Southern Minnesota communities will be able to vote for the March of Dimes among five nonprofits to receive part of a $20,000 charitable grant as part of Share the Vote, an event sponsored by Thrivent Financial.

Votes can be cast from June 1 to June 22. Visit www.thrivent.com/sharethevote to cast your ballot.

Share the Vote will allow Thrivent Financial members and non-members alike to help choose how much each participating organization will receive of these charitable funds.

The voting is all done online and community members can log on to the Thrivent Financial website, www.thivent.com/sharethevote, to cast votes for their favorite nonprofit.

March of Dimes was chosen to be part of the event because of the work of Martha Vrieze Morrision, an adviser at Thrivent Financial in Austin. She volunteers for the March of Dimes because she believes strongly in the mission to improve the health of babies.

“I lost three babies, and I hope one day that no mother will ever have to go through that,” Vrieze Morrison said. “By voting for the March of Dimes here in southern Minnesota, we can work together for stronger, healthier babies.”

“Getting input from local communities is essential to maximizing impact,” says Jeff Engebose, a Thrivent Financial partner in Rochester. “Share the Vote will allow Thrivent to distribute funds to where the community feels they’ll do the most good.”

Anyone 16 and older in southern Minnesota can vote, and participants are not limited to Thrivent Financial members. Voters are also encouraged to spread the word through social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and email.