The Improve Group

09/14/2026

Firefighters work hard to take care of our communities and keep them safe—but who is taking care of firefighters? The Minnesota Firefighter Initiative is one organization. We recently finished conducting an evaluation of MnFIRE's Hometown Heroes Assistance Program, which has four pillar programs that support career, volunteer, and on-call firefighters. Our evaluation demonstrated that these programs have the power to reduce mental health stigma. Read the full article with our findings here: https://buff.ly/evcscB2

09/10/2026

You might have caught an MPR story recently about Minnesota piloting a new kindergarten assessment this fall. The assessment is observation-based and intends to help schools understand the needs of children entering kindergarten, MPR reported. We were pleased to see this news—not just because many of IG staff are parents of preschoolers, but also because The Improve Group had a major role in informing the design of this tool! We worked with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) in 2024 to engage families and other early childhood interest-holders in designing the assessment. We were excited to see the input from community members shining through in what MDE plans to pilot. Congratulations, MDE! Read the full MPR article here: https://buff.ly/XZjwgOj

08/27/2026

Our August newsletter shares about recent work and a co-op update!

Our August newsletter shares about recent work and a co-op update!

08/24/2026

Feeling busy? Under increasing pressure to show you’re spending funds responsibly? Not sure how the community you serve is faring these days? IG can help! We offer several services:

🩷 Facilitation and planning: We design and facilitate accessible, productive gatherings of staff, workgroups, and task forces. We manage technology and registration and are engaging facilitators.
✅️ Process improvement: We clarify how work gets done, identify bottlenecks, and create shared process documentation that improves collaboration.
👥 Community engagement: We design creative pathways for people to give input on programs and policies that affect them. We inform leaders seeking to transform systems to achieve better results.
📈 Evaluation: We partner with clients and community members to apply tested and innovative qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods to learn from their work and deepen impact.
🗺️ Strategic planning: We align vision, strategy, and action to accomplish an organization’s mission.

Have a project in mind? Let’s work together – email our business development team at [email protected] to get started.

08/21/2026

Minnesota State agencies - did you know we’re a Minnesota Certified Targeted Group Business? If you’re a Minnesota state agency, you can directly contract (non-competitive) with our team through:
- Equity Select: Contracts up to $100,000
- MAD’s Master Contract: Contracts up to $250,000 (6% service fee added)
- Data Analytics Master Contract: Contracts up to $100,000 (no service fee)

Have a project in mind that we can help with, or just need support thinking through what’s next? Email our business development team at [email protected] to get started.

08/19/2026

Co-op news: In July, IGer Sara McGarraugh attended the 2026 Minnesota Cooperative Summit hosted by . In a session about succession planning for businesses, Sara shared about The Improve Group’s transition from a sole owner to a cooperative. Evolving into a cooperative as part of succession planning allows employees to maintain the legacy of the business, control the culture, and share in the financial success of the business. Attendees of the session asked engaging questions about what buy-in is and requirements for membership, and the relationship between cooperative governance and the day-to-day work, like HR policy. We love the opportunity to connect with and learn from other cooperatives—we're stronger together.

05/07/2026

IG recently upgraded some technology thanks to the LOCAL Fund distributed by Nexus Community Partners in partnership with the City of St. Paul. This fund supports cooperatives in St. Paul. The LOCAL Fund builds community wealth, anchors jobs locally, grows the local economy, and centers a shared-ownership culture that uplifts residents now and for generations to come. We were recently featured in a video about the fund. Watch the video to learn more about our co-op and others in St. Paul:

Over the past two years, one way Nexus Community Partners has bolstered a cooperative-ownership culture is through the LOCAL Fund: first-of-their-kind grants...

05/06/2026

There’s no simple recipe for building trust—but the three elements of the “Trust Triangle” can help. IGer Sara McGarraugh recently led a conversation about the Trust Triangle at a convening of the Strengthening Evaluation Contracting Partnerships Initiative (SECPI). The Trust Triangle is a tool to help individuals and organizations assess and build trust. Check out the full article:

In March, Sara McGarraugh led a conversation about the Trust Triangle at a Gathering Space for Strengthening Evaluation Partnerships, hosted by the Strengthening Evaluation Contracting Partnerships Initiative (SECPI). The gathering space supports evaluation consultants to learn from each other’s a...

05/01/2026

Our May newsletter gives updates on the co-op, celebrates IGer advancements, and shares about a way to assess trust in working relationships.

Our May newsletter gives updates on the co-op, celebrates IGer advancements, and shares about a way to assess trust in working relationships.

02/12/2026

Integrate evaluation into your grant-writing process! Sign up to learn from IGer Sara McGarraugh as she hosts a virtual webinar with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits: Evaluation for Grantseekers, on February 19th! Sign up here: https://buff.ly/2zlwOl9