The February issue of Minnesota Monthly magazine features Dana Nelson of GiveMN and Laura Zabel of Springboard for the Arts – executive directors of two St. Paul Knight Foundation grantees. Both were profiled as Minnesotans “changing the way we think about the world – and its future.”

Nelson, the executive director of GiveMN, is featured in the profile “Gives philanthropy a new twist.” She is recognized for her work coordinating the largest one-day online giving event in the world, Give To the Max Day:

Dana Nelson

“GiveMN has helped thousands of Minnesota nonprofits raise some $46 million for their causes. While the online platform makes it a cinch for donors to do one-stop giving (even providing receipts for tax purposes), it’s especially valuable for the nonprofits themselves, who can easily set up organization profiles, use social networking to make fundraising pitches go viral, and ditch expensive direct-mail marketing.”

Knight blogged about the online fundraising platform last year.

Nelson also describes how for her next project she wants to reach out to schools to help them “ditch the bake sales and wrapping-paper peddling that takes time and energy away from schools’ primary goals.”

In “Helps artists stay strong,” Zabel, executive director of Springboard for the Arts, describes why she began building the Artists’ Access to Healthcare program. Zabel, “knew from her research that artists were twice as likely as other Minnesotans to lack health insurance, often because they were self-employed and had low incomes.”

Laura Zabel

The program, started in 2007, has helped 2,000 Minnesota artists get the care they need by providing health-care vouchers, preventive care and help with emergency medical costs. The profile notes Zabel is working with other communities to develop similar programs.

Springboard for the Arts was also featured in “Keeping an informed and engaged St. Paul,” written by Knight’s Polly M. Talen, program director/St. Paul. The post, focusing on Knight’s efforts in the St. Paul community, was originally written for the Minnesota Council on Foundation’s Giving Forum Fall 2011.

The full profiles of Nelson and Zabel are available online.