West Bank Fund Fuels Neighborhood Projects
The West Bank Community Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation recently awarded nearly $30,000 in grants to six organizations that provide services to residents living in the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis.
These grants are fueling local projects that support the neighborhood and improve social connections across cultures and generations. In a variety of ways, our grantee partners are working to bridge barriers between residents and expand opportunities for immigrant elders, young people, and their families to participate fully in their communities and society at large.
One grant, for example, supported Augsburg University’s East African Debate Program. As one student put it, “Debate gave me the outlet I needed to have meaningful discussions with my peers on important topics.”
Another grant went to Be That Neighbor, a local group that convenes and connects people living in neighborhoods in and around downtown Minneapolis. “This funding will help us gather neighbors for community events in both Currie Park and Gold Medal Park,” said Claudia Kittock, the organization’s founder. “We are stronger together.”
Augsburg University received a grant to support its East African Debate Program. Photo credit: Marina Que Photography.
The six grants are as follows:
Brian Coyle Center: $5,000 to support the 2025 Cedar-Riverside Multicultural Dinner, which brings together artists, community members, and organizations to celebrate the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.
Augsburg University: $5,000 to support the East African Debate Program and capstone career event.
Cedar Cultural Center: $5,0000 to support a summer-long Arabic drumming class and year-end final performance.
Be That Neighbor: $5,000 to support Neighbors in the Parks programs in music, arts, wellness, and education at Currie Park.
West Bank Business Association: $5,000 to support the addition of immigrant stories to the West Bank Community Archive Project and the creation of History Boards that highlight important neighborhood landmarks.
Korea Service Center: $4,972 to support a new garden project that encourages cross-cultural and intergenerational social connections between Korean and non-Korean residents in the neighborhood.
The West Bank Community Fund was established in 1991 by the Cedar Riverside Project Area Committee, a citizen organization authorized by the City of Minneapolis to review development activities in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. The fund was endowed with money that flowed to the community upon the sale of Riverside Plaza. Since its inception, it has made more than $380,000 in grants to support projects that benefit the neighborhood.
Grants from the West Bank Community Fund are awarded every two years, with decisions made by an advisory committee of neighborhood residents and staff members of the Minneapolis Foundation. The fund’s next grant round will be held in 2027.
