June 2023 Grants Awarded

A grant of $100,000 to Alight will sustain and expand their Welcome Home Afghans program, which provides recent Afghan arrivals with basic necessities and works to help build connections to reduce loneliness. The funding will help grow Ask Alight’s resource hub, support its Intergenerational Sewing Social, and offer social events and field trips to bridge between the Afghan and broader community. In response to water safety concerns, this funding will also support a partnership with Minnesota Master Swim for weekly swim lessons for 30 women including culturally appropriate swimwear.

A grant of $155,000 to Centro Tyrone Guzman will support the continuation of its successful Manos Montessori program, which meaningfully connects Latine elders and youth, reinforces cultural values, builds skills, and produces quality handmade early learning materials that help parents support children’s learning at home. Elders in the program feel an increased sense of belonging and purpose, and youth experience an increased appreciation of elders and culture, while building professional skills to run a business. Funding will help alleviate the waiting list of elders and youth wanting to participate in Manos Montessori and will support building long-term sustainability.

A grant of $184,823 to Green Card Voices will support their Story Stitch Circle efforts, which bridges gaps through storytelling. With this funding, Green Card Voices will co-develop and pilot eight Story Stitch conversations with LGBTQ immigrants, newly arrived Afghan immigrants, racial justice advocates, and immigrants from across an array of cultural groups. These groups will host community events where attendees participate in meaningful conversations that foster understanding, build empathy, and make connections within and across communities, paving the way for cross-cultural awareness and healthy, inclusive communities. Attendees leave events transformed, with an open mind and heart, ready to be change agents poised for more and deeper relationships.

A grant of $152,232 to Hispanic Outreach of Goodhue County will support the evolution and expansion of the previously funded Meet.Learn.Share program. Meet.Learn.Share 2.0 will continue the successful work of meaningfully connecting Hispanic and non-Hispanic people in Goodhue County and will add efforts to increase social connections between the predominant Mexican population and growing Central American community (Nicaragua, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Ecuador). Meet.Learn.Share 2.0 will offer cultural exchange activities such as traditional cooking classes, cultural celebrations, Hispanic Heritage Festivals, and community service projects. They will partner with schools, faith institutions, and community organizations to support fostering better understanding and appreciation for different cultures and traditions.

A grant of $100,000 to Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association (IMAA) will support IMAA’s Match Program, which addresses racial and health inequities with cross-cultural connections, advocacy, and resource navigation. The program builds bridges between cultures, matching first- or second-generation refugees and immigrants with volunteers who are eager to build relationships and cultivate a sense of belonging in the community. Once matched, volunteers work closely with participants to offer support with everyday activities, build language skills, help navigate systems (education, social services, healthcare, etc.), share meals and provide overall support as individuals resettle and integrate into the community

A grant of $200,000 to Irreducible Grace Foundation will support the development of its Elders in Arts program, to foster positive relationship development between youth, elders, and the youth’s families. In the program, each week eight elders will help 75 youth and their families nurture healthy family practices, heal from trauma, and make connections to their culture and community. The program will nurture social-emotional skills by modeling effective communication, empathy, self-awareness, relationship-building, and resilience, while fostering positive intergenerational relationships through storytelling, cultural exchange, art collaborations, and mentorship. Youth and elders will also engage in shared interests including art and historical cultural practices that reflect the heritage of their community (traditional dance, music, visual art, or storytelling).

A grant of $199,990 to the Lao Assistance Center will support the launch of their Nitan: Building Bridges Across Generations program, to build social connections between youth and elders that reinforce cultural ways of being and living. The effort will promote intergenerational connections and mutual learning through activities including: a monthly Lao language exchange, bimonthly cultural story sharing, quarterly Lao arts and crafts workshops, and field trips to local cultural events where elders, young adults and youth can experience and celebrate Lao culture in the wider community. This work will bridge connections between Lao youth, young adults and elders, to learn about healthy lifestyles and coping strategies for stress and anxiety.

A grant of $155,000 to Liberty Community Church will support expanded offerings for K–12 scholars and their families. Liberty’s focus is on dismantling stigma, racism, sexism, and classism by promoting healing of the children and families of North Minneapolis. The mission of their 21st Century Academy out-of-school program is to prepare young people to live future-oriented lives that are hopeful, community-connected, and courageous. Liberty equips and supports K–12 scholars with trauma-informed and culturally relevant education and experiences utilizing critical thinking, radical imagination, and creative problem solving to co-create communities that thrive. With this funding, Liberty will incorporate activities to reduce isolation and deepen their understanding of structural inequities.

A grant of $100,000 to Northland Foundation will support building healthy connections, reducing isolation, and creating welcoming communities in rural northeastern Minnesota. With this funding, Northland Foundation will hold an annual Intergenerational Leadership Summit to train local coordinators, young people, and older adults/elders to help support community engagement sessions and build knowledge and skills regarding healthy relationship programming and intergenerational activities. They will also convene community listening sessions in rural communities and Tribal nations to gather input from children, youth, and older adults/elders to support the design of new intergenerational activities and to train partners on trauma-informed healing-centered practices, intergenerational community-building and volunteer engagement.

A grant of $194,998 to Queerspace Collective will support the launch of their LGBTQ+ Group Mentoring and Training, in response to requests primarily from trans and nonbinary youth waiting for a mentor. Group Mentoring will expand the number of youths who are meaningfully connected with a mentor and other queer youth by hosting six group mentoring cohorts annually. Each cohort will meet once a week for 6–8 weeks and will include 15–20 mentees and 3–5 mentors, for a total of 90–120 LGBTQ+ youth-mentor relationships. Group Mentorship will allow Queerspace to impact more LGBTQ+ youth and provide youth with opportunities to connect with each other and with the greater LGBTQ+ community, reducing social isolation, loneliness, and feelings of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.

A grant of $150,000 to Rabata will support the Community Development for Muslim Girls & Women project, to bring together a broad array of Minnesota’s Muslim women and girls of different ages and backgrounds to connect and build relationships in a collective environment. While some programs will be specific to young children, teens, and mothers, other programs will be intentionally intergenerational. Its programs work to build a better society through the educational and leadership development of women by women, amplifying the female voice in scholarship and publishing, and graduating teachers and leaders ready to serve their communities. The women of Rabata are a mix of long-term Minnesotans, immigrants (first, second, or third generation) and refugees.

A grant of $157,957 to Rise will support their partnership with the Coon Rapids YMCA, to incorporate elements of its Forever Well programming into a robust calendar of diverse, disability-inclusive enrichment opportunities for senior citizens and adults with disabilities to participate in together. Rise’s mission is to unlock potential and open doors to success for people with disabilities or other challenges through creative solutions and customized support. Activities include outdoor recreation, fitness and wellness classes, structured social gatherings, and opportunities for life enrichment and cultural experiences. Each week, four to eight hours of facilitated intergenerational programming will be offered, with the intention of building relationships between seniors and people with disabilities and reducing isolation and loneliness.

A grant of $150,000 to the Tiwahe Foundation will support the Foundation to develop the infrastructure to expand and sustain Oyate’s networked hub of culturally grounded Native leaders. Tiwahe’s mission is “to invest in and honor American Indian people in Minnesota by supporting them to reach their goals in the areas of education, economic independence, cultural traditions and language, health and wellness, and leadership – grounded in sovereignty and Indigenous worldviews.” Tiwahe will hire a full-time program coordinator, recruit advisors (Wakayeja Council), engage with 11 represented tribes, and hold at least four regional roundtables to inform the creation of Oyate’s leadership cohort community, grant opportunity and resources for growing Native leadership.