The Kresge Foundation’s Post

Some important nuance for this conversation based on recently-released data from Minnesota Council on Foundations: When it comes to in-state investments, Minnesota foundations are woefully under-investing outside the Metro. Of the 3 foundation types in the report (community, private, and corporate), only community foundations are investing in Greater Minnesota proportionally to population. If my math is right ( 🤞 ), 17% of private foundations' in-state investments went to Greater MN, and only 9% of corporate giving did so.

We all believe that SE Michigan will be a better place to live when nonprofits meet their missions. When all people have housing, when cancers are cured, when people stop contributing to climate change etc. Yet, despite decades of incremental progress, the need is still there. Nonprofits and the issues they exist to buffer or erase persist. This is partially due to isolation and segregation within our communities. Even when there's overlap in our missions and visions, nonprofits often tackle their work alone. To transform our future, we need to work together across organizations, sectors, communities, and identities. And to collaborate across difference, we need to build relationships based on trust and accountability. The renovated NEW Center will create space for authentic, organic connection and collaboration between mission-driven people across our ecosystem. It will become a place where changemakers come together and no one is pushed to the margins. With space to bring everyone impacted to the table, we'll finally be able to make real progress towards a just and thriving society. Learn more about the NEW Center Transformation and how you can support by visiting our website: https://lnkd.in/gjGxmWpt

Anyone else see what happened with the Nathaniel Russell House (in Charleston, SC) as an example of a non-profit trying to do the right thing: divest itself from a forced labor camp that the most vocal members of the public valued for its “beauty” and ostentatiousness so that it could focus on affordable housing? By extension, this altered direction would have explored ways in which historic preservation could do a better job benefitting the African American community in Charleston. (And, gasp, focus on more vernacular and visually plain sites.) The way in which the Historic Charleston Foundation backtracked strikes me as kowtowing to a particular segment of the public who treats the built environment as a box of jewels with a thin veneer of white patriotism. I do not envy the HCF board. This is just a microcosm of why historic preservation is often better at preserving itself, as an archaic, and, at times, racist practice, than in preserving the built environment for the benefit of the broader public. The field is too often frozen in its own past.

Pennsylvania will Press Forward with 3 Local Chapters: Hopefully good news for local news policy and practice. Will our Commonwealth and stakeholders in critical civic information finally own up to the fact that we no longer have the requisite supply of ‘legal instruments’ to legally advertise proposed constitutional amendments? Jim Friedlich, Sam Kille, Richard Tofel, Steven Waldman, Chris Krewson, Jeff Jarvis, Mike Blinder, Sara Fischer, Teresa Gorman, Melanie Sill, Victor Pickard, Sarah Stonbely, PhD, Joshua Benton, Kristen Hare, Press Forward

We’re pleased to share a new impact report for the East Metro Main Street Economic Revitalization Program, which supported 42 Saint Paul nonprofits and businesses that faced immense challenges the past four years due to the pandemic, civil unrest and other obstacles. With support from Mardag Foundation and other funding partners, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development granted $3.7 million to nonprofits and $3.3 million to businesses in the Snelling-University-Rice Cultural District, the East Side community and along West Seventh Street in Saint Paul. 100% of the funded projects serve communities that have been historically under- and dis-invested by traditional funding, and 85% of the projects are owned or led by people of color. We’re proud to have been a partner in this program and support the vitality of East Metro communities. Read more about the projects and their impact → https://hubs.ly/Q02x4CsJ0 #EastMetroMainStreet #SaintPaul #CommunityDevelopment #StPaulMN

Are all federal grants back-breaking, hair-pulling, teeth-clenching, 150-hour endeavors? Are there any that are within the reach of small nonprofits? This question came up recently with some peers in the Grant Professional Mentorship and below are some federal grants that are well within the reach of small nonprofits (let's call small an annual budget of $200K-$500K). 1. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) | Grants for Arts Projects 2. Department of Agriculture (USDA) | Farm to School 3. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving 4. Community Projects Funding/Congressional Directed Spending, AKA "earmarks" I've worked with community based organizations to secure funding across all of these grant programs. It is possible! Remember that federal money is also increasingly accessible via private entities that are being awarded federal funding to re-grant. What other grant programs are accessible to small nonprofits?

As we approach our 40th anniversary at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, we're putting the finishing touches on a 10-year strategic plan, set to be shared publicly later this year. This roadmap isn't just a nod to our past—it's a deliberate effort to position ourselves as stewards of a thriving, equitable southeast Michigan. The last four decades have seen profound changes globally. Cast your mind back to 1984, a time when the public internet and social media were non-existent, cell phones were a rarity, and business records were logged on paper. Today, we've weathered the storms of the COVID-19 pandemic, grappled with the climate crisis, and confronted the deep-rooted disparities in our society. These monumental shifts compel us to take stock of our current standing. Now is the opportune moment to ensure we're equipped with the right technologies, priorities, and strategies to guide our region toward a more promising future. You can read more about the plan on my latest post on the Community Foundation website. https://lnkd.in/eShJvRjG

We’re pleased to share a new impact report for the East Metro Main Street Economic Revitalization Program, which supported 42 Saint Paul nonprofits and businesses that faced immense challenges the past four years due to the pandemic, civil unrest and other obstacles. With support from F. R. Bigelow Foundation and other funding partners, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development granted $3.7 million to nonprofits and $3.3 million to businesses in the Snelling-University-Rice Cultural District, the East Side community and along West Seventh Street in Saint Paul. 100% of the funded projects serve communities that have been historically under- and dis-invested by traditional funding, and 85% of the projects are owned or led by people of color. We’re proud to have been a partner in this program and support the vitality of East Metro communities. Read more about the projects and their impact → https://hubs.ly/Q02x4vmn0 #EastMetroMainStreet #SaintPaul #CommunityDevelopment #StPaulMN

Federal funding opportunities present a high barrier to entry for most community-based organizations. This is particularly true for those that are BIPOC-led, BIPOC-staffed, and/or smaller, and/or lower-resourced. I've seen the supplier diversity issues that ensue in the private sector play out in terms of federal awards to nonprofits---in terms of who gets them and who does not. From awareness (of the opportunities), to application, to compliance, to budget (to be able deliver on a reimbursable govt contract), these opportunities are not readily accessible to most CBOs. When I led a community-based nonprofit CDFI, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders supported us in accessing large-scale grants from agencies including U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These grants were game changers for our organization and our balance sheet. With generous funding from Truist, NALCAB will similarly now scale to support 20 organizations intensively to pursue federal funding opportunities across a range of agencies. Congratulations to the winners of this competitive grant and accompanying TA! #CrackingTheCode

📣Check out the *brand new* national community of practice: Community Field Notes, a hub for praxis in community control and ownership! 💥💥 How might #communities gain control over their #land and property? How might Black and Brown communities restore and repair? How might #immigrants build #wealth through ownership of land, #businesses and houses? If you're asking these questions, or curious for some answers, join us in the kickoff virtual session this Friday! ps. Check out the Resource Hub on the website if you want to start learning more from a curated set of reports, guides and manuals! #Economicjustice #communitywealthbuilding #accesstocapital #cooperative #communitylandtrust #landbanking