Emerging Prairie

Emerging Prairie is an organization that believes in and nurtures the potential of our community. We have made it our mission to celebrate the entrepreneurs, artists, and creators, specifically in the high technology space. Recognition of our community’s potential, development of an environment for social connectivity, and the act of highlighting the risk takers and change-makers is vitally important, as these are the key accelerators of growth and development. Emerging Prairie was founded based upon the following principles in 2013 by a group of Fargo entrepreneurs who wanted to make a difference in the community they call home. Educate Our City – By bringing ideas to Fargo and challenging the status quo, we can move our community forward. Through events, programs, and using our influence to convene leaders, we are able to move ideas to action. Infuse the Arts – We create opportunities for the arts/artists to be incorporated into all of our events and programs. We believe artists are the culture creators in a community; culture is what makes people choose to build a life in a city. Build on Our Brightspots – We are cheerleaders and champions of the people who are doing great things in our community. Working from the idea of “a rising tide lifts all boats,” we celebrate those we are making progress and positively impacting our community. Practice Radical Inclusivity – As the fabric, our community becomes richer, we need to create an environment to welcome people from a variety of backgrounds, faith traditions, lifestyles, etc. We do this through actions such as participating in Welcoming Week, celebrating New American Entrepreneurs, providing gender neutral restrooms at events, and offering vegan food at our events. Our mission is to connect and celebrate the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Fargo-Moorhead. We do so by operating a wide variety of events and initiatives, such as Drone Focus, the Prairie Den coworking space and 1 Million Cups (1MC) Fargo, the largest and most active 1 Million Cups program in the country. We also operate an online publication that highlights the region’s entrepreneurs and innovators that are turning Fargo into a flourishing tech hub. In March of 2016 Emerging Prairie became a 501(c)3 non-profit to further support our mission.