June 2021 Grants Awarded
Healthy Start
A grant of $50,000 to Alliance of Early Childhood Professionals will support efforts to advance Minnesota’s Indigenous languages through its Wicoie Nandagikendan early childhood urban immersion program. Wicoie will create signage and interactive language activities in Dakhóta and Ojibwe to be used throughout their child care center and the neighboring Minneapolis community. This will immerse young children with seeing, reading and speaking Dakhóta and Ojibwe, and will build deeper and broader engagement with families and the community’s language development skills.
A grant of $20,000 to Close Gaps by 5 will support a workgroup to examine public policy and existing research to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated opportunity gaps and the statewide child care shortage. The workgroup will also recommend policy, program and funding changes to address these issues leading up to and throughout the 2022 legislative session. Based on the policy analysis and research, the workgroup will engage with the general public to expand support for their recommended changes. The workgroup will also continue to routinely share policy analysis and recommendations with the broader early childhood field in Minnesota.
A grant of $100,000 to Fond Du Lac Tribal College will support the ongoing development of Grandma’s House, Minnesota’s first Ojibwe immersion cooperative child care center for children 0 to 3 years, staffed by elders and parents. This development includes curriculum creation, elder and parent engagement, establishing a parent-elder cooperative model for systemic reform of child care in Ojibwe communities, and continued immersion learning for families.
A grant of $60,000 to Northfield Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) will support HCI’s efforts to increase access to early childhood education and care for low-income Rice County families, primarily from Latinx and Somali communities. Activities will include connecting children with high-quality early childhood programs; connecting households to childhood screenings; engagement with parents and providers to understand social determinants of health; and promoting local and statewide systems changes. HCI will also use this funding to continue delivering timely information and resources to local child care providers.
A grant of $70,000 to Somali Community Resettlement Services (SCRS) will continue supporting SCRS’ culturally appropriate training offerings for Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care providers and licensed child care providers in the Twin Cities metro and Southeastern Minnesota. These trainings are an essential component in expanding the availability of child care slots, improving the quality of child care available and meeting the unique needs of Somali and Latinx families with children. The trainings include CPR, health and safety, socio-emotional development and individualized support — which are all integral in increasing the number of FFN providers eligible for certification.
A grant of $70,000 to Way to Grow will support efforts to provide families with health and early education resources, referrals to enroll children in high-quality early childhood programs, and opportunities for parents to advocate at the school-, district-, and statewide policy levels. Way to Grow also works to strengthen partnerships with providers and participates in local, regional, and statewide groups and committees to push for upstream solutions that address early childhood care and education gaps.
A grant of $50,000 to West Central Initiative (WCI) will support WCI’s Early Childhood Mental Health Network, a regional group comprised of public and mental health professionals, child care licensors, early childhood professionals and advocates. The collaborative group convenes regularly to learn, discuss and build capacity around young children’s mental health, and provides education and resources to child care providers to support the mental health and well-being of each other and the young children in their care.
A grant of $70,000 to Wildflower Foundation will support Wildflower’s ongoing Equity Initiative, which focuses on centering the Black community and supporting emerging Black early childhood teachers. This project includes providing ongoing assistance to teachers who are opening their own Montessori programs, which will increase access to high quality early childhood care and education among Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander and other communities of color, and communities with low income.
A grant of $60,000 to YWCA of Minneapolis will support YWCA’s efforts to deliver holistic, high quality early childhood care and education for BIPOC and low-income children, ensuring all enrolled children are kindergarten-ready. It will also help provide workforce development programming for early childhood teachers, which has been fully adapted to take place online throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The YWCA continues to support early educators by providing teachers with supplies and subsidizing internet services costs for training participants as needed.
Healthy Connections
A grant of $200,000 payable over two years to Casa de Esperanza will support Casa’s Fuerza Unida Amig@s initiative, which serves Latin@s, their families and communities in the Twin Cities. Through the program, adults and youth build leadership skills, deepen their understanding of the roots of physical, sexual and other forms of gender-based violence, develop positive self-identities, cultivate healthy interpersonal and family relationships and heal trauma within their families and communities.
A grant of $200,000 payable over two years to Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL) will support CTUL’s efforts to develop worker leadership to advance health equity and economic justice. It builds on CTUL’s recent successes to increase community safety and connectedness for non-union construction workers who receive low wages and are often immigrants whose struggle has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. This project will support trainings related to workers’ rights, recovering stolen wages and leadership development.
A grant of $70,000 payable over two years to Centro Tyrone Guzman will support their Intergenerational Montessori Microenterprise, an effort that will foster intergenerational collaboration, communication, leadership and life skills. Through the project, youth and elders will work together to produce and sell hand-crafted Montessori learning materials, gaining marketable skills and earning revenue to supplement Centro’s programming. By the end of the project, several different Montessori boxes will be created and produced for parents to use with their children, along with a website that highlights the materials and the benefits of the Montessori approach.
A grant of $200,000 payable over two years to Coalition of Asian American Leaders will support CAAL’s ongoing Paths Forward on Safe and Welcoming Communities project, an initiative focused on the needs of Asian American immigrants, refugees and their families. Supported by the Foundation since 2019, Paths Forward addresses rising anti-immigrant sentiment and growing political threats while providing critical programs serving immigrants. The effort builds leadership and centers the community’s voice to ensure that systems (e.g., service providers, institutions, policies) are responsive to their needs, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a climate of anti-Asian rhetoric, biases and attacks, which have profoundly impacted CAAL and its initiatives.
A grant of $110,000 payable over two years to Hispanic Outreach Program of Goodhue County will support the growing Latino community in Lake City by providing direct services (basic needs, resource referrals, translation and interpretation services), youth and family programs (after-school programming, school systems navigation, employment and college preparation), emergency assistance funds (financial crisis aid, pandemic-related job loss), mental health support and cultural events.
A grant of $200,000 payable over two years to Hope Community, Inc. will build on Hope’s prior work of community engagement, research, and training to develop a Sanctuary Organization Model (a meeting place where all people can be safe from threats of deportation or other legal action) as an alternative to traditional methods of public safety. Through this project, Hope will train staff, community and board members on social justice, healing methods, policy change and development; conduct listening sessions with community on safe and welcoming communities and policy barriers; and update existing policies and procedures to align with community needs.
A grant of $180,000 payable over two years to Jewish Community Action (JCA) will support JCA’s efforts to combat growing antisemitism by expanding its research on antisemitism and white nationalism; building relationships and connections with members of the broader Jewish community and other equity-focused organizations; hosting community gatherings to broaden relationship-building; and revising and delivering curriculum on the impact of antisemitism and how to take action when it arises. This will lead to a deepened analysis of antisemitism among Jews and non-Jewish allied groups, with JCA working to address the fear, isolation and negative health impacts resulting from it.
A grant of $200,000 payable over two years to Liberty Community Church will support healthy connections in North Minneapolis by: creating safe, intergenerational and interconnected spaces for youth; increasing support for people impacted by the commercial sex trade; supporting youth to create social media programming related to intergenerational healing; expanding its partnership with Groveland Food Shelf; creating a learning hub for adaptive leadership skills; deepening relationships between individuals and their environment through yoga, mindfulness, healing conversations, and relevant resources; and creating culturally relevant environmental social media content.
A grant of $54,000 payable over two years to Men As Peacemakers (MAP) will support MAP’s ongoing efforts to end violence against women and children, specifically sexual assault, dating violence, and domestic violence. Through this project, they will work with partner organizations and community members to enhance community safety and health, facilitate conversations about intersections of masculinity, manhood, gender and violence, and engage communities in designing solutions and leading social change for domestic and sexual violence prevention.
A grant of $200,000 payable over two years to Navigate will support Navigate’s ongoing work to increase community safety and connection for undocumented and mixed status Latinx families. Funding will specifically support Navigate’s expansion of its Greater Minnesota Program serving Southern and Central Minnesota, as well as Navigate’s collaborative efforts with national and local partners to offer guidance and expertise to elected officials on the importance of providing immigration solutions to over 200,000 mixed status families.
A grant of $80,000 payable over two years to OutFront Minnesota Community Services will support an education, organizing and advocacy campaign for equity for LGBTQ youth in Minnesota. This youth-led work was prioritized within the community amidst the recent spate of anti-LGBTQ legislation proposed across the country targeting trans- and gender non-conforming youth. For this project, OutFront will partner with GSAs (gay/straight student alliances or genders and sexualities alliances) in middle- and high-schools in Minnesota to pass local gender-inclusion policies, ban conversion therapies and ensure LGBTQ representation in public school curricula.
A grant of $200,000 payable over two years to Project FINE will support efforts to address social determinants of health, promote sustainable policy and systems changes, and support opportunities for refugees and immigrants in Winona to feel integrated and connected. This will include hosting social gatherings and conversations, connecting with elected officials to elevate concerns about potentially harmful immigration policies and legislation, increasing access to employment and promoting anti-racism throughout the community.
A grant of $150,000 payable over two years to Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE) will support RISE’s effort to amplify the voice and power of Muslim women. Specifically, this will include hosting self-advocacy and economic empowerment workshops, connecting Muslim women to legislators to raise awareness of relevant issues to influence policies, and collaborating with coalitions to host events on addressing anti-Asian discrimination, reimaging community safety, and distributing resources and mutual aid.
A grant of $120,000 payable over two years to SEWA-AIFW will support SEWA’s work to eliminate domestic violence in the Twin Cities’ South Asian community and address violence against Asians fueled by xenophobia and anti-immigration bias. This will include creating spaces to foster shared learning and providing culturally based trainings and educational materials to the community about interpersonal and community violence, healthy relationships and behaviors, and how to de-escalate racially motivated violence.
A grant of $120,000 payable over two years to Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc. (SMRLS) will support the Lawyers Advancing Wellness (LAW) program — a health care/legal partnership with Mankato’s Open Door Clinic in which clinic staff refer patients to staff attorneys to resolve legal issues that impact health. LAW works with vulnerable populations including women and children struggling with domestic abuse or sexual assault; immigrants and refugees targeted by hate speech, hate crimes or facing deportation and family separation; and job or housing discrimination. LAW also resolves issues affecting clients’ abilities to meet basic needs including emergency assistance with utility shutoff, unpaid rent and eviction, disability benefits and more.
A grant of $200,000 payable over two years to St. Paul Youth Services (SPYS) will support SPYS’ expansion of its YouthPowerMN Leadership Institute. This program partners with Black youth ages 13–18 and includes in-person and virtual opportunities for youth to examine systems they identify as impacting their lives (including housing, community safety, school discipline and youth mental health) and to create solutions to community challenges through digital storytelling and advocacy tools.
A grant of $183,000 payable over two years to United Way of the Brown County Area will support the Welcoming Communities Project (WCP), which was created to identify ways for communities to be more welcoming to diverse cultures. Incidences of racism and discrimination have increased in recent years, which results in communities feeling unsafe. WCP will build on key learnings and expand the program to multiple communities in Southern Minnesota interested in becoming more welcoming and racially equitable.
A grant of $68,000 payable over two years to West Bank Community Development Corp. Inc. (WBCDC) will support WBCDC’s Ileys Dariis/Neighborhood Light project, which was created to build connections among new American women living in WBCDC housing and the surrounding neighborhood. The project will include weekly activities such as a craft group, walking group, cooking club, sewing and Buraanbur (Somali poetry), as well as family field trips and annual community-wide events including Iftar and Eid celebrations during Ramadan, cultural festivals, National Night Out and community scavenger hunts.