Supporting Voters Across Minnesota

As the 2026 general election approaches, volunteers and community organizations across Minnesota are working hard to ensure all eligible voters have the information and support they need to cast their ballots.

The Minneapolis Foundation is supporting this work with $825,000 in grants to 10 community organizations doing nonpartisan voter outreach in the Twin Cities and statewide.

“Healthy communities depend on people being able to participate fully in our democracy,” said Jo-Anne Stately, Senior Vice President of Impact at the Minneapolis Foundation. “These grants support trusted community organizations that are helping ensure all Minnesota voters can exercise their rights safely and confidently.”

The grants build on the Minneapolis Foundation’s longstanding commitment to civic participation, a core value of its Strategic Framework. Since 2013, the Foundation has invested more than $3.9 million in nonpartisan voter engagement.

This work is especially important at a time when fear, misinformation, and concerns about voter intimidation can make it harder for people to feel confident about participating in the democratic process. The challenges are particularly significant for immigrant, refugee, and other communities of color—especially those affected by Operation Metro Surge.

The Foundation’s Election Protection and Civic Participation Fund supports organizations and coalitions with trusted relationships in the communities they serve. Grant partners are helping Minnesota voters through work that includes:

• Providing accurate, culturally relevant, and multilingual voter information
• Helping voters understand their voting options and rights
• Reaching voters who have historically faced barriers to participation, including immigrant and refugee communities, communities of color, tribal communities, rural communities, and first-time voters
• Addressing misinformation through multilingual communication, digital monitoring, and rapid correction of false information
• Strengthening election protection through voter assistance, poll monitoring, incident documentation, and legal response
• Coordinating efforts across statewide and local networks to strengthen voter participation and election preparedness

One of this year’s grants is supporting the COPAL Education Fund at Comunidades Organizando El Poder Y La Accion Latina, a member-based organization that works to improve the quality of life for Latine families in Minnesota. “Every phone call is an opportunity to remind Latino voters that their voice matters, and their vote can shape the future of their families and communities. Through phone banking, we build connection, trust, and the power to make sure Latino voters are heard at the ballot box,” said Francisco Segovia, Executive Director of COPAL.

Ayada Leads: $50,000 for Village Voices, a community-centered initiative to build civic confidence and increase voter participation among Minnesota’s African diaspora and other historically underserved communities.

Comunidades Organizando El Poder Y La Accion Latina (COPAL) Education Fund: $100,000 to support a statewide election plan centered on civic engagement, voter outreach and participation, and election protection. 

Groundwork Institute: $50,000 to support nonpartisan voter assistance training and a multilingual voter hotline.

ISAIAH: $125,000 for relational organizing, integrated communications, and election protection, including preparing faith and community leaders to respond to misinformation, intimidation, and potential disruptions at the polls.

Minnesota Voice: $150,000 to support the Democracy Protector Training Program and the coordination of rapid-response call lines across the organization’s statewide network.

MN8: $50,000 to support culturally relevant, multilingual voter education and election protection for Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee communities across Minnesota.

Native American Community Development Institute: $75,000 to support Make Voting a Tradition, a culturally specific, year-round, peer-to-peer outreach effort to educate and mobilize Native voters,  overcoming barriers to the ballot and training community members in election safety, voting rights, and voter assistance. 

TakeAction Minnesota: $50,000 to support a nonpartisan voting guide and a pro-democracy and defense program. 

Tending the Soil: $75,000 to support voter engagement and turnout, election protection, rapid-response coordination, legal and communications strategies, and community preparedness for potential threats to democratic participation. 

Unidos MN Education Fund: $100,000 to support training on story collection, precinct and county protection, corporate defense planning, Get Out the Vote, and neighborhood election defense activities.