Third Round of OneMPLS Pandemic Response Grants Awarded

The Minneapolis Foundation today concluded the initial phase of grantmaking from its OneMPLS Fund in response to the COVID-19 crisis, distributing an additional $570,000 to 44 nonprofit organizations.

These OneMPLS grants support regional efforts to address the economic impact of COVID-19, providing flexible resources to local organizations that serve communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The organizations funded in this round will use their grants to operate shelters for people experiencing homelessness or domestic violence, assist vulnerable small-business owners, support artists and restaurant employees who have lost work, and much more.

In the past three weeks, including today’s awards, the Foundation has distributed more than $1.5 million in OneMPLS grants to 106 organizations.

Since the Foundation began accepting applications for this funding opportunity on March 30, roughly 300 organizations have requested nearly $13 million in support.

“The needs in our community are high and rising,” said Chanda Smith Baker, Senior Vice President of Impact at The Minneapolis Foundation. “Our entire team is working hard to muster financial resources and develop plans that will enable us to continue supporting our community with strategy and intention.”

With that in mind, The Minneapolis Foundation is pausing the application process for OneMPLS grants to plan its next phase of community investment. The Foundation’s online portal for this funding opportunity will be closed at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21. Organizations that submitted applications in time for consideration during our first three rounds of pandemic response grantmaking have been notified of decisions. Any applications that remain when the portal closes will be reviewed at a slower rate; we will notify those organizations of grantmaking decisions in the coming weeks.

Businesses and members of the public are encouraged to contribute to the OneMPLS Fund, a collective impact fund that was launched in 2018 to expand The Minneapolis Foundation’s capacity to respond to emerging community needs. Contributions are welcome in any amount and can be made online.

The complete list of organizations that will receive the OneMPLS grants announced today is as follows:

360 Communities

• $10,000 to support a network of food shelves and a domestic violence shelter.

Aeon

• $20,000 to support the operations of an affordable housing community in Brooklyn Center.

African Career Education and Resources, Inc.

• $10,000 to support technical assistance and mini-grants for micro-businesses owned by women of color, immigrants, and undocumented residents.

African Immigrants Community Services

• $15,000 for meals and driving services for Somali elders.

Alliance Housing, Inc.

• $5,000 to create a rent forgiveness fund for tenants who lost jobs or income due to the pandemic.

American National Red Cross

• $20,000 to maintain front-line blood collection staff in the 7-county metro area and offer virtual services to community partners.

Appetite for Change Minnesota

• $12,000 for a Northside meals program for health care workers and stipends for youth and families impacted by the pandemic.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities

• $15,000 for mini-grants to support the emergency needs of the families of mentored youth.

Black Womens Wealth Alliance

• $10,000 for operating costs and direct assistance to Black women entrepreneurs and contractors in Minneapolis.

Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities

• $10,000 for weekly meal kits for the families of youth served by the organization’s programs.

Casa de Esperanza

• $10,000 to support families experiencing domestic violence during the shelter-in-place order.

Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis

• $30,000 to support increased staffing and food services at two Opportunity Centers.

Coalition of Asian American Leaders

• $15,000 to work with 40 Asian nonprofits that are providing loans and technical assistance to micro-businesses and support for elders experiencing food insecurity.

Community Emergency Service

• $10,000 to provide culturally specific foods to households in south Minneapolis.

Ecumen

• $25,000 to purchase additional protective equipment and pantry supplies for vulnerable residents and staff.

Friends of Global Market

• $10,000 for advertising to help businesses stay open at the Midtown Global Market.

Greater Minneapolis Community Connections

• $10,000 to provide culturally specific meals to elders and people with disabilities at 10 public housing buildings in Ventura Village and the Cedar Riverside neighborhood.

Hennepin Theatre Trust

• $10,000 to support coaching and commissions for diverse and BIPOC artists who have lost income due to the pandemic.

HIRED, Inc.

• $12,000 for groceries and other basic needs for clients in the organization’s youth training program.

Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia

• $10,000 to support a food bank for low-wage workers and renters, and to provide support for tenants facing eviction.

International Institute of Minnesota

• $25,000 to support basic needs for students who are excluded from support as newly arrived refugees, survivors of trafficking, families of unaccompanied children, and those who have received asylum in the past 90 days.

Involve MN

• $10,000 to provide professionally prepared box lunches to people experiencing homelessness.

Jungle Theater

• $10,000 to pay artists and theater technicians who have lost work due to pandemic-related cancellations.

JustUs Health

• $10,000 to provide support and financial assistance for individuals with HIV.

Ka Joog

• $25,000 to support services for Somali and New American youth that are coordinated by Ka Joog and the African American Development Association.

Lake Street Council

• $10,000 to support vulnerable business owners applying for emergency financing and loans.

Lutheran Social Services

• $15,000 to support shelter capacity and cleaning and basic needs for homeless youth.

Metro Meals on Wheels

• $10,000 for additional staffing and other expenses to provide meals to isolated low-income seniors.

Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium

• $10,000 to continue Latino broadcasting to inform residents of services and conduct call-in segments about the pandemic.

MOVO SPACE

• $10,000 to provide bridge funding to help the organization navigate loss of income from rental of its creative space.

Neighborhood Development Center

• $10,000 to provide small-business owners with technical assistance and support as they access state and federal assistance.

Northside Economic Opportunity Network

• $10,000 to support grants and technical assistance for small-business owners in North Minneapolis.

Presbyterian Homes Foundation

• $10,000 to offset increased costs of food, meal production, and home delivery due to the pandemic.

PRISM

• $10,000 to offset increased food and staffing costs at a food shelf in the western suburbs.

Rum River Art Center, Inc.

• $10,000 to support artists providing virtual face-to-face classes for older adults.

Safa Marwa Relief and Development Organization

• $10,000 to provide food, cleaning supplies, and other basic needs to people who are blind, deaf, or living with other disabilities.

Second Harvest Heartland

• $15,000 to support the distribution of food boxes with fresh fruits and vegetables to Minneapolis residents.

Sholom Foundation

• $16,000 to help ensure continuity in residential services for the elderly by offsetting increased staffing and other costs.

Simpson Housing Services, Inc.

• $14,000 to support hazard pay for staff as well as food and cleaning supplies for single adults and families in emergency shelter and housing.

TaikoArts Midwest

• $10,000 to support an emergency relief fund for Taiko artists and teachers.

The Aliveness Project

• $16,000 for meals and groceries for low-income people living with HIV.

The Link

• $15,000 to support health and safety precautions in shelter and housing programs for homeless youth.

Urban Boatbuilders, Inc.

• $10,000 for wages for youth apprentices.

Youth and Family Circle

• $10,000 for food and basic needs for East African youth and their families.

To make a tax-deductible online donation to the OneMPLS Fund, go here.