a development, communications, and marketing director for House of Charity and Vietnamese Social Services of Minnesota, where she researched, applied for, and administered grant application awards. She has written grant applications throughout her professional career and also as a volunteer. She received awards from government agencies, private foundations, charities, civic groups, and faith based nonprofits. She served on board of Uniting Distant Stars, a nonprofit focused on building the leadership of Liberian youth. Anastos holds a BS in political science from American University and an MA in public administration from Hamline University. ; Jennifer Gorman: Gorman is the founder of Give Back Studio, and a freelance media program manager. She was previously the program coordinator for an art program that supported artists with disabilities. She has a background and education in art therapy and counseling and has worked with children in a psychiatric residential setting as an art therapist. She graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School with a MS in art therapy and counseling, has a BA in studio art from the University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg, VA), serves on the board of Northern Community Radio and CoHaus, and is a commissioner on the Grand Rapids Arts and Culture Commission.; Juan Jackson: Jackson is a program evaluation consultant at Calabash: Learning, Evaluation & Assessment Research, LLC. He has 30 years of public health experience linking youth risk behaviors and community social norms to healthy outcomes. In health equity, as a teacher, writer, and activist, he has coached two generations of Twin Cities? youth leaders. Since 2015, he?s been the board chair of NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center.; Cecilia Johnson: Johnson is a writer and audio producer at Minnesota Public Radio's The Current. She produced both seasons of The Current Rewind, a Minnesota music history podcast, and has written more than 500 articles about Minnesota music. She graduated from Hamline University with a BA in English and Spanish, and she has volunteered at Mixed Blood Theatre and the Franklin Learning Center.; Gregory Lecker: Lecker is an oil painter who lives and works in Minneapolis. He has operated a cooperative art gallery at Northrup King Building since 2014. He regularly photographs and writes for the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Nature Notes blog. In 2020, he received an Artist Initiative grant for his watersheds project. Lecker's BA in architectural engineering education from Pennsylvania State University in 1987 prepared him to design architectural lighting systems for building interiors and exteriors.; Evelyn May: May is a writer and editor based out of Minneapolis. She has been published in Swimming with Elephants, Wingless Dreamer, Brew Your Own, Rain Taxi, and The Metropolitan. Her writing can be spotted across the Internet and on television. May is the founder and head editor at Other Worldly Women Press. She received her MFA in creative writing at Augsburg University.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2021, First Special Session, chapter 1, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Education

2022 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$25,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$25,000
Administration costs
$5,000
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Fireweed maintains access and connection to the arts for Minnesotan women and nonbinary makers through educational programming in the art of woodcraft. Fireweed will evaluate its progress by tracking attendance per class and the frequency of full classes; by requesting student feedback via surveys and testimonials; and through informal community-based conversations with students and instructors.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Fireweed maintained access and connection to the arts for Minnesota women and nonbinary makers through educational programming in the art of woodcraft. Evaluation included paper surveys, record reviews (finances, class rosters), informal conversations with students/staff/board/instructors, and facilities observation.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
Achieved proposed outcomes.
Recipient Board Members
Meera Bhat, Kaitlyn Bohlin, Nicola Carpenter, Gwendolyn Comings, Jess Hirsch, Erika Janik, Nat Kim, Stephanie Lunieski, Barbara Mikk, Katie Rehani, Leah Van Tassel, Heidi Wagner, Nia Zekan, Liesl Chatman, Eva Rogers, Bozena Scheidel, Vanessa Walton
Project Manager
First Name
Eva
Last Name
Rogers
Organization Name
Fireweed Community Woodshop
Street Address
3215 Columbus Ave
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Zip Code
55407
Phone
(734) 645-5857
Email
evarogers@gmail.com
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency