Regional event including funders, partners, and elected officials highlights three years of exceptional small business support

Northeast MN – The Northland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) celebrated milestones on August 19, 2025, recognizing the organization’s exceptional performance over the past three years. An event at Blackwoods Event Center in Proctor included key funders, community partners, and elected officials along with the Northland SBDC team and Northland Foundation staff to recognize the collective achievement of the Northland SBDC and Northeast Minnesota’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Northland SBDC serves seven Northeast Minnesota counties: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis, plus all or parts of five Tribal Nations, providing no-cost, confidential business consulting to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Since the Northland Foundation began hosting the SBDC in Northeast Minnesota starting in October 2019, the program has achieved national recognition. In 2023, Northland SBDC received the Small Business Administration’s Excellence and Innovation Center Award for the entire Great Lakes Region, chosen from 121 SBDCs across six states. Its economic impact demonstrates remarkable efficiency; every dollar invested in the Minnesota SBDC program generates over six dollars in combined state and federal tax revenues.

Over the past three years, Northland SBDC has provided over 13,000 hours of assistance to more than 2,100 clients helped clients to raise $150 million in capital create and retain nearly 8,000 jobs, supported 142 veteran-owned businesses, helping them access $6 million in capital, and assisted 100 manufacturers in starting, streamlining, and expanding operations.

“Behind every one of these statistics is a partnership, a relationship, and a shared commitment to helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed in our region,” said Vicki Hagberg, Regional Director of Northland SBDC, a program of the Northland Foundation. “Our success is built entirely on partnerships, and we cannot do this work alone.”

Congressman Pete Stauber spoke at the event, thanking the Northland SBDC and Minnesota District Office of the SBA for their dedication to assisting small businesses and emphasizing the importance of supporting small businesses in the region.

Northland SBDC recognized critical community support including from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation, economic development authorities from Chisholm, Duluth, Ely, Hibbing, and Virginia, foundation partners, local lenders, and in-kind partners Cook County/Grand Marais EDA, Itasca Economic Development Corporation, and the University of Minnesota Duluth.

“Together, we’re not just helping businesses start, grow, and succeed,” Hagberg concluded. “We’re building the economic foundation for Northeast Minnesota’s future.”