We're excited to announce that Minneapolis nonprofit InspireMSP has been named the 2024 Gerry Rauenhorst Building Community Award Winner!
Inspire MSP's mission is to connect the power of imagination with the practice of exploration to create boundless opportunities that change lives and communities.
Fueled by unwavering optimism, Gerry demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and a commitment to finding a better way to build a business, along with a community and values-centered life. With an enduring belief that business has a responsibility to strengthen society, Gerry ensured giving back was a cornerstone of his business, and it remains at the core of our organization today.
Each year, an office is randomly chosen, and the associates in that office get to select a winning nonprofit. In recognition of their impactful work, the nonprofit receives an Opus Foundation grant totaling $1,000 for each year since Gerry Rauenhorst founded the business that would become The Opus Group of today.
At the beginning of this year, our Minneapolis office was randomly selected. Through a nomination and voting process that was open to all Minneapolis associates, InspireMSP was named the winner and will receive a $71,000 grant from the Opus Foundation.Expanding Horizons for Middle and High School Students
InspireMSP was created in 2021. Through a network of creative individuals in the community, InspireMSP introduces youth to creative careers, including architecture.
“InspireMSP is providing exposure to career paths to historically excluded youth," said Joel Prater, Director of Visualization & Technology. “This early exposure can help guide the students in their future career path into fields where they may have been historically underrepresented due to a variety of factors."
In addition to nominating the impactful nonprofit, Joel and our Architecture & Engineering group have hosted students in the office to introduce them to their world. InspireMSP works with local schools and students in sixth through 12th grade.
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The Opus Foundation® is the corporate foundation for The Opus Group and is building community for a better tomorrow by supporting projects and programs that make our communities better places to live, work and raise families. The Foundation is committed to improving conditions that disproportionately affect historically underinvested individuals and communities by resourcing key focus areas of early childhood education, youth development, workforce development, community revitalization and pressing/emerging needs. Read more about the Foundation's work. The Opus Foundation is a separate entity from The Opus Group and is led by its own Board of Directors.
Inspire MSP's mission is to connect the power of imagination with the practice of exploration to create boundless opportunities that change lives and communities.
Honoring Our Founder with the Building Community Award
To honor our founder's legacy of giving, we launched the Gerry Rauenhorst Building Community Award in 2015 along with the Opus Foundation.Fueled by unwavering optimism, Gerry demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and a commitment to finding a better way to build a business, along with a community and values-centered life. With an enduring belief that business has a responsibility to strengthen society, Gerry ensured giving back was a cornerstone of his business, and it remains at the core of our organization today.
Each year, an office is randomly chosen, and the associates in that office get to select a winning nonprofit. In recognition of their impactful work, the nonprofit receives an Opus Foundation grant totaling $1,000 for each year since Gerry Rauenhorst founded the business that would become The Opus Group of today.
At the beginning of this year, our Minneapolis office was randomly selected. Through a nomination and voting process that was open to all Minneapolis associates, InspireMSP was named the winner and will receive a $71,000 grant from the Opus Foundation.
Expanding Horizons for Middle and High School Students
InspireMSP was created in 2021. Through a network of creative individuals in the community, InspireMSP introduces youth to creative careers, including architecture.“InspireMSP is providing exposure to career paths to historically excluded youth," said Joel Prater, Director of Visualization & Technology. “This early exposure can help guide the students in their future career path into fields where they may have been historically underrepresented due to a variety of factors."
In addition to nominating the impactful nonprofit, Joel and our Architecture & Engineering group have hosted students in the office to introduce them to their world. InspireMSP works with local schools and students in sixth through 12th grade.
***
The Opus Foundation® is the corporate foundation for The Opus Group and is building community for a better tomorrow by supporting projects and programs that make our communities better places to live, work and raise families. The Foundation is committed to improving conditions that disproportionately affect historically underinvested individuals and communities by resourcing key focus areas of early childhood education, youth development, workforce development, community revitalization and pressing/emerging needs. Read more about the Foundation's work. The Opus Foundation is a separate entity from The Opus Group and is led by its own Board of Directors.