WCA Foundation Awards More than $400K in Grants

The WCA Foundation, a Signature Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation, has awarded $418,800 in grants to 18 nonprofit organizations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

The organizations that received these grants applied for funding in the fall of 2020. Here’s the complete list of grants:

• Avivo: $24,000 to provide computers, Internet access, and scholarships for 15 low-income women of color to enroll in Avivo’s Digital Literacy Training course.
• Bellis: $30,000 to conduct a weekly peer support group for mothers who have lost custody of their children.
• Canvas Health: $25,000 to launch a new service in the organization’s SHARE program. SHARE is a permanent supportive housing project in Forest Lake, Minn. that serves formerly homeless single mothers who are recovering from substance use.
• Center for Victims of Torture: $20,000 to conduct ten-week Empowerment & Movement Groups for women who have endured a variety of physical and psychological wounds.
• Centro Tyrone Guzman: $20,000 to provide emergency financial assistance and personal hygiene supplies to low-income Latina women in the organization’s Wise Elders Program who are experiencing extreme hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Children’s Dental Services: $30,000 to support comprehensive dental treatment and education for 525 low-income African American and East African women at Hadi Medical Clinic in Brooklyn Park and Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis.
• CLUES: $20,000 for the YA! Program, which supports predominantly first-generation Latina girls in pursuing a post-secondary education through scholarships as well as support services.
• Dunwoody College of Technology: $30,000 for scholarships to the Women in Technical Careers program, which enables low-income women to enter high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional careers.
• Firefly Sisterhood: $10,800 to develop and pilot a community-based Breast Cancer survivorship program.
• Hart House: $30,000 to support transitional and supportive housing for women seeking recovery from alcohol and drug addiction.
• Haven Housing: $30,000 to support the operation of Ascension Place, a supportive housing program that provides safe, stable, community-based housing for adult women seeking independence and self-reliance.
• Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota: $29,560 to support the Asian and Pacific Islander Women’s Health Coalition.
• Neighborhood HealthSource: $30,000 for the Breast and Cervical Health Equity Program, which works to increase screening rates and reduce late-stage cancer diagnosis for low-income women and women of color.
• Our Saviour’s Community Services: $7,440 to help the organization better support its clients during the COVID-19 pandemic by enabling it to purchase tablets, hotspots, Internet access, and tech support.
• Sojourner Project Inc.: $12,000 for Sojourner Shelter, which provides free, emergency housing and comprehensive victim-centered services to women and children who have experienced domestic violence.
• St. Paul & Ramsey County Domestic Abuse Intervention Project: $20,000 to provide increased protection and critical services for victims of domestic abuse and their children.
• YMCA of St. Paul: $30,000 for YW Stride, a program that prevents homelessness for young women of color ages 18 to 24 who are transitioning from foster care or an institutional setting by helping them secure stable housing and navigate relationships, resources, and systems.
• Wayside Recovery Center: $20,000 to support services for women with substance use disorder and co-occurring mental health concerns.

The WCA Foundation, which stewards an endowment of approximately $18 million, is guided by volunteers, all women, with a current active membership of about 50 individuals who are responsible for investigating grant requests and making award recommendations to the foundation’s board.

The WCA Foundation’s next grant round is scheduled to open in the fall of 2021.