Mortenson Family Foundation

Last week, our Community Relationship Officer Rabya Hassen had the pleasure of attending 826 MSP’s Books for Breakfast Event.?The breakfast opened with a reading of the poem “If I Was President”?by Hamza Mohammed, an eighth grade writer from Minneapolis who is a member of 826 MSP’s After-School Writing Lab and Youth Author’s council programs. 826 MSP?is an arts education nonprofit whose mission is to amplify the voices, stories, and power of K-12 BIPOC students through writing, publishing, and leadership programs. We are excited to partner with 826 MSP and fund their deeply impactful programs. 826 MSP Programs include: ??? After-School Writing Lab is a program focused on creative writing and homework help for students in elementary, middle, and high school. Students are not required to bring homework to the program, but homework tutoring is available to students who need it. In every session of the After-School Writing Lab, students will work on reading and creative writing, with time for skill-building activities in literacy and math. ?? Young Authors’ Book Project: Teachers, volunteers, guest artists, and 826 staff support students in writing original works around a theme. Illustrators, designers, and publishers collaborate with students to create a professionally published anthology each year. ??Young Authors’ Council: A paid, application-based program focused on youth-leadership skills building, mentorship, and writing enrichment for students in grades 7-12. ?? The Writers’ Room at South High School (Minneapolis): Students and faculty receive dedicated support from 826 staff and volunteers through in-class tutoring, writing consultations, workshops, events, and author visits. ?? Field Trips to 826 MSP: Available to elementary classes across the Twin Cities. Volunteers—including an illustrator—and staff work with youth to complete and publish a book within two hours. This work is not just about writing—it's about building confidence, amplifying voices, and creating a community where young people can thrive and lead.?

?? Grant Opportunity: Northside Funders Group (NFG) is now accepting applications for the Northside Youth Enrichment Fund (NYEF). NYEF supports Northside projects that expand learning by connecting young people to exceptional enrichment opportunities in and outside of the classroom. Deadline: January 13, 2025. To learn more and ask more questions, please check out NFG's two upcoming sessions: ??? Nov 20, 2024 from 10:30-11:30am CT: Virtual session via Zoom ??? Dec 10, 2024 from 9-10am CT in-person at The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota More details here and in the comments: https://lnkd.in/esP_MGEF

?? Waka? Tipi Awa?ya?kapi (WTA), which means “those who care for Waka? Tipi” in Dakota, is a?Native-led environmental stewardship nonprofit?in Saint Paul. Waka? Tipi is a Dakota sacred site located in what is now Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. The organization engages people to honor and care for natural places, along with their sacred and cultural value. We are a proud, long-time partner of WTA and have contributed to funding for its Daylighting Phalen Creek project.?The project seeks to restore the creek–which was pushed underground nearly a century ago–by bringing it back above ground. In August, Maryan Abdinur, our community relationship officer for the Sustaining Environmental Systems program area, joined WTA leaders on a visit to the site where the first phase of Daylighting Phalen Creek will begin in 2025.?This visit marked a key moment for us in understanding the nonprofit’s collaboration with the local community. ?? Learn more about WTA and its critical work here: https://lnkd.in/ebjWc9ZZ ?? From left to right: Maryan Abdinur, Gabby, and Maggie stand at the site of the Daylighting Phalen Creek restoration project. #Environment #CommunityDevelopment #MinnesotaNonprofit

?? Our team members Amber-Ambar Cristina Hanson and Margretta Getaweh-Supuwood had the wonderful opportunity to visit Sierra Leone with OneVillage Partners last week. Margretta reflects on their experience: "This journey has been a profound learning experience—a chance to deepen my understanding of community-driven development in Sierra Leone. We began by visiting Bunce Island, a site that bears the weight of history from the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism. Standing there, I reflected on how this legacy has shaped the people and communities here. From this past, we moved forward, ready to listen, learn, and witness the incredible resilience and agency within these communities. Over several days, we visited three different villages, each showcasing a unique aspect of the impactful programs led by OneVillage Partners (OVP). Each visit was an immersion into OVP’s approach, where communities, not outsiders, are in control. For example, through Community Action, local volunteers identify their most pressing challenges—whether water access or food security—and work together to develop and monitor their own projects. Seeing this approach in action was inspiring; the results are solutions that truly belong to the people and are sustainable because they’re locally led. We learned about Nurturing Opportunities for Women (NOW) in another village. Through this program, women acquire financial planning, decision-making, and communication skills, empowering them not only in their businesses but also in their households and communities. The sense of confidence and autonomy among the women we met was undeniable as they shared stories of starting businesses, saving for the future, and taking active roles in community life. Lastly, we witnessed OVP’s Lead program, which builds on the skills developed in Community Action and NOW and trains community leaders to take on more complex projects and advocate for resources at a regional level. We saw how community members who had once been volunteers were now leading larger initiatives and collaborating with neighboring villages, creating a ripple effect of empowerment and cross-community collaboration. Each of these programs has created a foundation of confidence, family cohesion, and resilience. Community members have taken on the responsibility to address domestic issues, strengthen education, and manage resources collectively. Witnessing these communities work together, long after OVP’s formal involvement has ended has been an eye-opening reminder of the potential unleashed when communities are given the tools and space to lead their journeys. This experience has been a powerful reminder of the strength of community and the value of letting people drive their progress. I am honored to have been a part of this journey and look forward to learning more from these remarkable partners." #InternationalDevelopment #CommunityDevelopment #NonprofitWork

This week, Margretta Getaweh-Supuwood and I have been in Sierra Leone with Jill LaLonde meeting with the local teams of OneVillage Partners and the communities they work with. On a day like today, I’m thankful to be in the community with the people of Tikongo. One Village Partners has done some incredible work creating space for the community to make informed decisions about their priorities and then helping them in getting the work done by providing them with the tools to work on those priorities. The amount of pride the communities we visited had in building their own schools, le trines, and learning how to start their own businesses, have healthier relationships, and plan out there food supply so they can better prepare for the rain season was contagious. There was so much sense of purpose, joy, accomplishment, and self-determination because they had agency in making decisions about their priorities and then they worked on the solutions themselves. I appreciated learning from Sheku, Chad, Berni, Victor, and so many community leaders about the long term impact of this work. It simply cannot be quantified. Today of all days, I’m reminded that hope is a discipline. Hope cannot be shattered or taken away. We get to put hope into action everyday. Mortenson Family Foundation #internationaldevelopment #philanthropy

?? Northside Funders Group is recruiting young people eager to make a difference in North Minneapolis for an exciting leadership opportunity! The organization is creating a youth-led grant review committee to distribute $180,000 in grant dollars. ?The deadline to apply is November 20, 2024. ?? Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g6yVWAmy #CommunityImpact #YouthLeadership #MinneapolisNonprofit #MinneapolisOpportunity

? We are proud to welcome one of our new grant partners, Smart North, in our Expanding Opportunities for Children and Families grant program. Established in 2020, Smart North is a Minnesota-based organization advancing digital equity and transforming livability in marginal communities. The organization focuses on three pillars: ?? Establishing community tech hubs? ??? Enabling smart and resilient infrastructure? ?? Hosting thought leadership showcases Learn more about the work they are doing via https://lnkd.in/evxbubVB

?? Join us for our next Strengthening Developing Communities Focus Group Results Webinar! ??? Monday, Oct. 28th at 2:00pm CT ?? As part of our equity commitments, we held a focus group to center community voices.?This webinar will share key insights from the focus group and changes made to our grant program as a result. Who should attend? - Community-driven organizations from the 14 countries we support - Funders - Anyone interested in learning how to incorporate community voices in their grant making ?? Register here: https://lnkd.in/gZpSbGDv

?? Join us next week for a webinar to learn about our Strengthening Developing Communities focus group results! ??? Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 11:00am CT or ??? Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 8:30am CT

Our Community Relationship Officer for our Sustaining Environmental Systems program, Maryan Abdinur, recently visited the Dream of Wild Health (DWH) farm in Hugo, Minnesota. She met with DWH's executive director Neely Snyder and toured the farm as the harvest was under way. ?? DWH's mission is to restore health and well-being in the Native community by recovering knowledge of and access to healthy Indigenous foods, medicines and lifeways. ??? On Oct. 12, 2024, you can check out the farm while attending their Corn Festival. Learn more about DWH and the event: https://lnkd.in/dKAktNb