Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation awards more than $3.2M to 27 nonprofits; announces Bukata Hayes as board chair
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (August 2, 2021) — The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation (Foundation) has awarded more than $3.2M in grants to 27 nonprofit organizations in Minnesota. Grant awards are for one or two years and range from $20,000 to $100,000 per year. Eighteen grants are part of the Healthy Connections program, which supports efforts to create and nurture more connected, resilient and inclusive communities where all people have the support and resources to reach their full health potential. The remaining nine grants are part of the Healthy Start program, focused on improving access to quality early childhood care and education throughout the state.
The Foundation board has also appointed Bukata Hayes, vice president of racial and health equity at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as its board chair. Hayes has been a member of the Foundation board since 2015 and joined the Blue Cross enterprise in March of this year.
“These grants are the latest example of supporting our grantees to improve community health across Minnesota while deepening our commitment to racial and health equity,” said Hayes. “Racial and health inequities are pervasive in our state, and the community holds the solutions. We are proud to partner with these organizations — the majority of which are led by people who identify as Black, Indigenous and people of color — in addressing the root causes of these inequities head-on.”
“Our grantee partners are at the center of all we do, and together we are accountable to the communities we serve,” added Carolyn Link, president of the Foundation. “In partnership with these strong nonprofits and through the leadership of our board, we can improve the health of Minnesota communities.”
The following organizations were selected to receive Healthy Connections grants:
- Casa de Esperanza, St. Paul
- Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL), Minneapolis
- Centro Tyrone Guzman, Minneapolis
- Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL), St. Paul
- Hispanic Outreach Program of Goodhue County, Red Wing
- Hope Community, Minneapolis
- Jewish Community Action, St. Paul
- Liberty Community Church, Minneapolis
- Men As Peacemakers, Duluth
- Navigate, Minneapolis
- OutFront Minnesota, Minneapolis
- Project FINE, Winona
- Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE), Minneapolis
- SEWA-AIFW, Minneapolis
- Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, St. Paul
- St. Paul Youth Services, St. Paul
- United Way of the Brown County Area, New Ulm
- West Bank Community Development Corp. Inc., Minneapolis
The following organizations were selected to receive Healthy Start grants:
- Alliance of Early Childhood Professionals, Minneapolis
- Close Gaps by 5, Minneapolis
- Fond du Lac Tribal College, Cloquet
- Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, Northfield
- Somali Community Resettlement Services, Faribault
- Way to Grow, Minneapolis
- West Central Initiative, Fergus Falls
- Wildflower Foundation, Minneapolis
- YWCA, Minneapolis
Read more about the grants.