Make Connections.
BOOST UP Sauk Centre!

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Two Boost Up members drawing a chart

Survey

Link to: Join
Community members gathered over lunch

Join

Link to: Donate
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Donate

About Boost Up Sauk Centre

Boost Up Sauk Centre is an ad hoc, grassroots effort focused on discovering what the Sauk Centre community wants to become and helping to facilitate those changes.

We want you! With our survey complete, we want your help taking the information and building the community the residents and visitors see in their vision. Check out the Survey Results, and Join Us when you’re ready to lend a hand!

Boost Up Sauk Centre is a joint initiative of the Sauk Centre Area Community Foundation, the Sauk Centre Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Rotary Club of Sauk Centre, supported in part by a grant from the Blandin Foundation. Start-up funds for future initiatives will be provided by the previously named organizations.

Founding Organizations

Sauk Centre Area Community Foundation logo with tree
Sauk Centre Area Chamber of Commerce logo with window visual
Rotary Club of Sauk Centre logo with Rotary wheel
Blandin Foundation logo with pine branch

Mission

Create a community engagement process that identifies ‘community drivers’ or priority areas for civic vitality, resident engagement, and leadership capacity for the greater Sauk Centre Area. The process should be or have:

  • Inclusive (age, culture, newcomers, longtime residents, gender, perspective)
  • Early Wins and Long-Term Work
  • Establish a process and group to help shepherd work and ideas moving forward (feedback loop)
  • Seed money to launch or start projects (Blandin grant and SCACF) with a grant process moving forward

How?

We will accomplish our mission through the following steps, some of which are completed:

  1. The Design Team was formed and trained to create the survey and goals
  2. The survey was created (resident and non-resident versions, multiple languages) on paper and online
  3. Six-week survey process (parade, presentations, in-person surveying at events, yard signs, etc)
  4. Analysis of survey responses for key themes, things to refer to others (Chamber, City, etc)
  5. Design Team is now working in Task Teams around the following priority areas identified in the survey:
    • Entrepreneurship: business ownership, culinary/dining, and quality of life amenities (Housing)
    • Messaging (local) and Marketing (external): What is happening, why choose Sauk Centre, Hwy 71 redesign and traffic
    • Welcoming Initiative: International Festival, Welcoming Week, Navigators, Newcomer Club
    • Advocacy (Cockle Burr Club): Access to services, and processes, and ask for what we need-not really ‘seen’ by county or St. Cloud-based non-profits who can meet resident needs
    • Community Center: Explore partnerships necessary to consider a large-scale capital project

What’s Next?

What’s going on now, and how can I join?

  • Design Team and Task Teams are meeting monthly to drive projects and partnerships forward – meeting dates and times vary, with work done in between over the phone and email.
  • Communicate to the full community about what they told us and what’s happening – make on-ramps for others to join us! Ideas:
    • Movie theatre ad, social media, use of Boost Up website, Herald wrap, utility bill inserts, digital ads by zip code, plan an event!
  • Early win projects funded to show momentum and grants process at SCACF to include Boost Up tied projects for future funding
  • Create an ongoing feedback loop for the community when new ideas/needs emerge
Join us!

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