Community Foundation Awarded First Minnesota Ethical Citizens Award for Speak Your Peace: The Civility Project



The Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation is pleased to announce it was awarded the first Ethical Citizens for Minnesota’s Future award for its Speak Your Peace: The Civility Project. In May, Senator Roger Reinert (above, left) accepted the award on behalf of the Foundation as part of the Minnesota Schools of Character and Promising Practices Awards Ceremony.

“Speak Your Peace continues to be recognized at a statewide and national level for its effectiveness in improving public discourse within a community,” says Holly C. Sampson, president of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. “It is a honor to have such a prestigious organization recognize the value and importance of civil, public discourse.”

This award recognizes work that exhibits evidence of community-wide collaboration, can be replicated, and demonstrates impact on the development of good character and ethical leadership.

Ethical Citizens for Minnesota’s Future is an initiative of Synergy & Leadership Exchange (Synergy), formerly the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE). The mission of the Ethical Citizens for Minnesota’s Future is to develop Minnesotans to be good citizens and ethical leaders. It envisions good character and ethical leadership as cultural norms in Minnesota where individuals make decisions that positively affect themselves and others. Goals of the initiative are to:

  • Ensure that ethical citizenship and good character are embedded in the culture of all Minnesota communities
  • Develop active partnerships between businesses, educators, community organizations and youth in support of the mission
  • Identify tools and resources to bring the language of ethics and responsibility into education and community conversations
  • Document cost to society for unethical decisions linked to the lack of good character
  • Provide evidence of the effect of character education on academic, civic and workplace achievement

The Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation encourages private giving for the public good. The Community Foundation is a permanent community endowment, built by gifts from hundreds of individuals and organizations. Guided by a 12-member Board of volunteer civic leaders, the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation makes grants to nonprofit organizations and to individuals for scholarships and provides leadership on important community initiatives in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. Since its inception in 1983, they have distributed over $35 million and currently hold over 300 different funds, each with its own charitable purpose.  Learn more at www.dsacommunityfoundation.com. 

Regional affiliates of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation include the Two Harbors Area Fund (created in 1998), the Apostle Islands Area Community Fund (created in 2000),  the Cook County Community Fund (created in 2003), the Hermantown Community Fund (created in 2005), and the Eveleth Area Community Foundation (created in 2008).

Synergy & Leadership Exchange (Synergy) is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering collaboration to advance the development of ethical citizens, providing educational resources, and celebrating achievement and best practices in Minnesota schools, businesses and communities. For more information on Synergy, or the Ethical Citizens for Minnesota’s Future initiative, visit www.mncae.org.