Founded in 1987, the Performance Excellence Network (formerly the Minnesota Council for Quality) is a non-profit corporation that advances improvement and performance excellence within organizations, individuals, and communities.

PEN helps leaders identify strengths and improvement opportunities and builds networks that bring information, resources, knowledge, and best practices to organizations desiring to improve.

Member Benefits

Our goal is to provide value for your contribution—to provide a return on your membership investment.

As a member, your contribution not only helps us execute our mission of helping organizations, individuals, and communities reach higher levels of excellence, but it also entitles you – and all employees that fall under your organization’s membership – to specific benefits. Our goal is to provide value for your contribution – to provide a return on your membership investment.

Current PEN memberships include the following benefits:

Access to services

  • Access to our monthly electronic newsletter, which offers announcements of PEN and partner events, improvement tips, and other helpful information
  • Access to PEN’s LinkedIn discussion group and monthly blog discussion
  • Free admission to all monthly breakfast learning forums (a $300 value per year per employee): Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, and other communities soon!
  • Access to our Consultant Referral Network (brokering experts to the organizations who seek external support)

Discounts to services

  • Discounts to PEN-sponsored workshops, seminars, and conferences (amount varies, but typical discount 50% off non-member rates and average $150-300 per event per person)
  • Discounts to livestream and Video on Demand content (for Mpls, St. Paul, and Rochester breakfast discussions)
  • A 50% discount to Roundtable problem solving cohorts
  • A 50% discount to Evaluator training for all employees in your organization
  • A 30-67% discount to all PEN assessment services (for organizational members only; this discount ranges from $1000-4000 depending on organization size and type of assessment)

Discounts to our partners’ services

  • A 10% discount to specific University of Minnesota Continuing Education courses
  • $50 off ASQ-MN Section’s annual conference
  • A $10 discount to all Association for Strategic Planning discussions (a $90 value per year per employee)
  • A 10% discount to improvement courses at St. Mary’s University
  • A $10 discount to all MN OD Network meetings (a $90 value per year per employee)
  • A 50% discount to MN Chapter of the International Society of Performance Improvement (MNISPI) meetings
  • A $5 discount to all MN Facilitators Network meetings
  • A 10% discounts to Normandale Community College improvement workshops
  • A 5% discount to all Project Management Institute (PMI) meetings

We continue to add new benefits, so watch for announcements in our monthly electronic newsletter or on our website.

Recognition

  • Certification and Letter of Recognition for your support of PEN and your commitment to continuous improvement and performance excellence
  • Public announcement of your membership support in PEN’s mission (mention on website, in newsletter, in press releases, and/or through social media).
  • For Sponsoring and Premium Members, other benefits as negotiated.

Membership Options

We offer two types of memberships: individual and organization. Organization memberships are based on size: Supporting Memberships are intended for small to mid-sized enterprises (or departments, units, divisions, or facilities within a larger enterprise), and Sponsoring Memberships are intended for larger enterprises (who enjoy a greater return as more of their employees use our resources, but whose contributions also support more affordable memberships for non-profits, public sector agencies, schools, healthcare organizations, and small businesses). Premium Memberships is intended for our largest and/or most engaged organizational members and includes a discount for bundling services into the membership.

Our current membership structure is as follows:

Membership Level

Current Benefits

Suggested Annual Contribution

Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Recognition (certificate, press release, website listing, annual report listing)
  • Access to monthly newsletter
  • Listing in Consulting Referral Network, if appropriate
  • Evaluator training discount (50%)
  • Complimentary admission to monthly breakfast forums ($30/ea mtg.)
  • Complimentary number of livestream/video on demand viewings & discounted on all viewings
  • Discounts to partner services (varies)

$125 for sole proprietors, students, or those seeking employment

$300 for individuals who are employed by an organization of three or more employees

Supporting Organization
  • All of the benefits of Individual Membership plus
  • Organizational Assessment discount (30-67%)
  • Roundtable problem-solving forums discount (50%)

$300 (3-99 FTE)

$600 (100-499 FTE)

$1200 (500-2499 FTE)

Sponsoring Organization
  • All of the benefits of Supporting Organization Membership plus
  • Additional recognition of sponsorship on the website, newsletter, social media, and press releases

$5000 (2500-5000 FTE)

$7500 (5000-10,000 FTE)

$10,000 (over 10,000 FTE)

Premium Organization
  • All of the benefits of Sponsoring Organization Membership plus a selection of other bundled benefits, such as:
  • Seats/sponsorship of our annual PENworks conference
  • Seats to Baldrige 101 and/or Evaluator training
  • Seats to other workshops, events
  • Seats to peer Roundtables
  • Others benefits, services

$5000-30,000 depending on size of organization and number of services/benefits bundled;

contact PEN to discuss options/value

Member List

Premium Members

  • Austin Public Schools - Austin MN - Premium Membership
  • Benedictine - Shoreview MN - Premium Membership
  • Cardinal of Minnesota - Rochester MN - Premium Membership
  • Hennepin County - Minneapolis MN - Premium Membership
  • LifeSource - Minneapolis MN - Premium Membership
  • Olmsted County - Rochester MN - Premium Membership
  • Olmsted Medical Center - Rochester MN - Premium Membership
  • Portico Benefit Services (formerly ELCA Board of Pensions) - Minneapolis MN - Premium Membership
  • River's Edge Hospital & Clinic - St. Peter MN - Premium Membership
  • Seagate - Bloomington MN - Premium Membership
  • State of Minnesota, Department of Human Services, Direct Care & Treatment (DCT) -- Premium Membership
  • State of Minnesota, Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) -- Premium Membership
  • Winona Health Services - Winona MN - Premium Membership

Sponsoring Members

  • Essentia Health - Duluth MN - Sponsoring Membership
  • The Goodman Group - Chaska MN - Sponsoring Membership

Supporting Members

  • 3M Corporate Quality Council - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Abdo Solutions LLP - Edina MN - Supporting Membership
  • Academy of Holy Angels - Richfield MN - Supporting Membership
  • AgriBank FCB Human Resources - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Alvin E. Benike, Inc. - Rochester MN - Supporting Membership
  • AMSOIL - Superior WI - Supporting Membership
  • Cirrus Aircraft - Duluth MN - Supporting Membership
  • City of Minneapolis, Business Process Improvement & City Managers -Minneapolis MN - Supporting Membership
  • Dairy Strategies, LLC - Madison WI - Supporting Membership
  • Dakota County - Hastings MN - Supporting Membership
  • Designs for Learning - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Ecolab - Lean Six Sigma Initiative - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • General Mills GBS - Golden Valley MN - Supporting Membership
  • Goodwill/Easter Seals of MN - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Hazelden Bette Ford Foundation - Center City MN - Supporting Membership
  • HealthPartners Quality Professionals - Bloomington MN - Supporting Membership
  • IBM Minnesota - Rochester MN - Supporting Membership
  • Ikonics Corporation - Duluth MN - Supporting Membership
  • Leading Age of Minnesota - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Marvin Windows and Doors, Quality Systems - Warroad MN - Supporting Membership
  • Mate Precision Tooling - Anoka MN - Supporting Membership
  • Memorial Blood Centers - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Metropolitan State University - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Minnesota State University-Mankato - Mankato MN - Supporting Membership
  • National Rural Health Resource Center - Duluth MN - Supporting Membership
  • Normandale Community College, Research and Planning - Bloomington MN - Supporting Membership
  • Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Presbyterian Homes & Services, Management & Services - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Punch Pizza - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Rochester Public Library - Rochester MN - Supporting Membership
  • Rolfs & Associates - Kasson MN - Supporting Membership
  • Samaritan Bethany Inc. - Rochester MN - Supporting Membership
  • Solutia Consulting - Stillwater MN - Supporting Membership
  • Sourcwell -- Staples, MN - Supporting Membership
  • South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) - Pierre SD - Supporting Membership
  • St. David's Center - Minnetonka MN - Supporting Membership
  • St. Louis County - Duluth MN - Supporting Membership
  • State of Minnesota, Dept of Health - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • State of Minnesota, Dept of Human Services - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • State of Minnesota, Management Analysis and Development - St. Paul MN - Supporting Membership
  • Stratis Health - Bloomington MN - Supporting Membership
  • University of Minnesota, Facilities Management - Minneapolis MN - Supporting Membership
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities -- Housing & Residential Life - Minneapolis MN - Supporting Membership
  • University of Wisconsin-Stout - Menomonie WI - Supporting Membership
  • Walden University - Minneapolis MN - Supporting Membership
  • Washington County - Stillwater MN - Supporting Membership
  • Wayzata Public Schools - Wayzata MN - Supporting Membership
  • Workforce Development, Inc. - Rochester MN - Supporting Membership
  • Xcel Energy, Nuclear Management Company - Minneapolis MN - Supporting Membership

Individual/Sole Proprietor Members

  • Baseline Consulting LLC - Rapid City SD - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Better Business Results LLC - Minneapolis MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Braden, Richard - Golden Valley MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Core Values Partners - Woodbury MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Cowan, David - Mankato MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • CultureBrokers LLC - Minneapolis MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Floss, Gary - New Brighton MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Glockle, Nathan - Duluth MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Goodman, Bruce - Minnetonka MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Hoglund Coaching LLC - Shoreview MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Hornbacher & Associates - Apple Valley MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Hoisington, Steve - Irving TX - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Huberty Performance Learning - Minneapolis MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Integrated Consulting - Bloomington MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Kodyne, The Alternative Board (TAB) - Plymouth MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Laura Yoshanti - Minneapolis MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Link, Sue - Mounds View MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Momentum Consulting - Rochester MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • O'Brien, D. William (Bill) - Maplewood MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Reagan, Mike - Lino Lakes MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Rich, Ken - Minneapolis MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Roseland Consulting LLC - Anoka MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Schultz, Lou - Park Rapids MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Strategic Improvement Systems, LLC - Excelsior MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Thera Rising - Arden Hills MN - Individual/Sole Proprietor

The Minnesota Council for Quality, Inc., doing business as Performance Excellence Network, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, federal I.D. #41-1645157. Your donation does not confer voting rights, but is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Membership will be in force one year from the date of receipt of contribution