Funding and Awards

	Wisdom Steps received funding from the Otto Bremer Foundation Jan. 2004 The mission of the Otto Bremer Foundation is to promote human rights and create opportunities for economic justice.
	Wisdom Steps received funding from the Grotto Foundation March 2004 The Grotto Foundation, Inc. works to improve the education and the economic, physical and social well being of citizens, with a special focus on families and culturally diverse groups.
	Wisdom Steps honored with the SHARE Recognition Award 2003 The GlaxoSmithKline SHARE Recognition Award was granted to organizations through a highly competitive proposal process extended to previous GlaxoSmithKline SHARE Innovation or Leadership Awardees who had completed their funding cycle, reached their defined outcomes and met all previous GlaxoSmithKline SHARE requirements.
	Wisdom Steps honored with the Area Directors Award for Outstanding Group Performance August 2002 The Bemidji Area Indian Health Service recognized the White Earth Reservation, Medicine Talk Work Group and Wisdom Steps for its development of "Medicine Talk", a model project addressing medicine management.
	Wisdom Steps honored with the 2002 Award of Excellence Award April 2002 Wisdom Steps received the Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions in the promotion of physical activity from the Minnesota Council on Physical Activity and Sports. The awards are given to individuals, programs and community groups that help improve the health of Minnesotans through physical activity.
	Wisdom Steps honored with Champions of Health Award April 2002 Blue Cross champions are people who work to improve the health of their communities. Champions of Health is an awards program recognizing people, businesses and organizations from across the state that have positively impacted the health of their communities. A $500 monetary award was received by Wisdom Steps.
	Wisdom Steps honored with SHARE Award 2000 through 2002 On behalf of Minnesota's 11 reservations and urban American Indian Communities, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe accepted the SHARE Award from SmithKline Beecham and the University of Pennsylvania Institute on Aging. Wisdom Steps is one of 12 community-based programs from throughout the United States and Canada to receive a 2000 SHARE Award, which recognizes the bettering of health of seniors of diverse cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. Wisdom Steps will receive a two-year, $200,000 SHARE Innovation Award to improve healthcare access and outcomes for Indian Elders. SHARE awardees are chosen by an independent US-Canadian advisory board composed of professionals in the fields of multiculturalism and aging, representatives of community-based organizations, and Elder consumers.
	Wisdom Steps honored with NICOA's Patrick Stenger Award August 2000 National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) presents the Patrick Stenger Award to one program every two years in honor of Patrick Stenger, MD, who died in 1997 after serving as the first director of Indian Health Services Elder Health Care Initiative. The program was awarded the NICOA Patrick Stenger Award for excellence and innovation in elder care programs at the NICOA 2000 Conference in Duluth.