Finland Community

FoF was formed after the creation of the Crystal Bay Comprehensive Community Plan. A group of citizens realized that the formation of a nonprofit such as the FoF could help carry on the momentum started by the Comprehensive planning process and work towards making the communitys vision a reality. A board was created and the first meeting was held i... n March of 2007 to incorporate. We then applied to become a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. We received our official nonprofit status in April of 2008. During our first four years several grants from the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation helped us get started and develop as an organization. Since then, the group helped to raise the funds to build the Clair Nelson Intermodal Transportation Center, and now manages the Center in partnership with Crystal Bay Township and also runs social and recreational programs out of the facility. In partnership with the community, FoF supports Finland's annual St Urho's Day Celebration in March and the Harvest Booya in September. Back in November of 2019, FoF hosted a gathering of over 30 people folks who participate in many of the activities here at the Clair Nelson Center as either volunteers, staff, or board members, and sometimes in more than one of these roles! The group worked with facilitators from Co-Nexio of Duluth to talk about how FoF could restructure the organization to better hold all of the work we are trying to do that is absolutely necessary to our vital and well-functioning community. At the gathering we talked about what people value most about FoF and went together through a group teach about the living systems view of change. We talked about what will be coming into the new structure that wont change, what works well in other organizations, and what are some characteristics of an ideal work culture. We went through the pros and cons of different organizing structures, listed resources and needs, and then broke into groups to design/brainstorm different possible ...Read More