2022 Grants
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Saint Paul, MN Black Tech Geeks (BTG) is an innovative youth employment program that reduces recidivism and connects Black youth (ages 14-24) to computer science careers. The program serves 100 youth (ages 14-24) annually, with the goal that 50% of alumni exit the program with computer science certificates. | 10,000 |
| Minneapolis, MN The All Square Fellowship, provides 12-month trauma-informed support which ensures that 14 formerly incarcerated Fellows—on a biannual basis—have the emotional support, social capital, & professional opportunities they need to become our nation’s future leaders, business owners, & legal practitioners. | 25,000 |
Bridgemakers, Fiscal Agent Propel Minnesota Minneapolis, MN Created and led by marginalized youth for marginalized youth, Bridgemakers builds the relational, civic, and economic capital of the Twin Cities’ 200,000 marginalized youth (ages 14-24). Bridgemakers' Youth Career Development Project builds the entrepreneurial leadership and career development of marginalized Twin Cities youth by providing pivotal training, mentorship and learning experiences that build the capacity of youth for pathways to purpose, leadership and career. | 25,000 |
| Lexington, MI Camp Cavell is a three season camp which has served children of all backgrounds in the Metropolitan Detroit Community for over 100 years. | 2,000 |
| Saint Paul, MN Change Inc.'s Youth Employment & Training program helps young adults ages 18-24 earn a high school diploma while simultaneously acquiring career skills and credentialing in either construction or healthcare career pathways. The program provides a full range of services including secondary and post-secondary education, workforce development, job placement, and social-emotional supports, and currently serves primarily recent immigrants/refugees who are also English Language Learners. | 20,000 |
| Minneapolis, MN Dunwoody’s Pathways To Career (P2C) program attracts, trains, and graduates underserved and under-represented populations through close partnerships with educational, community, business, and industry leaders. Through an interactive model of engagement, mentoring, leadership development, technical career exploration, and scholarships, P2C creates greater access to a Dunwoody education, as well as meets the evolving and expanding workforce needs of businesses and industries. | 25,000 |
| Saint Paul, MN Elpis works to deepen and broaden career pathway opportunities and related support services for young people experiencing homelessness or unstable housing. This includes strengthening connections between Elpis, the young people served, and the broader business community with the goal of fostering the young person’s self-confidence and the soft skills needed to use an origin/entry-level position to advance to a career offering at least family-sustaining wages. | 25,000 |
| Saint Paul, MN Face to Face’s Education and Employment Programs provide paid work experience, job-readiness training, career coaching, education assistance, and wraparound support so that young people can pursue their career aspirations despite the obstacles they face. Clients are young people facing significant disparities in life outcomes related to health, housing, income, and wealth. | 20,000 |
| Saint Paul, MN Roderick Cox Film inspires youth, particularly African American young people to aspire careers in classical music by conveying his story of success. | 1,500 |
First Ladies Farm and Sanctuary Riverview, FL Riverview Farm's mission is to provide compassion, care and a safe haven for farm animals. We are dedicated to the education and advocacy of the observations and philosophy that farm animals are sentient beings who deserve a life free from suffering and pain and have a right to feel happiness and love. | 1,000 |
Fortune Relief and Youth Empowerment Organization (FRAYEO) Minneapolis, MN The Shaqodoon program aims to increase the East African youth’s access to meaningful employment at a fair wage and, in turn, to allow employers to take advantage of the potential to fill in-demand jobs. They aim to achieve this goal by recruiting and enrolling East African youth and young adults in an Employment Development Program designed specifically for them. The program will include culturally-specific employment preparation, work readiness training and skill development. | 15,000 |
| Saint Paul, MN Genesys Works Twin Cities provides equitable access to opportunities and pathways for local youth in underserved communities toward career success through skills training, meaningful work experiences, and impactful relationships. Genesys envisions a future where all young adults are equipped and empowered with the knowledge and skills required to achieve career success, upward mobility, and a lifetime of economic self-sufficiency. | 20,000 |
Goodwill Easter Seals Minnesota Saint Paul, MN The Career Training & Education and YouthBuild programs prepare low-income participants for employment in high-demand sectors. Last year, approximately 40%+ of participants were 24 years of age or younger. These short-term courses incorporate sector-specific curricula, employment services, and opportunities to earn credentials and wages. | 15,000 |
| Minneapolis, MN Hired youth programs (ages 16-24) lay a foundation for life with access to: Support for high school or GED completion, followed by post-secondary exploration, planning, and enrollment; Workplace Readiness and Job Placement through one-to-one instruction on workplace skills and job search; Placement into subsidized work experience opportunities aligned with long-term career goals; Wraparound Support Services - Financial assistance related to job/career training and education. | 15,000 |
Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN MENTOR Minnesota’s Middle Skills Career Learning Community unites business leaders in Minnesota through learning communities which lead innovations in young worker retention. Members of this learning community participate in quarterly training on youth development competencies, quarterly peer learning spaces, and ongoing 1:1 coaching with MENTOR Minnesota staff. | 25,000 |
Minnesota Independence College and Community (MICC) Richfield, MN MICC's workforce development program is embedded within our college and career program(s) and includes a strong focus on the vocational, life, and social skills needed to get and keep a job. MICC has partnered with Century College to offer four different vocational certifications – Culinary, Health Services, Hospitality, and Retail. Participants must select at least one certification. Support services are provided through vocational-building curriculum and hands-on practicum experiences. | 30,000 |
Newgate Education & Research Center Minneapolis, MN Newgate School helps low-income young adults succeed in their quest for self-sufficiency. The organization provides tuition-free training in Auto Body and Auto Mechanic Repair in a hands-on environment that builds competency and knowledge, and matriculates students who have mastered both the hard and soft skills needed in the workplace. | 25,000 |
| Lino Lakes, MN Support for young athletes and their families to participate in sports and activities that create community, individual and team skills development, and joy. | 3,000 |
| Bloomington, MN Oasis seeks to improve and increase its workforce innovation to provide a greater return on investment for employers and employees. They strive to identify strategies that connect youth (16-24) to employers where young people feel valued and supported. | 18,000 |
Partnership for a Healthier America Washington D.C. Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is the premier nationwide nonprofit working to create lasting, systemic changes that transform the food landscape in pursuit of food and health equity. Every family, in every zip code in America should have access to good food - food that is affordable, healthy, sustainable, high-quality and culturally connected. Our work helps people access good food. | 3,000 |
Ramsey County Workforce Development / City of St Paul Saint Paul, MN Ramsey County and St. Paul were selected to be leaders in the development of a national Earn and Learn model that will strengthen community input and impact into and beyond the coming Federal AARPA grant distributions. | 20,000 |
Ramsey County Children’s Mental Health Collaborative Saint Paul, MN The Financial Health and Wealth Creation Program gathers information specialists to provide accurate instruction using a Zoom including housing, jobs and apprenticeships, savings, inspiration, and emergency supports (clothing, food, mental health). | 500 |
| Saint Paul, MN Sahan Journal publishes news & information about and for immigrant & refugee communities in Minnesota. Sahan Journal’s mission is to give immigrants and communities of color the kind of committed, responsive news coverage that everyone deserves. | 3,000 |
Secondhand Hounds / People & Pets Together Minneapolis, MN People & Pets Together help families by providing pet food to food shelves in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, with a veterinary assistance grant program, and programs designed to keep pets healthy in loving homes. | 1,000 |
| Siren, WI SOFTEC will pilot a program to introduce their 5 week Heavy Equipment Operator Training into new regions, including first step scalability to expand its scope into MN. Softec intends to recruit 2 qualified MN residents, 18 or older, to train at the Siren, WI venue. Their training is WIOA credentialed in WI and by reciprocity, through MN DEED. By collaborating with the WIOA funding provider Workforce Resource of Polk, Barron, St. Croix, Softec can also train another 8 candidates in their FSET program. | 35,000 |
| Minneapolis, MN Spark-Y serves its mission of youth empowerment through three branches: hands-on learning, urban agriculture lab, and youth pathways. These initiatives work together systemically, creating multiple touch points for youth engagement. Spark-Y has consolidated its program all under a “Youth Fam Pathway” umbrella. This ensures that youth who participate in their credit and pay bearing programs receive continued training, credentials, and experience all while being paired with actual employers and jobs. Youth also become part of the employment pool to be employed at Spark-Y. | 20,000 |
| Saint Paul, MN Ujamaa Place stabilizes lives of marginalized populations in the Twin Cities community through culturally centric programs that transform young African American men, many who are undereducated, homeless and have experienced involvement with the criminal justice system. Ujamaa provides wrap-around services in employment, housing, behavior health, education, criminal justice advocacy, cultural and support services under its “Theory of Transformation” serving approximately 300 men in 2021. | 30,000 |
| Minneapolis, MN UpStart Projects Earn & Learn Program is a project-based employment training program that allows for career exploration and navigation for students enrolled at or recently completing a two-year community college. UpStart Earn & Learn Projects give students training, coaching and introductory work experience that provides them the opportunity to improve their professional business skills while increasing their access to careers that provide family sustaining wages. | 25,000 |
| Saint Paul, MN Urban Roots’ YJ2 Young Adult Internships pilot program will offer 5 young adults (ages 18-24) 10-week (minimum) paid internships working in agriculture, food science and preparation, and conservation with a youth mentorship and STEM education emphasis. YJ2 interns access opportunities for skills training, certification, career development, community engagement, and next-step employment supports as they advance their post-secondary education and career goals. | 25,000 |
Urban Strategies Inc for Green Garden Bakery and Heritage Park Career Connects Saint Louis, MO Heritage Park Career Connects, an outgrowth of Green Garden Bakery, supports the educational attainment, acquisition of hard- and soft-skills, and connection to sustainable, thriving-wage career opportunities for 75+ young adults age18-24yrs from the Heritage Park community in north Minneapolis. Career Connects combines individualized support, strategic partnerships, and the power of community to propel these young people into opportunities that will support their economic mobility. | 22,500 |
| Saint Paul, MN Opportunity Pathways is Wallin’s college completion program for students attending local community and technical colleges. Wallin pairs financial aid with wrap-around services to promote college and career success for scholars throughout their postsecondary education and into the workforce. This pathway is accelerating graduation rates and economic mobility for students of color, first-generation college students, and students from low-income backgrounds. | 22,500 |
| Minneapolis, MN Wildflyer Coffee is a four-month work and life skills training program for youth aged 16-24 who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Through this “Earn and Learn” program, youth are trained and connected with pathways through a multi-faceted system of youth workforce development to help them achieve a 21st century career. They are equipped with the skills needed to secure and retain long-term employment so they can leave homelessness for good. | 20,000 |
| Minneapolis, MN From the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota, Widjiwagan is uniquely situated. Through wilderness travel and environmental learning experiences, they have built leadership skills, gained confidence and explored extraordinary places. | 1,000 |