Vital North Foundation

The Mission of Vital North Foundation is to proactively identify opportunities and champion solutions to improve equitable health outcomes and community wellbeing in Cook County, Minnesota. We accomplish this by advancing knowledge on local issues, building coalitions, funding innovators, and incubating needed programs. Support from donors like you plays an essential role in building critical community health programs for Cook County, MN.

For 30+ years as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Vital North (formerly North Shore Health Care Foundation) has responded to critical health issues, worked to close gaps, awarded more than $1.6 million in grants, and created initiatives designed for underserved segments of our rural population. The Foundation has established a legacy of collaboration with our community, developing and launching innovative programs that continue to have long-term positive impacts for families across the lifespan. We know that when we support healthy families, our community thrives together.

Our successful and award-winning former and current programs include:

• Care Partners of Cook County: Support and companionship on the aging and end-of-life journey.
• The Oral Health Task Force: Provides dental care to children, young people up to 26 years old, expectant moms, and uninsured or underinsured seniors 65 and over in Cook County and anyone from the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
• Emergency Workforce Solutions Program: Increasing the number of emergency responders in Cook County and created a local medical training program to provide high quality training to all County medical staff and volunteer responders.
• Restorative Justice & Truancy Services: A community-based program that brings people together to peacefully address harm, resolve conflict, and rebuild relationships that have been ruptured through crime or harmful incidents. Our Truancy program supports students and families in addressing the root causes of truancy.
• The Rural Lab focuses on research and solution-development for the most challenging issues that affect the Cook County community. With an emphasis on collaboration and empowerment of local residents, the Rural Lab seeks to understand and build knowledge for impactful solutions related to community wellbeing.
• Community Impact Awards: Vital North selects individuals and organizations with a track record as innovators, changemakers, and leaders in health and wellbeing for Community Impact Awards that honor and support their important work.

Our Values: We believe in the possibilities of people, organizations, businesses and governments working together to create a healthy community for all in Cook County. Our values represent what we believe in, what we stand for and how we approach everything we do at Vital North Foundation:

•          Responsible stewardship

•          Collaboration and partnerships

•          Efficient and effective governance

•          Compassion

•          Inherent dignity

•          Inclusion

•          Integrity

•          Being nimble

The Community We Serve:
Cook County is located in a rugged, beautiful landscape, includes the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa, and has been designated as a frontier region (a sparsely populated area isolated from population centers and services). 1.2 million visitors are welcomed annually, which can create complex challenges for local health and safety services and affects the safety net for our 5,600 permanent residents. Nearly a quarter of families face a cost-of-living crisis. 52% of students receive free or reduced lunch. Families face a childcare shortage, an extreme shortage of affordable housing, food insecurity issues, and a large population aging in place over the next decade. Grounded in the unique landscape of Northeastern Minnesota, we strive to weave healing relationships and meet the needs of all residents and visitors.

Vital North Foundation began over thirty years ago by a committed group of local citizens working to improve community health. Your donation will create critical local solutions for health and wellbeing, so Cook County families and the community can thrive together. Thank you for being part of this generation of committed citizens building a vital northern community!