community sustainability
Our vision is that the Red Wing community, non profit organizations and donor-investors will create and support partnerships committed to transformational thinking and actions that contribute to the health, growth and sustainability of Red Wing. In order to achieve this vision, The Jones Family Foundation frequently acts as a convener or catalyst in building community partnerships to better understand and address crucial community issues.
The Jones Family Foundation participates in a variety of community initiatives through public/private partnerships and collaborations. These are just a few of the programs and projects in the area of Community Sustainability that have been funded through The Jones Family Foundation:
Central Park – In 2007, the Jones Family Foundation began a partnership with the City of Red Wing to make enhancements to Central Park. Central Park is located in the center of downtown Red Wing, in the ‘Historic Mall District.’ Since the late 1800’s, the park has hosted a variety of events such as political rallies, memorials, weddings, church services, festivals and music events. The goal of the park enhancements was to create a ‘community living room’ in the Historic District. With this goal in mind, the primary focus for renovations was the bandstand located at the north end of the park. The former bandstand’s design limited the types of performances that could take place on stage and it did not allow protection from the elements.
A steering committee consisting of representatives from a wide range of stakeholders in the community met over a period of months to select the design of the new bandshell which will encourage additional usage and functionality in the park. The new bandshell incorporates elements from the surrounding historical buildings and existing structure. Construction of the new bandshell began in fall of 2008 and over 1,500 community members celebrated the completion of construction with a Grand Opening celebration on July 4, 2009.
Stepps Up – In addition
to providing grants directly to non-profit organizations in the Red
Wing area for programs, the Jones Family Foundation believes it is important
to support efforts of these non-profit organizations in the areas of capacity,
organizational effectiveness and long-term sustainability. Beginning in
2008, Jones Family Foundation
led an effort in partnering with the Red Wing Area Fund and Fairview Health
Services to work collaboratively with the United Way
of Goodhue, Wabasha & Pierce
Counties to address these needs of non-profit organizations. As such,
SteppsUp (Sustainability Through Effective People, Processes and Systems)
was created. SteppsUp 
provides consulting, training, coaching, partnering
and strategic planning services to non-profit organizations in Goodhue,
Wabasha and Pierce counties so they may improve
their effectiveness and sustainability through capacity
building. Capacity building can relate to almost any aspect of a non-profit’s work
including governance, leadership, mission, strategic planning, fundraising
and financial management.
Through these efforts we believe that these organizations will have the
ability to have a greater, measurable impact on the communities they serve.
Universal Playground – Playgrounds are magical places in one’s childhood where memories are made. It is a gathering place for families and a place to make new friends. For children and adults with disabilities, it may often be a place where they are relegated to the sidelines as spectators rather than active participants simply because they can’t access the same play areas as their peers. Red Wing and its surrounding communities did not have a playground which would fully accommodate children and adults with physical and/or cognitive disabilities. The Jones Family Foundation was pleased to be able to participate in a community-wide initiative in funding the Universal Playground, located in Colvill Park in Red Wing. Adjacent to the universal playground is the Discovery Garden. This enhancement to the universal playground served as a catalyst to bring even more community groups together to construct a special sensory garden for all to enjoy. By removing barriers and promoting diversity and inclusion, we believe projects such as this build a stronger, healthier community.
