General Mills Foundation, Minneapolis, is helping 100 local nonprofits and law enforcement organizations enhance their strategic planning processes by offering training through the General Mills Leadership Forum.

The General Mills Leadership Forum is a leadership development series for leaders in the nonprofit sector seeking new skills and ideas for outstanding performance. The foundation offers four seminars each year on topics such as improving leadership, personal productivity and communication skills. The half-day session offered on June 2 focused on experiential learning. 

General Mills chose the Prouty Project for this quarter’s consulting session. The Prouty Project offered participants a new perspective by engaging them in the VALDEZ Orienteering Simulation, a team challenge adventure designed by the Prouty Project that mirrors the effort to clean up Exxon Valdez oil spill. Teams were challenged to cross acres of varied terrain to visit 20 random locations in 90 minutes using mission briefs, maps, two-way radios, compasses, Global Positioning Systems, a laptop computer and Internet link, $200 cash, and mountain bikes to reach each location in the allotted time. The objective was to engage participants by multi-tasking and communicating with team members just as participants would in a typical busy day.