Minnesota Community Foundation & The Saint Paul Foundation: Two Foundations One Direction

Pan African Community Endowment

Our mission is to strengthen the Pan African community by promoting philanthropy in a manner that reflects history, culture and traditions. In carrying out this mission, we seek to work in collaboration with the community to develop a sense of ownership and self-determination.

to support the Pan African Community Endowment, or download the SpectrumTrust donation form.

Deadline Extended

Great news for Minnesota nonprofit organizations! The Pan African Community Endowment is extending the deadline for applications for its Housing, Health, and Justice Initiatives.

If you have already submitted an application for the Housing, Health or Justice Initiatives and wish to update it, or if you would like to submit an application now, please visit www.saintpaulfoundation.org/grants/spectrumtrust/ for an application and mail it to:

Dayonna L. Knutson
Pan African Community Endowment
The Saint Paul Foundation
55 Fifth Street East, Suite 600
Saint Paul, MN 55101

All applications are due to this office by October 9. If you have any questions, please contact Dayonna Knutson at 651.325.4252.

Making an Impact

Organ Donation in the African American Community
Through the Lou Fuller Memorial Health Fund, the Pan African Community Endowment provided grants to the Upper Midwest Organ Procurement Organization, Inc. (the legal name for LifeSource) to help finance the Increasing Organ and Tissue Donation in the African American Community project.

The project aims to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation in the African American community. The grants - $6,000 in 2004 and $5,000 in 2006 - and additional funds from other organizations helped support a radio and print campaign and production of a special panel discussion program that aired on TPT.

Hurricane Katrina victims
The Endowment's $10,000 grant to African American Family Services supports a grief counseling hotline for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Affordable Housing
The Endowment has identified this as a critical focus for its work in the community. In exploring this issue, we developed a housing committee that is working to build a stronger constituency of black leadership around affordable housing matters. Among critical issues of concern are the decreasing rate of black homeowners and the impact of foreclosures on the Pan African community.

On June 7, 2007, the Endowment Housing Committee continued an ongoing dialogue about how it might have a better impact on housing issues at both the service delivery and policymaking levels.

Download the Housing Committee presentation (5.5 mb)

Support this important work. Make a gift today or volunteer to serve on our Advisory Board by calling 651.325.4242.