The Partnership Engagement Fund was initiated in 2021 to support collaboration and partnerships between community-based organizations (CBOs) and neighborhood organizations to increase diverse public participation. Through project development and implementation engaging historically underrepresented and under engaged residents meaningfully and effectively on policies and programs that impact them and include their voices in decision-making.

The Partnership Engagement Fund dollars are available to community-based organizations that are partnering with recognized neighborhood organizations to further the City’s goals as stated in the Strategic Racial Equity Action Plan and Minneapolis 2040: “The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.” There is a total of $750,000 in funding recommended for 31 project proposals

In this funding cycle, the review panel selected a31 projects that focus on engaging residents throughout the City, using a variety of community led strategies, reflecting the values, wealth, and knowledge of many different communities and people. This year’s round of recommended projects includes many that are focused on youth, healing and addressing trauma experienced by residents, and empowering people and communities to be more civically engaged. Strategies include community led circles and using creative tools like music, writing and art. All of the projects recommended for funding are ideas and strategies developed by community, led by community, and centering community.

The NCR department led a series of informational sessions to ensure widespread knowledge of the funds availability and held meeting(s) to introduce community-based organizations with neighborhood organizations to ensure partnerships were meaningful and aligned with each organization’s values.

A total of 49 proposals were received, by the April 15th deadline, with $1,344,614 in funding requests. A series of grant review panels made up of 17 individuals including community members and City Staff from multiple departments reviewed applications.

The review panel recommend the following partnerships for funding:

846s.org and Bryant ($20,000): A series of trainings will teach advocates how to identify and act in response to signs of trauma, mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders, advocate for seeking professional health, and provide appropriate resources.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

Minneapolis will have more residents and jobs, and all people will equitably benefit from that growth.

Be That Neighbor and Cedar-Riverside Community Council ($20,000): Cedar Riverside youth have demanded not only their voice be heard but responded to. This project will support a youth council that will plan a Cedar Riverside Youth Summit to bring youth from the neighborhood together to move past discussing the issues and instead create solutions.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Bread and Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association ($20,000): This collaboration will host outdoor pop-up markets with a public safety focus. The summer markets will be free, accessible to all, and designed to build local connections, boost the local economy and empower the community.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

Brothers EMpowered and Ventura Village ($20,000): Working with Neighborhood Associations and their crime and safety committees, Brothers EMpowered will mobilize community members to become proactive in their safety.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Comunidad en SOLidaridad and Corcoran ($20,000): Comunidad en SOLidaridad is a group of neighbors working together to make our streets safer, greener, and brighter. Comunidad en SOLidaridad empowers families to create a much better and welcoming community for all.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Minneapolis will enjoy a high-quality and distinctive physical environment in all parts of the city.

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

CYSA and Corcoran ($20,000): CYSA is focused on women, victims of violence, youth, and elders through economic empowerment that empowers and transforms people’s lives. This project expands on a successful elder program focused on empowerment and entrepreneur trainings modeled after a successful program based in Peru.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Minneapolis will enjoy a high-quality and distinctive physical environment in all parts of the city.

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

Du Nord Foundation and Longfellow Community Council ($26,300): . This project will support Minneapolis residents by strengthening the local food system and expanding the Community Market’s work towards addressing the full circle of food justice in Minneapolis.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

All Minneapolis residents will have access to employment, retail services, healthy food, parks, and other daily needs via walking, biking and public transit.

Minneapolis will remain the economic center of the region with a healthy, sustainable, and diverse economy.

ExplorArte and Corcoran ($20,000): ExplorArte is a youth leadership development project promoting the use of free time in physical and mental health activities. ExplorArte seeks to identify problems that affect our community and solutions from the perspective of youth.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Minneapolis will enjoy a high-quality and distinctive physical environment in all parts of the city.

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

Filling In the Gaps and Cleveland ($20,000): This project will fund Smashing the Pain Healing Circles for youth in the Cleveland neighborhood and north Minneapolis. Facilitated circles will hold space for young people to name their experiences, receive support, engage in the healing of community connection, and learn from each other, the facilitator, elders, and a different content/lived experience speaker at each gathering.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

Minneapolis will have more residents and jobs, and all people will equitably benefit from that growth.

FreeWriters and Stevens Square ($18,200): FreeWriters will offer healing-through-writing programs to new communities in Minneapolis, focusing on the residents of Stevens Square and former-inmate FreeWriters community. Past participants say free-writing relieves stress, boosts self-esteem, and generates empathy among strangers.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will have more residents and jobs, and all people will equitably benefit from that growth.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Generation Hope and Cedar-Riverside Community Council ($25,000): A documentary centering on the opioid epidemic within the east African community will build awareness and educate the community on opioid addiction and connectaddicts to treatment options.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Minnesota Annual Conference Iglesia Pied and Whittier ($20,000): The Guitarra en el Barrio Program (“GBP”) teaches, in English and Spanish, how to read music and play the guitar to youth and provides a venue for students to share their accomplishments with family and friends at recitals. When music is an integral part of our lives, creativity is awakened, academic performance improves, and self-esteem is heightened.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Hmong 18 Council, Inc. of Minnesota and Jordan ($20,000): Hmong Family Talking Circles provide a support group for families by providing a place, time, and space where families, children, couples, or elders who are facing challenges in the community can come together to support each other and learn about mental health resources.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

-Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

Jun Yang and Webber-Camden ($25,000): Many elders lack the know-how and ability to navigate a pathway to being a civic leader or a resource between the community and the city of Minneapolis. The project seeks to develop a civic leadership educational program to educate current and future potential elders and leaders.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

LTL International Leadership Institute and Longfellow Community Council ($20,000): This project will map the precise landing point of the Steamboat Northerner that landed on May 5, 1863, carrying 70 formerly enslaved persons. A second steamboat of formerly enslaved persons landed later that month carrying more than 200 people. This 1863 exodus from Missouri doubled the African descendant population in Minneapolis and this history will be used to educate and inform the residents of Minneapolis of its history.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

MCN6 and Sheridan ($27,500): Broadcast the Bridge is a 3-month, alternative after-hours explorative multimedia arts extravaganza for high school age youth in Minneapolis. The project will highlight the brilliance of our at-risk youth, while also shining a light on how much Minneapolis cares about their future and their contributions.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

Minneapolis will have more residents and jobs, and all people will equitably benefit from that growth.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Minnesota African Womens Association and Cedar-Riverside Community Council ($30,000): The leadership and civic engagement project will support 20 girls ages 14 to 18 in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood to develop strong core leadership skills, gain knowledge of the importance of becoming involved in civic affairs, the democratic process, observe the operation of local government, and participate in multiple opportunities to actively develop leadership skills and become engaged in impactful leadership roles in the program and community.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

Minneapolis will have more residents and jobs, and all people will equitably benefit from that growth.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

New Creations Ministries and Hale, Page, Diamond Lake ($20,000): Employment of youth to work at a food shelf and do a community climate project to determine how to reduce waste in the community.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

Minneapolis will have more residents and jobs, and all people will equitably benefit from that growth.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Poetry for People and Longfellow ($20,000): This project engages residents in education and learning around the history of racial covenants in Minneapolis.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

Minneapolis will have more residents and jobs, and all people will equitably benefit from that growth.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Restoration Incorporated Ministries and Jordan ($20,000): The Restoring Hope Project is a series of therapeutic and healing activities for the community. There is a focus on reaching youth and young adults who are at the highest risk of violence, many of whom are in the tertiary level of violence, using circles and other healing spaces. Focusing on these youth while also fostering intergenerational healing spaces are designed to help reduce violence in the community.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Reinvesting in Community and Housing and Corcoran ($20,000): This project will coordinate support and resources to residents in historically underrepresented community. The program will focus on finance and housing education, civic engagement, and economic empowerment opportunities to marginalized communities.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Save The Boards Minneapolis and Kingfield ($20,000): Save the Boards collects, documents, and redistributes boards used to cover windows during the uprising as visual pieces of our cities’ history by bringing them back into community spaces, so that they may continue to serve as reminders of the undeniable strength of our community through continued reflection, creative expression, and the visual storytelling.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts and East Phillips ($19,000): “Building a Beautiful Bloomington” will energize residents and businesses to engage their neighbors in discussion on critical issues and create art to unite and uplift the Bloomington Avenue Corridor. Trained youth ambassadors will survey neighbors on community needs and hopes and engage them in relationship building and creating and installing public art together.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

The Man Up Club and Webber-Camden ($50,000): The Man Up Club has designed a social enterprise entrepreneur program that provides on-the-job training for youth. The program will train and employ youth to cut the lawns of low-income residents in the Minneapolis community who may not be able to afford it, who are elderly or disabled.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

WE WIN Institute, Inc. and McKinley ($90,000): This project, in collaboration with Zion Baptist Church and Racial Justice Network, will curate green spaces that are easily accessible to the community– building garden beds for community, growing and picking patches, a sitting area for community circles and conversations, and an inside/outside area for cooking and eating together.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

West Bank Business Association and Cedar Riverside Community Council ($15,000): This project will be conducting community outreach and community meetings regarding the Dania Hall parcel during the summer and fall of 2022. It will be using an initial feasibility study as well as drawings from the U of M Design School to engage the community on options.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

zAmya Theater Project and North Loop ($20,000): North Loop Neighborhood Association (NLNA) and Avivo will sponsor an interactive outdoor performance of zAmya’s play Second Chance to inspire dialogue and understanding about homelessness in the North Loop. The performance will be followed by three listening sessions, which zAmya will “share back” content from in the form of a play reading. The project is designed to unify community members with and without the experience of homelessness.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

African American Survivor Services and Corcoran Neighborhood Organization ($19,000):

This project, in coordination with other neighborhood and community partners, will coordinate the AASS Mobile Resource Squad, focused on bringing resources and support to unhoused residents in Minneapolis.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Minneapolis will see all communities fully thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code having eliminated deep-rooted disparities in wealth, opportunity, housing, safety and health.

News on Purpose and Corcoran Neighborhood Organization ($20,000): This project will support the launch of the “Voices of Our Youth” showcase, which will provide learning and engagement opportunities for youth to understand their community and advocate for their future.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

The physical attributes of Minneapolis will reflect the city’s history and cultures.

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

Strong Roots Foundation and Hawthorne Neighborhood Council ($20,000): This project will focus on Community Conversations during a 6-week series of programming for the North Minneapolis

Community.. Each week’stopic and theme will pertain to the community and paired with

community activation and connecting the community socially and physically to

inspire conversations, social connectivity and solution to community issues.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

T.O.U.C.H. Outreach and Corcoran Neighborhood Organization ($20,000): This project will coordinate South Side Social, a series of medium size community events meant to engage and provide free, safe fun for the entire family. These events will be hosted in different communities in South Minneapolis and will promote family environments that support healthy development and relationship building.

MPLS 2040 Goal(s):

The people of Minneapolis will be socially connected, healthy and safe.

Minneapolis will have the creative, cultural and natural amenities that make the city a great place to live.

List of submitted proposals not being recommended for funding:

$50,000.00 Black Army Brigade L.L.C.

$20,000.00 CaMinO

$20,000.00 Centro Nazareno de Compasión Agape, Inc.

$15,950.00 Conversations with Friends

$20,000.00 HAVEN INT'L (HOPE ALIVE FOR VISION EMPOWERMENT NETWORK, INT'L)

$49,250.00 Innovate SOULutions

$20,000.00 Minneapolis Climate Action

$20,000.00 MN Renewable Now

$19,935.00 New Life Youth and Family Foundation

$30,000.00 Open Doors Community Services Inc.

$50,000.00 Pan Asian Arts Alliance

$50,000.00 R & R Family Ctrs.

$20,000.00 RSA consultation

$19,880.00 Safe House

$50,000.00 Sagrado Corazón

$25,000.00 StartAnew

$20,000.00 The Agape Movement

$13,525.00 The Give and Care Foundation

$50,000.00 TRUST Inc.

$5,603,540.00 Total remaining amount requested