From Pioneer Press:

"St. Thomas and the foundation spent more than a year designing the fellowship. [Amy] Rauenhorst Goldman said they wanted to raise the university’s profile and encourage others to give.

“We really want to have this gift inspire other gifts,” she said.

The fellowship is based on merit, but Rauenhorst Goldman said first-generation students will get preference. Financially needy fellows can also get grants for room and board..."
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Education is a powerful tool for changing lives and strengthening communities. The education our founders received shaped them, and we continue their commitment to providing hope and opportunity through education by investing in innovative, values-based institutions.

Today, the University of St. Thomas announced a scholarship drive to infuse $200 million into support for students over the next eight years.  GHR Foundation has committed $50 million as the lead gift designated entirely for scholarships.

With GHR’s gift, St. Thomas will establish a pre-eminent four-year endowed scholarship program for business majors called GHR Fellows. This highly competitive program is designed to attract future business leaders who embody the mission of the university and model GHR values: globally-minded, ethics-oriented changemakers who seek create enduring value for society.

Each year, fifteen GHR Fellows will be selected to receive scholarships providing them with full tuition for four years, a fully funded J-Term study abroad experience, individualized career coaching, customized social entrepreneurship opportunities and more. By offering this scholarship, the university will be able recruit and retain excellent students who might not otherwise have access to such an opportunity.

GHR Foundation believes education can transform an individual as it did Gerry Rauenhorst, one of our founders, a first-generation college student and a St. Thomas alum. We are proud to help educate students to be principled leaders who think critically, work skillfully and act wisely to advance the common good. To learn more about GHR's Higher Education funding, contact us.

From Star Tribune:

The hope is to attract more exceptional students like sophomore business major Madison Morehouse. Morehouse, 19, grew up in Rosemount, the daughter of a plumber and a loan officer. A standout high school student, she’s the first in her family to attend college. She visited St. Thomas several times while in high school and it was her first choice for college, but the high price tag initially made it seem out of reach.

“I loved how I felt when I was there. When I was there, I felt important,” Morehouse said. “My parents were very up front with me. I could go wherever I wanted, but that loan would be taken out.”

When she got the e-mail from St. Thomas offering her $29,000 in a renewable annual scholarship, Morehouse squealed in the middle of her high school study hall.

“I would not have been able to go to St. Thomas [without the scholarship]. That is the reality of it,” Morehouse said.
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Leaders gathered for recent convenings on 'International Sisters in the United States,' a study commissioned by GHR with Trinity Washington University and Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, recommended the creation of a reflection guide. In response, Dr. Arturo Chávez from the Mexican American Catholic College worked with a team from seven organizations to develop a guide in English and Spanish for congregations and other organizations that are interested in the role of culture in religious life.

To learn more about the report and GHR’s Sister Support Initiative, contact us.

GHR recently had the honor of hosting a group from Kenya, visiting through the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program with Global Minnesota. We shared our Inter-Religious Action initiative’s funding efforts in Kenya, and learned about the inspiring work being done by these exceptional community leaders to improve lives, build peace and counter violent extremism through youth engagement.
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GHR invests in long-term peace building efforts along the Kenyan coast through our collaboration with Catholic Relief Services, the Coast Interfaith Council of Clerics and the Malindi Catholic Diocese through a project called the Dialogue Action Project, an initiative aimed at eliminating child marriage and improving household income through community saving groups.
 
Our guests shared inspiring stories from their efforts to promote peace across religions in their communities. For example, after the 2015 terrorist attacks on Garrissa University in Kenya, Ayub Mohamud, a high school teacher in Nairobi, set up Teachers Against Violent Extremism. The organization is now an interfaith network of teachers across Kenya working to share ideas that incorporate peace, tolerance and bridge-building with students in and outside classroom. In 2016, Mahamud was nominated for the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize for his impressive work. Mahamud is an excellent example of the importance of dialogue and inter-faith collaboration in building a more peaceful world. 

We look forward to learning more from community leaders like our visitors from Kenya, and we are energized by the efforts of these individuals to promote peace and global development. To learn more about how GHR is bridging divides through our Inter-Religious Action initiative, contact us.

Catholic sisters have always crossed boundaries between countries and cultures, but as congregations become increasingly diverse, we recognize the need for more knowledge and collaboration. GHR recently commissioned ‘International Sisters in the United States,’ a first-of-its-kind study that is gaining traction and opening a new dialogue on the challenges faced by international sisters, as well as the benefits of growing diversity.

Conducted by the Center of Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown (CARA) and Trinity Washington University with support from GHR and first shared at a convening in March, the study brings international sisters to the forefront as we celebrate their remarkable contributions to religious life. Since its launch, lead researcher Sr. Mary Johnson has reported on the findings at the University of Notre Dame and plans to present to the Association of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland in Dublin.

The issue of Catholic sisters moving between countries is not unique to the United States—the insights in this report apply to women's religious life globally. To continue this conversation, GHR and the International Union of Superiors General are hosting a convening on May 4 in Rome. Those gathered will have the opportunity to learn about the research and use it as a starting point as they consider its implications in their home countries. 

To learn more about how GHR is working with Catholic sisters to build bridges between communities and foster peace, contact us.

From Forbes: 

"There is much to be done around the world – there are people in need and societal systems that need improvement. And as global need continues, so does the shift toward groundbreaking innovation. Human-centered design, the power of technology and transformational partnerships have been taking the globe by storm, creating, solving and bringing new solutions to age-old problems.
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Minnesota-based GHR Foundation believes this innovation can help solve some of the greatest social challenges facing our world today..." 
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From the Foundation Center: 

"...Currently, we’re in the early stages of the BridgeBuilder Challenge, a collaboration with GHR Foundation in which we’re looking for solutions for global challenges at the intersection of peace, prosperity and planet. There is a deep need for dialogue and collaboration across these issue areas, and our challenge platform provides a space for that. The BridgeBuilder Challenge is therefore not organized as a traditional challenge with winners and losers, but as a quick and inviting way to build an impactful community.
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Already over 190 solutions have been submitted, ranging from Pioneer Valley Renewables, that  makes underwater turbines to improve electricity access in rural communities, to BanQu, a software technology that connects refugees and the world’s poorest to the global economy through digital identity..."
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From Star Tribune:

"Foundations typically decide in secret which ideas to fund, and recipients often are the tried-and-true programs. But Minneapolis-based GHR Foundation is upending conventions with its BridgeBuilder Challenge, which is offering $1 million annually for outside-the-box ideas.

And here’s an unusual twist: The foundation puts all proposals on full public display.
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“We are excited to find out what we don’t know — what is out there? What are some unlikely partnerships that are forming?” said Amy R. Goldman...
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GHR Foundation's Sister Support funding seeks to ensure a vital future for Catholic sisters, marked by congregations that are well-led, well-resourced and powerful in spiritual witness and service.

Below is the first national study of the 4,000 international sisters living in the United States. With support from GHR, researchers from Trinity Washington University and the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University conducted the report in order to better understand the experiences and contributions of international sisters. The report is available below in both English and Spanish.

To learn more about the report and GHR’s Sister Support Initiative, contact us.