Investing in our region
We support organizations and people who think bigger and differently about solutions to problems in their communities.
Organizations we've funded
Comunidades Organizando El Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL) will establish the Immigrant Defense Network (IDN) to improve coordination among organizations serving immigrants and their families. IDN will focus on strengthening relationships and communications among organizations and develop media strategies that help tell the stories of immigrants and their contributions in communities throughout the region.
Organizations we've funded
Prairie Public is a trusted public service dedicated to building an exciting and productive future for the prairie and its people. Prairie Public offers a window on the world through national and regional television and radio programming; creates a forum for the most important issues facing our region with locally produced, topical programming; partners with others to foster education for all ages; and utilizes digital technology and web services to expand those valued services. Through a media partnership, we are able to reach people throughout North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota and parts of South Dakota to make them aware of our program offerings and resources throughout the year.
Organizations we've funded
Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio
Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES) will develop and test a new model of shared space, accessible training and supports for childcare microbusinesses to increase the number of licensed Latina providers in Minnesota. The new Eastside Business Hub will include an incubator to help launch Latina-owned childcare businesses and improve the likelihood of their long-term success. The incubator will house several childcare microbusinesses and provide rental subsidies and supports that enable providers to establish stronger businesses. This ensures the continued growth and expansion of high-quality childcare businesses as owners move into other locations and new businesses move into the incubator. CLUES will also provide culturally relevant training, build networks for childcare providers in greater Minnesota, and advocate for policy changes to address many of the challenges currently faced by Latina childcare providers.
Organizations we've funded
Ducks Unlimited (DU) aims to restore 25,000 acres of privately-owned marginal farmland in South Dakota through their Working Grassland Partnership, an innovative model for regional conservation of grasslands designed to benefit farmers and ranchers throughout the state. Over five years, DU, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and five other partners will deploy $25 million in cost-share assistance to increase farmers' and ranchers' profitability and provide them with technical assistance to retain grasslands. DU activities builds upon their existing model and complements climate change programs that protect the Northern Great Plains.
Organizations we've funded
Exodus Lending will spread the Resiliency Loan Program as an alternative to payday and other high-interest small-dollar predatory loans. This innovative lending model offers no-interest personal loans through a network of community partners in areas with payday lenders and are structured to help people who need immediate relief, while building credit history and supporting future wealth building. Community partners offer related family economic success training and wrap-around support to loan recipients to reduce their reliance on payday lenders. Exodus Lending will also work to influence other financial institutions’ underwriting methods to be more accessible and equitable, and to increase protections against predatory lending schemes through grassroots organizing and legislative action.
Organizations we've funded
Bush Prize: Native Nations celebrates organizations that are highly valued within their communities and have a track record of successful community problem solving. The 2024 Bush Prize: Native Nations winners are Lakota Nation Invitational and Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition. Each of these organizations will receive a flexible grant that can be used to build reserves, test a big idea or for anything else that would best support the organization's ongoing good work. The organizations selected as finalists are Montessori American Indian Childcare Center, American Indian Community Housing Organization and Turtle Mountain Research Group. Each of these organizations will receive a $10,000 grant. Bush Prize: Native Nations winners and finalists were identified and selected by a community selection panel through a partnership with our community grant partner, the Good Relatives Collaborative.
Organizations we've funded
The Friends of the Falls will develop and test a new model for transferring federal property to collective tribal ownership and control. This 2-year phase will focus on developing the process for land conveyance and a sustainable model of Dakota leadership to provide ongoing oversight for the property. It will also include planning for the future use of the land, including community and stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and site development, centering Indigenous voices and decision-making at multiple levels and spaces. The ultimate aim of this work is to support Tribal land reclamation efforts and to strengthen tribal sovereignty.
Organizations we've funded
This idea builds the capacity of providers – including home visiting nurses, obstetricians, doulas, and community health workers – by equipping them with a model of care that is accessible, culturally-affirming, linguistically relevant, and patient-centered. This idea aims to transform the way Somali women receive prenatal and postpartum care to tackle factors that fuel the Black maternal health crisis in the U.S. The goal is to pilot a system that will advance labor, delivery and postpartum care systems to better serve all birthing people.
Organizations we've funded
Greater Minnesota Housing Fund
Evaluation support for Greater Minnesota Housing Fund (GMHF) to use in evaluating and spreading learning from their work in preserving naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) by working with housing organizations and investors to buy at-risk properties as they come on the market
Organizations we've funded
Minnesota Latino Leadership Alliance (MiLLA) will complete a planning process to develop an infrastructure for Latine-led and Latine-serving organizations to collaborate on issues important to the Latino community throughout the state. To do this, they will complete an assessment and coordinate communication among members to implement a shared infrastructure for policy advocacy and civic engagement that is highly valued by a statewide coalition of members. MiLLA is coordinated by Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research (HACER), Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs (MCLA), and LatinoLEAD. The ultimate goal for MiLLA is to develop their coalition as model for equipping and connecting motivated nonprofit leaders that extends beyond the needs of participating Latine organizations to address other issues disproportionately affecting the Latine community.
Organizations we've funded
Lake Street Council and community development partners will develop and test a new, more equitable approach to address climate change. This 2-year project will develop new funding and service programs to be tested in three diverse Twin Cities commercial corridors. The aim of this initiative is to build collective capacity to de-silo climate change and economic development systems through a community-designed approach, and ultimately increase access to wealth building opportunities for underserved entrepreneurs.
Organizations we've funded
Dr. Donald Warne in partnership with Leavitt Partners is pulling together representatives from Tribes and Tribal Interest Organizations, Health Systems, Higher Education Institutions and the Private Sector to form the American Indian Medical Education Strategies Alliance (AIMES). This new alliance will pursue a common agenda focusing on the creation of an Indian Health Service (IHS), equivalent to the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Office of Academic Affiliations, to create and coordinate graduate medical education (GME) partnerships and opportunities between teaching hospitals and IHS facilities.