by Dennis Dalman
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota is on a roll lately, winning three awards for excellence and receiving a $1.5 million grant from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
The grant is just a portion of a $122.6 million grant given by Scott to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America organization, which has 38 affiliates throughout the nation. In central Minnesota, the organization serves children in the counties of Stearns, Benton, Sherburne, Morrison and Wright.
MacKenzie Scott, an award-winning novelist, started the Amazon company with Jeff Bezos. They divorced in 2019. Scott has a fortune in excess of $33 million and has vowed to give at least half of that away to good causes. She has already given billions of dollars to organizations that range from the Children’s Defense Fund to Habitat for Humanity, from Black colleges to Planned Parenthood.
The staff and board of Big Brothers Big Sisters was naturally happy and grateful about Scott’s large grant. Jackie Johnson, executive director, said the donation will definitely help the program to welcome more Bigs (adults) and Littles (children) to be paired up for healthy, positive, life-changing relationships. The grant is also a big step toward realizing the organization’s goal of raising $10 million for an endowment fund that will help it sustain itself for many years.
At the end of June, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota received more good news – that it had been honored by the national organization with three top awards.
The Gold Standard Award is for increasing revenue and for excellence in signing up and helping retain matchings between Littles and Bigs. The local organization was only one of 12 organizations to receive that top award of the nearly 250 organizations in the nation.
The Board of the Year Award was given for the board excelling in the following categories: engagement, governance, growth and oversight.
The third honor, the Biggie Award honors the local organization for successful marketing.
Now nearly 50 years old, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota creates match-ups for pairs of adults and young people – children ages 5 through 16. The “match” can continue until a child turns 18.
The mission is to help children facing any number of adversities with strong, ongoing support from caring adults in one-to-one relationships. The children gain confidence, social and academic skills and the ability to form and to keep positive relationships throughout their lives.
Currently, Big Brothers Big Sisters is seeking more “Bigs” to join the program, especially male “Bigs.” There is a waiting list for “Littles” who cannot be matched until more “Bigs” become available.
To find out more about the organization, go to its website at BigBrothers.org or call 320-253-1616.
