St. Cloud, Minn.— The Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF) announced today the grant recipients of the 2018 Minnesota State Opportunity Grant. Grant funding totaling $475,000 will be awarded to six organizations across central Minnesota. The purpose of the funding is to enhance long-term self-sufficiency for central Minnesota communities of color by improving education, housing and economic outcomes and to create positive long lasting impact on the community. The funding was made available pursuant to 2017 Laws of Minnesota, Chapter 94, Section 2, Subd. 2 (ee).
Caryl Turnow, executive director of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation stated, “We are pleased to announce the grantees will directly impact approximately 1,500 local residents but we expect the ripple effect from these programs to benefit our entire community for years to come.”
The following programs have been awarded grant funding:
- $150,000 to support the Enterprise Academy through the Initiative Foundation which will provide business classes and mentorship to East African immigrant entrepreneurs.
- $88,000 to support the expansion of the Community Resource Navigators at Discovery and Lincoln Schools to provide summer camp opportunities, mental health trainings for parents and emergency attendance resources through the United Way Neighborhood Resource Centers.
- $87,000 to support a 1/2 time attorney and 1/2 time Somali-speaking paralegal to provide legal education including community presentations and advocacy concerning housing issues within the Somali community through Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid.
- $70,000 to support after-school tutoring for refugee and immigrant youth of color, cultural orientation for youth and families focusing on topics such as cultural adjustment, academics, communication and housing, and rent assistance for refugee and immigrant families through Lutheran Social Services.
- $50,000 to support the hiring of a program coordinator, upgrading technology resources and providing leadership development training for community participants at Promise Neighborhood.
- $30,000 to support the expansion of summer programming in three low-income neighborhoods to provide enrichment activities, leadership development for high school students to support the summer programming, and the organizing of community picnics in the neighborhoods to increase social connections through the Yes Network.
The 2018 Minnesota State Opportunity Grant was a competitive grant round. Eligible organizations were 501(c)3 nonprofits, school or government entities and serve people of color in the Benton, Stearns or Sherburne Counties.
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF), in affiliation with CommunityGiving, is a public charity that attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of the local community. Since 1985, CMCF has grown to over $89.6 million in assets and awarded over $93.1 million in grants to local non-profits. CommunityGiving is a collaboration of community foundations united under a single framework to create efficiencies that maximize the impact of our donors. The core foundations working with CommunityGiving include the Alexandria Area Community Foundation, the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and the Willmar Area Community Foundation. Collectively, CommunityGiving administers more than 700 funds totaling more than $129 million. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org/CentralMN