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A grant program that's helped unite and brighten communities across southern Minnesota is nearing a milestone. The 

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation's

 Paint the Town effort is poised to fund its 300th painting project. 

The foundation teams up with several Ace and Arrow hardware stores to provide free paint for murals, welcome signs and other projects in towns across its 20-county region.

"It's been very popular in smaller communities because these tend to be projects that really represent some community pride. They are projects that encourage bringing the community together in making it happen. It's a beautification project for these communities in many respects," said the foundation’s President and CEO Tim Penny.

The foundation has been providing free paint to community projects since 1997; the 

Recent years' grants have supported creation of a mural in downtown Caledonia; welcome sign murals in Waseca and Le Sueur; and a fresh coat of paint on a historic schoolhouse in Rushford, among other projects — 293 in all so far, totaling up to more than 10,500 gallons of paint.

"In Montgomery, for example, there's a mural right downtown on the side of a historic building that really depicts the Czech history of the Montgomery community," Penny said. "And so it really is a way for communities to kind of celebrate who they are."

The grants are open to local governments, schools and nonprofit groups in communities of fewer than 10,000 people. 

"We want them to demonstrate and document that they have a wide array of community members that are volunteering and participating in the project," Penny said, adding that the grant program fits with the foundation's mission of fostering community vitality and collaboration in the region.

The foundation serves an area roughly from New Ulm and Fairmont on the west to the Mississippi River on the east.

Applications for the next round of grants

Artist Juan Chawuk's mural reflects Minnesota nonprofit's mission

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Andrew Krueger

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The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation's Paint the Town effort is poised to fund its 300th painting project. 

Grant program supporting community murals in southern MN nears milestone

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