Parenting Resource Center gets $50K boost from Otto Bremer Trust

Published 9:08 am Friday, May 10, 2019

A sizable gift from one of the state’s largest philanthropic organizations has given Austin’s Parenting Resource Center a significant boost at a time when the organization was already looking at having to expand its services.

In February, it was announced that the Otto Bremer Trust, a St. Paul non-profit, invested $50,000 into the PRC to support the mission and general operations of the agency.

According to a press release from the PRC, this investment will enable the organization to further strengthen its position as a leader in providing parent support services, which includes short-term emergency child care, a parenting time center, non-traditional child care, and parent education sessions.

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It’s a show of strength for an organization that currently is looking into expanding to meet an increased need in the community, especially with money coming from an organization that distributes grants throughout Minnesota, North Dakota and Western Wisconsin.

“It is pretty competitive, but I feel like once they understood the mission we have and saw the work, they saw the need,” said PRC Director Gema Alvarado-Guerrero.

Currently, the PRC operates 17 different programs that expand over two counties and another that incorporates an 11 county region in southeast Minnesota.

Since the move to its current location, the PRC has seen an increase in its operating budget from $650,000 in annual expenses to $1 million.

“And it’s still growing,” Alvarado-Guerrero said. “We have a really good issue on our hands. Our services are in need. Now it’s how do we meet that need?”

That need has the PRC looking into the future and what it will need to do to meet the increase in services demand, which also includes the need for more staff.

“Especially because we keep growing and the demand for services keeps growing,” Alvarado-Guerrero said. “We’re running out of space and staff capacity.”

For now though, the $50,000 grant from the Otto Bremer Trust will have an immediate impact as it will help with sustaining the current process of operation. It also has the added benefit of stability for an organization that is vastly run through grants.

“With a non-profit you always have that level of uncertainty,” Alvarado-Guerrero said. “You always run that risk with grant funding that it might not be there. Eighty to 90 percent of our operations is all grants. We can remain sustainable to continue to provide these valuable services to parents and to the community.”

Want to help?

The Parenting Resource Center, Inc. is always open to donations to help with facility operations. Anybody who wishes to help out can donate to an endowment fund with the Austin Area Foundation. You can donate directly by mailing your donation to the PRC at 105 First Str. SE, Austin, MN 55912 or conact Gema Alvarado-Guerrero at 1-507-437-8330.

About the Otto Bremer Trust

The Otto Bremer Trust, based in St. Paul, Minn., is a private charitable trust established in 1944 by founder Otto Bremer, a successful banker and community business leader. OBT owns 92 percent of Bremer Bank and also manages a diversified investment portfolio. The mission of OBT is to invest in people, places and opportunities in the Upper Midwest. Since its inception, OBT has invested more than $600 million in organizations throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, and western Wisconsin. Visit ottobremer.org.