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The Minneapolis Foundation has a history of helping Minnesotans view tough issues from a new perspective, participate in collective efforts for charity and social justice, and recognize in one another a common spirit and responsibility.
We engage the community through events, public awareness campaigns, designated funds, and project initiatives. Over the years, we've helped the community address a variety of challenging issues, including:
Vision
We carry out our founding vision of justice, hope, and opportunity. We work to realize a community in which each individual see his or her fate connected with that of every other. Quite simply, we believe the community’s success is intertwined with the success of each individual.
We envision a community in which each individual prospers. We work in partnership with others to ensure equal opportunity for success as well as intentional investment in each person's well-being.
We seek to combat poverty and racial discrimination in public policies and systems, such as educational and judicial systems.
And we work to ensure that all communities are served equally, regardless of race, economic status, neighborhood, gender, faith, or sexual orientation.
Guiding Strategies
Guiding this work, we believe the following strategies are critical:
- Lead with a positive vision -- articulate what we want for Minnesota and then identify strategies, resources, and partners needed to get there, rather than beginning with a deficit mentality or buttressing existing, problematic structures
- View people and their needs holistically, since barriers to self-sufficiency and success (education, transportation, jobs, healthcare) are complex and intertwined
- Balance support for short-term services with investments in long-term success
- Set high expectations, but exhibit patience, acknowledging that neither policies and systems nor people can change overnight
- Rely on research and best practices, recognizing, for example, that an investment in quality early childhood learning has life-long rewards
- Build on cultural and community assets
- Rely on and foster representative leadership, decisions about underserved communities should be led by, planned and executed by those communities
- Collaborate to gain better understanding of the issues; more ambassadors, resources, innovative and diverse perspectives; better informed ideas about effective solutions; and greater impact
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