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Diane Liemandt-Reimann, chair of the Liemandt Foundation, is one of nine children. She was raised to attend to the needs of others, whether she had a little or a lot—sharing was very important.
After Diane married Greg Liemandt, her high school sweetheart, they preserved and conveyed the values both had been raised with to their three children. These values included the importance of marriage, family as well as the extended family, with special attention to those who were alone, or lonely, often inviting them to join family gatherings. They worked hard to teach their family the importance of giving to others.
Greg Liemandt was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1991, three years after he sold the software company he had led. Diane and Greg decided at that time to start a family foundation as a way to set aside some family wealth to continue the practice of philanthropy for future generations. It was their intention to involve their three young adult children in a small grants program. Greg died two years later in 1993. Diane, now chair of the Foundation, with her two daughters and son, continued the small grants program with an emphasis on education, young mothers and children in need, and faith-based organizations.
Diane met and married Ron Reimann 7 years after Greg’s death. Both had similar values, expecially about the importance of family and helping others.
A few months after the wedding, Diane and Ron hired Liz Coenen to be Executive Director of The Liemandt Foundation, continuing the small grants program. In 2004, Diane asked Liz to review the foundation policy on grants, considering a more focused plan of giving. After researching the possibilities, Liz and Diane’s daughter, Cari, suggested concentrating on ways to support the development of resilient youth, a recommendation that was whole-heartedly accepted. As they continued to define the new direction of the foundation, Cari and Liz learned of the Search Institute and its use of the Forty Asset approach. It was gratifying to Diane and Ron that the assets matched closely the values that they had both applied in raising their own families.
The Asset approach seemed to Ron and Diane as a way for the family to give back to the community some of the blessings they were given. When they began to explain this program to the family, with the help of the staff of Search Institute it was immediately clear that the approach had wide appeal, not just as a way to implement the new focus, but also recognizing that all the family members could participate in the activities of the foundation. The family members found that they could use the assets within their own families as well.
The Liemandt Foundation chose to concentrate its efforts on the north side of Minneapolis because of Greg’s and Diane’s deep family roots there. For three generations their families not only lived on the North Side but owned grocery stores, meat markets, attended schools and churches and educated their children there. Working with other North Side organizations, the Liemandt Foundation hopes to use the asset approach to strengthen families and produce resilient youth.
Grandpa's Epistles
Parents are, of course, the most influential in teaching young people by example and precept. But family and friends are crucial to reinforcing the values and lessons learned at home. Attached are several letters written by a grandfather to his grandchildren. Each of them attempts to illuminate one of the Search Institute's internal assets. Each letter either tells a story or tries to describe the importance of the asset in words that youngsters can understand. The letters end with a suggestion for forming a habit to strengthen the asset. These letters are offered as examples for friends and family member and for ideas for discussion in the family.
