Shared Spaces, Shared Resources

Local nonprofit centers build meaningful connections and collaboration

 
“I’ll never forget Nancy walking me around and describing her vision of the original Shared Spaces building during the early stages of its construction and renovation,” laughed Jean Keenan, executive director of the Life-Work Planning Center, while referring to Nancy Zallek, President and CEO of Mankato Area Foundation (MAF).

“She was dressed like she was ready to walk the runway, like she always is—except for the hard hat on her head.”

Zallek has had construction on the mind (figuratively or literally) since 2012. That year, she and the MAF Board of Directors made it a part of the Foundation’s strategic plan to lead the concept of creating a nonprofit center in Mankato.

In 2014, a dream space became available, and Zallek approached long-time donor Denny Dotson to ask if he thought the concept would resonate with other potential donors. He said, “Let’s call on a few people and see.”

They called eleven, and nine donors bought the building. This was the start of Shared Spaces, the building which is now well known among the nonprofit community in downtown Mankato. It opened in 2015.

SIMILARLY SITUATED AND SIMILAR GOALS

“There was no question it was just going to be a perfect fit for us,” Keenan said. “Life-Work Planning Center is a small, local organization without any national affiliation, so to be right downtown, to have visibility and accessibility and shared resources—the whole concept was just really appealing.”

Keenan said being in a space with other organizations with similar goals not only allows for increased collaboration, but is beneficial to their clients.

“I will often have clients referred to me from one of the other nonprofits in the building, and instead of the clients having to arrange another appointment and another form of transportation, they are able to just walk down the stairs or hallway to my office. What a gift!”

WARM AND WELCOMING

In 2019, after the tenants in Shared Spaces were already outgrowing the building, the Foundation worked with Tony Frentz and Rob Else, the property owners next door, to expand and develop what is now known as the Shared Spaces Philanthropy Center—an annex dedicated to community space and charitable giving.

“The concept of philanthropy can sometimes feel formal and intimidating, and we wanted to change that,” Zallek said. “People often say, ‘I love meeting with you here. It feels like I’m in your living room!’ And that was precisely the goal–to make philanthropy feel warm and welcoming.”

PROFESSIONAL AND VISIBLE

And now, another iteration of Shared Spaces has come to downtown Mankato.

Frentz, who owned another property a few blocks from the original Shared Spaces named after his mother, Emy, reached out to Zallek about expanding the Foundation’s nonprofit center footprint once again through a donation of the building.

Zallek and the MAF board accepted, acknowledging the generous gift by preserving the Frentz name. Shared Spaces at Emy Frentz, or “Emy”, opened in 2024.

The goal of Emy is to provide office and convening opportunities through a business model which has tenants sharing expenses in a visible and professional space for significantly less than market rate.

“There is no way we could afford the technology or even just the aesthetics of these spaces if we were on our own,” Keenan said. “And these seemingly small things make such a difference in the experiences of our clients. High quality measures like this tell them, ‘You are an asset to this community,’ as opposed to, ‘You are a problem to be solved.’”

BETTER SERVING THE COMMUNITY

Deisy Cañón Lovera, Southern Minnesota Regional Manager of HACER (which stands for Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research) agrees, and she had such a positive experience working in the original Shared Spaces building that she and her organization were some of the first to move into Emy.

“Our organization is based in the metro, and I was originally the only employee working in Mankato and splitting an office with COPAL (one of our partner organizations) in Shared Spaces,” Cañón Lovera said. “Once it became clear how much the Latino Hispanic community is growing in this region and how well situated Mankato is for serving our population, we knew we wanted to expand our staff and find our own space.”

With the addition of Emy, HACER was able to do just that.

“Now that we have our own offices, we have been able to expand our staff, become more visible, lead our own programs, and accomplish large research programs and projects in a new space,” Cañón Lovera said. “All of this allows us to better serve our community.”

The current tenants of Shared Spaces at Emy Frentz include HACER as well as Twin Rivers Council for the Arts and Open Arts Minnesota, but there is always the potential for more. After all, there is plenty of room to share.