2024 Annual Report

TWENTY YEARS STRONG

JULIE MANWORREN

President and CEO

Volunteers of America - Minnesota and Wisconsin

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR

Our roots as the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging go back to 2004, when leaders from the Minnesota Senior Federation, Trellis (then the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging) and my own organization, invited a few trusted leaders to begin coalescing the resources and power of Minnesota's community-based aging organizations in a new way. Now, marking this 20-year commitment to strengthening our state as a great place for us all to age, we continue to broaden our mission and membership.

Once again, our Delegates have just approved a new strategic framework for our work designed to strengthen the aging sector and our whole state in the years ahead. This new framework includes a refresh to the core values that have long served as our foundation - values that are at the very heart of who the Leadership Council is, and what we believe:

WE VALUE...

AGING WITH DIGNITY

We value the inherent worth of older people and how their insights and experiences contribute to Minnesota’s social fabric and vitality

EQUITY AT THE CENTER

We value efforts that center equity, ensuring all people have an equal right to be full participants in all spheres of life as we age

STRENGTH IN SOLIDARITY

We value collective power, built on authentic relationships, trust, transparency, and a willingness to mobilize together to amplify impact

SPIRIT OF POSSIBILITY

We value the continuous pursuit of wisdom through listening, learning, and broadening our thinking, while embracing possibility as a driving force for change

OUR MISSION:

"Uniting leaders to advance equitable opportunities for all Minnesotans as we age."

Grounded in these shared values, our Delegates have adopted a revised mission: Uniting leaders to advance equitable opportunities for all Minnesotans as we age.

As we venture together into this third decade of service together, we seek to harness not just the incredible strength and ingenuity of Minnesota's aging sector, but to welcome a broader coalition of leaders across the state to join us. As we move forward, I want to thank you - each of you - for being part of our community. None of this work would be possible without the shared commitments to creating a more equitable, and age-friendly Minnesota.

Sincerely,

JULIE MANWORREN

Chair

MN Leadership Council on Aging

2024 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Member Organizations

2,908

Collaborator Contacts

Council Convenings

3,286

Volunteer Hours Logged

TRUSTED EVENTS

We continued our tradition of hosting convenings that matter.

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POWERFUL PUBLIC POLICY

We advocated for the right public policies, for the right reasons, at the right times. This included 16 policy endorsements.

Events convened

2,478

Minnesotans attending

96%

Composit percentage of all evaluations selecting the "highest value" for time and resources spent at our events.

MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

We championed diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities in which to age, including efforts to engage new community voices more representative of Minnesota.

REFRAMING OUR LANGUAGE

We worked towards a Minnesota free of ageism by training 1,598 people at Reframe Aging Minnesota sessions with the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation at the University of Minnesota and National Center to Reframe Aging.

990

Facebook Followers

497

Twitter/X Followers

1,715

Linked-In Followers

Bluesky Followers

MINNESOTA'S MULTISECTOR BLUEPRINT FOR AGING

We championed coordinated age-friendly systems by working alongside the Age-Friendly Minnesota Council staff.

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PARTNERSHIP

We fostered public, private and non-profit collaborations, including convening the Finish Strong Funders Network in Aging.

Net Promoter Score

Contractors

2024 GOALS

Working together, we championed...

Diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities in which to age
A Minnesota free of ageism
Coordinated age-friendly systems
People who care for older Minnesotans

2024 ACTIVITIES

ADAM SUOMALA

Executive Director

MN Leadership Council on Aging

A MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR

ORGANIZING STRATEGIES...

STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

We build trusted connections that bring forward and center the full diversity of voices aging across our state.

POWERFUL CONVENINGS

We cultivate understanding, forge consensus, co-design solutions, and learn together.

SYSTEMS CHANGE

We mobilize collective expertise and networks to develop and advance transformational aging policy and initiatives.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES...

ORGANIZATION STRENGTH

We are focused on building a strategic growth plan that fosters a culture of trusted relationships, ensures voices around our table reflect the full diversity of Minnesota, and adequate resources, supportive systems and strong governance models are in place to sustain our work.

MEMBERSHIP VALUE

We are committed to deepening our connections with each other and to our communities by designing and showing up for powerful convenings, co-designing clear metrics for success, strengthening select partnerships, enhancing our knowledge, and evaluating our effectiveness.

STATEWIDE IMPACT

We are fully engaged in the work of moving the State of Minnesota forward, grounded in strong relationships and connected through powerful convenings, we do this by mobilizing our collective expertise and networks to develop and advance transformational aging policy and initiatives.

Grounded in these shared values, we also revised our Mission Statement: Uniting leaders to advance equitable opportunities for all Minnesotans as we age.

Together, we seek to harness the incredible strength and ingenuity of Minnesota's aging sector as well as welcome others to this important work. As we launch into this new framework and year, I thank you - each of you - for being part of our efforts.

I look forward to seeing you engage with us in the days ahead. We know 2025 will bring opportunity and challenge, but thank goodness we have each other and the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging.

Sincerely,

ADAM SUOMALA

Executive Director

MN Leadership Council on Aging

For those of you who may be new to our work, the roots of the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging go back to 2004, when the leadership of the Minnesota Senior Federation, Volunteers of America - Minnesota and Trellis (then the Metropolian Area Agency on Aging) invited a few leaders to the table to form a coalition of non-profit community-based service organizations.

Over the years, we've broadened our mission and membership and continue to build on our 20-year tradition of innovation and commitment to strengthen Minnesota as a great place to age.

I'm excited to share that once again, our Delegates just approved a new strategic framework designed to strengthen the aging sector in the years ahead.

Financial Health

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Our team

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