InCommons Collaboration Challenge
InCommons Collaboration Challenge
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- Entries & Winners
Welcome letter
The first InCommons Collaboration Challenge recognizes and supports innovative local collaborations to solve community problems.
Communities across Minnesota are facing tough problems—economic and otherwise. Many people are working alone, disconnected from others addressing similar issues. Some are struggling to achieve scale and gain critical mass. Others are stymied because of the status quo–“that’s just how we do it here.”
In spite of this reality, organizations, leaders and community members are working together to advance solutions to a variety of challenges. They are tapping into the assets within their communities, capitalizing on their strengths and collaborating in innovative ways to solve problems at the local level. The first-ever InCommons Collaboration Challenge celebrates these efforts.
223 Entries, 20 Semi-Finalists, 3 Finalists: One receives $25,000.
The first-ever InCommons Collaboration Challenge recognizes and supports innovative collaborations to solve community problems. 223 collaborations from all over Minnesota entered the Challenge, all looking for the opportunity to receive $25,000 to continue, replicate or expand their efforts. A group of evaluators, led by the Citizens League, and then an independent panel of expert judges have narrowed this group down to three outstanding collaborations.
3000+ Minnesotans cast their vote to determine which collaboration should receive the $25,000. Congratulations to the top vote-getter, the Minnesota River/Lake Pepin Friendship Tours collaboration!

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