Frequently Asked Questions

There is not an application process to participate. The Activate Rural public workshops and coaching sessions are designed for creative entrepreneurs, artists, organizations and small business owners located in Minnesota rural communities and Native nations that share this geography, with a population of 20,000 or less.

The types of businesses include nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, limited liability company (LLC), public benefit corporation, artists and art collectives, with priority given to BIPOC-, women-, and LGBTQ2IA+-led initiatives. The business or organization must be brick and mortar and have a physical space in either the startup or operational phase or have plans for a physical space. The types of small businesses include, but are not limited to: restaurants and cafes, taprooms, breweries and wineries, multi-use community and cultural hubs, art galleries, artist housing, design studios, third places, small-scale manufacturing/production, coworking spaces, and other types of artist-led businesses. If you are not sure, please contact us!

This service is available to creative entrepreneurs, artists, and small business owners as individuals with a business or as part of an organization.

We are able to provide support for asset activation challenges and opportunities in community engagement, business and operational viability, and peer and network support.

Community engagement support includes collaboration and partnership engagement; storytelling and marketing; project transparency and accountability; social capital and capacity building; placemaking and creative engagement strategies; shifting public perception; deepening understanding of the community engagement field of practice. Business and operational viability support includes ownership structures for a building and/or business; alternative and creative business development approaches; long-term business and asset sustainability; fundraising and capital campaign strategies. Peer and network support includes coordinating and making connections between participants; providing emotional and technical support; sharing failures and lessons learned; and facilitating the exchange of ideas.

Please reach out to us directly if you are unsure about your specific challenge, opportunity or need for support. If we can’t provide the support you need, we may be able to connect you with an organization or resource that is able to support you.

DoPT intentionally defines “creative entrepreneurs and artists” broadly, as leaders who are driven to collaborate across all sectors of public, private, and civic life. It includes entrepreneurs working in all mediums such as visual, performance, multimedia, literary, social/civic, culinary, land, traditional, folk, textile, and more. We mean culture bearers, craftspeople, artisans, designers, contractors, woodworkers, blacksmiths, and handypeople.

All in-person and virtual workshops are free to participate. The coaching sessions are free as well. We just ask that you register in advance for workshops and coaching sessions.

You may book multiple sessions to receive ongoing support as long as there are open session spots available.

Creativity and community connection is central to the project. The place is or will be regularly open and welcoming to all members of the community. We welcome creative approaches to the reuse of buildings as long as the space is welcoming to all residents and supports artistic and creative expression. Examples of projects may include, but are not limited to:

An existing taproom or cafe transforming its space to support artists and culture bearers and/or to become more welcoming to the local community

A former barn or church building transforming into an arts and youth center for the community

A downtown commercial building transforming into a multi-use community hub housing a cafe, performance venue, and/or a meeting and event space

A former school building transforming into artists studios, commercial kitchen, and/or gathering spaces

A museum transforming spaces into a performance venue and/or gathering place for artists

A combination of all the above or an idea not listed above!

The coaching sessions begin in Spring of 2024 and continue through Fall of 2025. There are 6 virtual workshops beginning in Summer of 2024 through Fall of 2025. There are 4 in-person workshops, two in 2024 (Spring and Fall) and two in 2025 (early Summer and Fall) and will be hosted in 4 Minnesota regions: southwest, southeast, northwest and northeast.