FMC Endowment Fund Update

Number of scholarships and grants awarded: 645

Dollar Amount Awarded: $354,172

2023 State Honor Choir Scholarship Recipients @ $4773

• 9-10:    10 scholarships
• 7-8:      19 scholarships
• 4-5-6:   8 scholarships

Special Note: ALL families and students who applied were awarded honor choir scholarships!

*Thanks to a grant from the Twin Cities Opera Guild, we were able to offer additional Honor Choir scholarships last year.

2023 Summer Dialogue Scholarship Recipients

Summer Dialogue scholarship recipients: (L-R) Dane Wiskow (Houston Public Schools), Jamie Dickerson (Red Rock Central Public Schools), Bailey Cords (Springfield Public Schools), Kryston Wiseley (Forestview Middle School, Baxter, MN), and Spencer Gillian (Monticello Middle School)

2023 Summer Dialogue Student Conductor Scholarship Recipients

Student Conductor Workshop participants:

(Front Row, L-R) Carolyn Mikel (College of St. Scholastica), Josie Lynn (St. Olaf), Sarah Brammer (Univ of MN-Twin Cities), Alex Blegen (Gustavus Adolphus College), Bryanna Wiebe (Univ of MN-Morris), and Stephen Kingsbury (R&R Chair, Student Activities)

(Back Row, L-R) Bradley Miller (guest clinician), Dylan Pringle (Concordia College), Daniel Junker (Southwest MN State Univ), Ben Ascheman (College of St. Benedict/St. John’s Univ) , and Jack Slavik (St. Olaf)

2023 STATE CONFERENCE TRANSPORTATION GRANTS

• Cantemus (Lake Superior Youth Choir) – Bret Amundson, conductor
• Eagan High School Concert Choir – James Cox, conductor
• Harmonic Blend – Adam Giebner, conductor
• Twin Ports Choral Project Chamber Singers – Ryan Deignan, conductor

Note:  All scholarship and grant applicants received awards!

Throughout these many years, the FMC Endowment Fund has expanded its support to our Minnesota choral music community by providing scholarships for members to attend graduate school, attend professional development conferences, support a needs-based state honor choir scholarship program, and support and encourage young music students to pursue choral conducting as a career. A new transportation grant program was launched in 2021 to assist choirs to perform in the annual ACDA-MN state conference, and beginning in 2023, the IDEA Fund has begun to support people and programs that are making choral music more equitable and inclusive. In addition, the fund provides considerable financial assistance to the ACDA-MN general budget that considerably reduces registration rates for Summer Dialogue and State Conference, and further supports a portion of the salary for the Executive Director and Director of Development.

Featured Supporter

Diane Heaney

Recently retired from Albert Lea High School, past State President, and current IDEA Review Panel chair, and FMC Committee member.

When did you make your first donation to ACDA-MN?
I am not sure about this – but I do know I got involved with ACDA in the late 1980s when I was first teaching in MN at Montevideo HS when Steve Boehlke encouraged me. When I came back to the state after being in Ohio and Wisconsin, I was eager to connect again with the MN folks. I became a district chair and of course, Bruce Becker convinced me to give to the FMC Endowment Fund!

Why is it so important for you to contribute to ACDA-MN?
I see the fantastic things that ACDA-MN is doing for singers and conductors all across the state. We have such a unique opportunity to connect with people who “get” what we do and celebrate the beautiful art of choral music. For someone like me who has always taught in a rural setting, that connection and appreciation of what we do and can offer our singers and communities is vital to my personal energy and enthusiasm for leading choirs.

What is one part of ACDA-MN’s future that excites you?
There are so many young faces and new leaders which bring excitement and great ideas to the organization. We have some money to invest with our IDEA Fund to get some new initiatives off the ground.  I love the focus on building community and humanity through singing that I see with ACDA-MN.

Now more than ever, your gifts have and will continue to make a huge difference in our ability to live out our mission as we seek to inspire and support a community of choral musicians in our state. Thanks a million!

Teaming up with hundreds of Minnesota nonprofits, ACDA of Minnesota, through its FMC Endowment Fund, will participate in the annual Give to the Max Day scheduled for

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Special giving incentives will be offered throughout the day for donors to maximize their contributions. Historically, millions of dollars are generated each year for Minnesota non-profit organizations through the Give to the Max campaign.

We thank these individual and corporate donors who have contributed to the FMC Endowment Fund during May to August, 2023:

• Nancy Jo Aldrich
• Jamie Andrews
• Anonymous (2) – In Memory of Ann Anderson Hoven
• Linda Armstrong
• Miriam Augsburger
• Katie Bart – In Honor of Dione Belling
• Bruce Becker – In Honor of David Cherwien, Rene Clausen, Diane Heaney, Teri Larson, Kathy Saltzman Romey, and Jerome Upton
• Linda Benge
• Steven Boehlke
• Zachariah Carlson
• Marilyn R. Cathcart
• Corey Cellurale
• Ryan Deignan
• Peter Durow
• Sylvia & Richard Erickson – In Memory of James F. Coastes
• Steven Fox – In Honor of Rebecca Wyffels
• Issac Frauendienst
• Mary Kay Geston
• Sarah Gilbertson
• Jere Graetz – In Memory of Lauretta Graetz
• John Habermann – In Memory of Ardia Knutson
• Kelly Heinonen
• Amanda Hoffman – In Honor of Nancy Jo Aldrich and Erin Gaffaney
• Camilla Horne
• Janice B. Johnson
• Mark Johnson
• Matt Kiminski
• Matt Krage
• Zach Kubasta
• Dale Lammi
• Kathryn Larson
• Diana J. Leland – In Honor of Ruth Oliphant
• Paul & Kathryn Lindquist
• Shawn Neisen
• Mark Nelson
• Brandon Nordhues
• Gordon & Betty Olson
• Dylan Pringle
• Martha Valen Rossing
• Kathryn R. E. Russell
• Robert Schlidt
• Michael Smith
• Lois & Noel Stratmoen
• Linda Toso
• Thomas Wadsworth
• Lynne M. Waldeland
• Therese Walth
• Sue Zemlin

We apologize for any errors or omissions. Please contact Jamie Andrews at jandrews@acda-mn.org for any corrections.

Gifts to the FMC Endowment Fund

Acknowledge a mentor, colleague, relative or friend, by donating to the FMC Endowment Fund.  Your donations in ANY amount are welcomed at ANY time.

Your gift to the FMC Endowment Fund supports choral music excellence in Minnesota today and into the future.  ACDA of Minnesota is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization and all gifts are tax deductible.

Make a Sustaining Gift

A sustaining gift is an easy way to make a difference everyday that works for your budget and schedule. It is convenient, customizable, and environmentally friendly, and helps ensure a steady source of funding for ACDA-MN.

You can set up your recurring gift by credit card now by going to GiveMN.org. Select “Donation,” then “Monthly donation”

Once you have entered your payment information and submitted your recurring gift, ACDA-MN will automatically deduct gifts monthly from your credit card according to the amount you select. And don’t worry—your online donation is secure and flexible.

For more information or to make an on-line contribution by credit card click:  acda-mn.com

Or mail your contribution to:

FMC Endowment Fund
Jamie Andrews, Executive Director
4445 44th Avenue South
Minneapolis MN. 55406

jandrews@acda-mn.org

We greatly appreciate your ongoing generosity and support.  Thank you!

ACDA-MN leadership, overseeing the FMC Endowment Fund and the Alice T. Larsen Memorial Scholarship Fund, annually advises our investment management firm to adopt selective investment strategies that utilize socially conscious investment options that focus on environmental, social, and corporate governance criteria.

Members of the FMC Endowment Fund Committee:

Members of the FMC Advisory Board