Community Economic Relief Fund
Initiative aims to provide urgently needed services
In response to the economic downturn, Minnesota Community Foundation and The Saint Paul Foundation, along with key partners, have allocated more than $2 million to a new Community Economic Relief Fund.
“The economic downturn has had a broad and deep impact on Minnesotans,” said Carleen Rhodes, president of Minnesota Community Foundation and The Saint Paul Foundation. “Many people who have never before struggled with homelessness or hunger are now facing the same issues as traditionally low-income populations.”
The Foundations are funding strategic projects with specific nonprofits that have capacity to reach thousands of people who are desperately in need of support. These partner nonprofits have established and integrated systems that are positioned to achieve great impact across the state of Minnesota. So far, the Foundations have released more than $800,000 of the Fund’s assets to agencies in the following key areas:
Hunger Relief: efforts that support the increased numbers of adults and children accessing food shelves and banks. For example, Emergency Foodshelf Network has received a grant for its Fare For All Express program to help families stretch their monthly food budgets, increasing the number of people who can receive quality groceries at discounted prices.
Housing Stability: programs to prevent foreclosure, find people stable housing and avoid homelessness. The Fund, for example, will help increase the number of people served at Home Ownership Center, an organization that provides housing assistance to families who lose their homes to foreclosure, as well as offering counseling to families who are preparing to purchase a foreclosed home.
Financial Counseling and Assistance: programs that provide people with guidance about budgeting, debt relief and avoiding bankruptcy. AccountAbility Minnesota received funding to expand the number of people supported through its service to help low-income working families increase income by maximizing tax benefits and credits available to them.
“We wanted to expedite getting money into the community,” said John Couchman, vice president of grants and program at Minnesota Community Foundation and The Saint Paul Foundation. “So rather than using the traditional process of inviting organizations to apply for grants, we partnered with specific groups to identify and fund projects that build the capacity of systems that respond to people in need.”
The complete list of current partners is as follows:
Hunger Relief
Emergency Foodshelf Network | Fare For All Express program
Hunger Solutions Minnesota
Second Harvest Heartland
Housing Stability
Dakota County Social Services
The Family Place
Home Ownership Center
Financial Counseling and Assistance
Future key areas that the Fund plans to support through specific partner organizations are healthcare, mental health, and jobs and training.
While this initiative helps to provide support to thousands of struggling Minnesotans, the need is far greater than the available resources. The Foundations invite Minnesotans who can help to contribute to the Fund and join these efforts in providing economic relief to communities. Click here to make a donation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click here to view the FAQs about the Community Economic Relief Fund