Minnesota’s hospitality industry is facing an unprecedented workforce challenge. The solution is not just recruiting, but cultivation. That is the mission of the Hospitality Minnesota Education Foundation's Leaders Fund.

Your Strategic Investment in Our Industry's Future

Leaders Fund partnerships provide the stable, three-year commitment required to build and sustain Minnesota’s essential hospitality workforce pipeline. Your investment directly powers four critical pillars:

• Fund ProStart Programs Statewide: Provide vital grants for curriculum, equipment, and teacher training, ensuring students receive hands-on, industry-relevant education.

• Build Industry-Education Partnerships: Connect your business directly with emerging talent pipelines, positioning hospitality as a professional, rewarding career path.

• Invest in Teacher Excellence: Fund ongoing education for ProStart instructors, ensuring their knowledge of culinary and management practices is current and relevant.

• Create Career Pathways: Support programs like "Restaurant Ready" that transition students from the classroom directly into careers, often within partner businesses.

Why a Three-Year Commitment?

Building a skilled workforce is a long-term strategy, not a one-year project. A three-year rolling commitment allows the Foundation to confidently make multi-year grant commitments, execute comprehensive statewide programming, and track measurable outcomes and student success over time. This investment is vital to the economic health of Minnesota’s $14.7 billion tourism and hospitality industry.