Established in 1994 as a branch office of The National Mentoring Partnership in Washington, D.C., the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota was founded on a vision that by engaging a variety of stakeholders, more mentors could be recruited, greater resources could be generated and more consistent messages about mentoring could be delivered: all resulting in greater support and guidance for the young people in our community. Leading philanthropists, educators, social activists and business and community leaders from the Twin Cities helped create the Mentoring Partnership in an effort to reduce duplication among and establish quality standards for mentor programs. This community-wide collaboration leveraged mentoring efforts in the Twin Cities and developed a vision, mission and strategic plan recognized as an outstanding model by The National Mentoring Partnership. In February 1997, The Mentoring Partnership became an independent 501(c)(3) and is now one of 20 state and local partners of The National Mentoring Partnership. To better articulate our mission and purpose and to reflect our increasing involvement in greater Minnesota, the organization changed its name from Twin Cities One to One - The Mentoring Partnership to the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota in May of 2000.