OneMPLS Fund to Support Community Needs Amid ICE Surge
$2 million from the OneMPLS Fund will build on nearly $500,000 in grants already distributed by the Minneapolis Foundation this month.
The Minneapolis Foundation will distribute $2 million in OneMPLS grants to help meet urgent community needs amid the recent ICE surge. The funding, to be awarded to local organizations in the coming weeks, marks the Foundation’s latest response to the escalating impacts of federal enforcement activity in Minnesota.
These OneMPLS grants include contributions from both the Minneapolis Foundation and donors with charitable funds at the Foundation. Funding will support organizations meeting immediate basic needs such as food and housing for individuals and families impacted by the ICE surge. These grants build on nearly $500,000 in rapid-response funding already distributed this month by the Foundation and its fundholders to organizations working directly with individuals, families, and neighborhoods.
“This ICE surge is creating real and immediate hardship for people across our community,” said R.T. Rybak, President and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation. “These grants are the latest step we are taking to move resources quickly to nonprofit organizations that are showing up for our neighbors when they need it most.”
The OneMPLS Fund reflects the Minneapolis Foundation’s long-standing commitment to taking community-centered action during times of crisis. Over the past seven years, the fund has distributed more than $7 million to address urgent and emerging needs, from affordable housing to the economic impacts of COVID and the murder of George Floyd. Most recently, the OneMPLS Fund granted $175,000 to Save the Signal Minnesota, an initiative to support public media stations in the wake of federal funding cuts.
“Minnesotans across our community are doing heroic work in response to rapidly escalating needs,” said Patrice Relerford, Vice President of Collective Impact and Giving at the Minneapolis Foundation. “This funding is about helping local organizations stay responsive, stable, and focused on caring for people when it matters most.”
The Minneapolis Foundation will continue to use the OneMPLS Fund to mobilize resources from its fundholders—more than 1,500 individuals, families, and businesses with charitable funds at the Foundation.
The OneMPLS Fund is intended to complement, not replace, direct donations to local organizations. The Foundation encourages community members to continue supporting organizations they already trust and offers the OneMPLS Fund as an option for those who want to join with others in supporting the community during this time.
To learn more about the fund, visit our OneMPLS Fund webpage. To make a credit card donation, visit mplsfdn.org/onempls. For corporate contributions or other donation methods, please contact Teresa Skaar at tskaar@mplsfoundation.org.
