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Minnesota Meeting is a statewide public affairs forum produced by The Minneapolis Foundation.
Minnesota Meeting is a program of The Minneapolis Foundation. Originally launched more than two decades ago by Twin Cities business leaders, Minnesota Meeting is one of only a few public affairs programs in Minnesota that regularly attracts 700 to 1,000 community leaders from all sectors and generates extensive attention statewide.
Minnesota Meeting draws together engaging and provocative national speakers, panelists of local experts, a geographically, economically, and racially diverse audience, and user-friendly materials to provide data, exchange perspectives, and stimulate dialogue on critical issues facing our community.
A Dynamic History
Formed in 1982 by a group of senior Minnesota business leaders, Minnesota Meeting was initially designed to bring national and international leaders to speak to our citizens on issues of the day. Over the next twenty-five years, Minnesota Meeting was on the forefront of public discourse in Minnesota, hosting luncheon events with speakers from the world stage – Nelson Mandela, Colin Powell and Alan Greenspan, for example – as well as dozens of authors, artists, business leaders, inventors, journalists, statesman, politicians, and activists. Many of the speakers were major newsmakers; others were men and women with new ideas or an important message that needed to be heard in Minnesota.
The Minneapolis Foundation took the reins of Minnesota Meeting in 2003 and has brought it to a new level of influence in the community, using Minnesota Meeting to focus attention on a single, critical issue each season. To date, these have included K-12 education, immigration, and racial disparities. Every event in these series has drawn more than 500 people, representing the business, government, education, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors. In addition, tens of thousands of Minnesotans view and listen to the programs on Minnesota Public Radio and Twin Cities Public Television and via webcast.
Generous Sponsorships Allow for Broad Community Participation
Due to generous support from many corporate and foundation sponsors and major underwriting by the Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi Foundation for Children, Minnesota Meeting is able to provide about a third of its seats to educators, nonprofits, and the people they serve free of charge – with the goal of making each program a true conversation among community leaders and citizens from every part of our state.
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