Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Rather than perpetuating development at the hands of privileged outsiders, we empower passionate and trusted native community leaders to spearhead change. We are implementing a solution: the lack of native-led projects due to barriers of knowledge, experience, cross-cultural understanding, access to available assistance and resources, and viable fiscal sponsorship avenues. We believe that those who come from and intimately understand their community, are trusted leaders, and have the passion to lead change, are the ones who ought to be given the opportunity to do so. Communities thrive when they are empowered and engaged in addressing their own needs through their own people and assets, this is innovation. Its not being done by anyone else.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Partner Empowerment
Cultivate exists to empower leaders to build a foundation for sustainable community development. These leaders, our partners, have the passion, drive, and vision. Cultivate helps them make that a reality. Our partners are change-makers, with the potential to lead their communities into health and vitality, yet lack the know-how and resources to realize these dreams due to cultural, educational and economic barriers. We offer the missing piece to their success by giving them training in leadership, community development, and project management, so they are fully prepared to lead and launch programs that fight poverty and injustice. We also connect our partners with volunteers and mentors, who offer them their technical expertise and guidance. Cultivate serves as a platform for fundraising, so as to provide our partners with financial assistance that what would otherwise be inaccessible. We equip minority leaders to address community needs both in the Twin Cities and internationally.
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of donations made by board members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Social and economic status
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our partners will be able to lead strong community projects. We aim for each person who participates in our program to grow as a community leader, to know and utilize the best practices of nonprofit and NGO management, and to launch and sustain community-led social impact programs that are long lasting, well-resourced, and community-owned.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We equip community leaders to address community needs. Through our training, coaching, and partnership, they mobilize their community to take part in their project, access volunteers who can further their work, and receive microgrants from us to build a base to springboard their own fundraising efforts. We are successful when our partners have the necessary expertise and support to independently sustain their projects for the long haul. We also encourage our partners to replicate their work, to mentor others from their community and pass on their expertise. This is the first step towards a wave of community-led efforts that fight poverty, injustice and inequality.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In just four years of existence, we are well positioned to execute this work effectively. Our ED, along with our board, staff, advisors & volunteers, has extensive experience to lead this program. We are quickly building a strong reputation among nonprofit networks, and have supportive partnerships with other organizations in cross-cultural community development and startup/entrepreneurial support. These nonprofit networks are providing assistance, sharing resources, and allowing us access to their top leadership. Our volunteer base is growing, with field experts offering their time to project development. Financially our capacity is improving & diversifying, as our funding base of donors grows and fundraising efforts prove to be successful.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have worked with 23 community leaders from 19 countries. Their organizations and projects have directly impacted 2500 individuals in their communities, and indirectly impacted over 7000 community members. We have seen that on average a project is able to raise their financial resources by 38% because of our training and coaching. 78% of our trainees indicate that the program is "highly valuable" to them, and 100% indicate that it is "valuable or highly valuable".
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person),
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Cultivate
Board of directorsas of 10/01/2021
Ryan Hertel
Jennifer Freeman
Elaine Tymchak
Ryan Hertel
Busisiwe Hands
Alexa Peters Posner
Erik Minter
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 07/31/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.