Propel Nonprofits, with a state appropriation coming through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development that was secured in partnership with the Coalition of Asian American Leaders, has awarded $1.71 million to 38 culturally led nonprofit organizations for infrastructure funding.
2021-2023 Awarded Organizations
- Afoutayi Dance, Music and Arts Company: Create and sustain formal infrastructure in financial systems, publicity, and grant writing, as well as increase staff capacity in technology/multimedia design.
- Ananya Dance Theatre: Expand administrative capacity and develop a leadership transition plan.
- Bridgemakers: Refresh website, build a financial infrastructure and payroll system, secure project management software and laptops, and provide related professional/management coaching, training, and support for team members.
- Brownbody: Strengthen organizational workforce to enable org to have the capacity and systems to hire a Managing Director.
- Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement: Develop sustainable commitment to four targeted neighborhoods in North Minneapolis. Create a development department to better organize financial resources and assist in developing financial management systems and ongoing staff and board training.
- Center for Community Resources: Hire part-time staff or consultants to assist with data management, internal communication, and fundraising.
- Community Integration Center: Boost the operational capacity of the organization, allowing for increased partnerships, improvement of programming, and an increase in the ability to access funding.
- Community Partnership Collaborative 2.0: Improve infrastructure by hiring staff and consultants to maintain program service delivery and assist in developing database management systems; develop financial systems to create and maintain a fundraising and grant development sustainability plan.
- Cultural Diversity Resources: Increase the effectiveness and efficiency of three small, new BIPOC organizations to meet the needs of low-income BIPOC communities. Activities will include organizational partnerships, infrastructure, and workforce development.
- CURA Foundation: Develop organizational infrastructure and sustaining partnerships to expand partnerships to subgrant with established nonprofits, develop and implement financial and client data systems, hire a capacity-building consultant, and support staff professional development.
- Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye: Prioritize increasing staff expertise that is grounded within culture to implement programming effectively. Also, increase technological infrastructure to embark on a new approach to language education and transmission that brings community-curated courses to one place.
- East Metro Civic Alliance Address: Collaborate with MainSource LLC, a multi-cultural technology company, to recreate and enhance the organization’s technology infrastructure and social media to provide comprehensive online communication with the public.
- Field of Dreams Empowerment Center: Restructure practices, services, and organizations to fit a resource-scarce environment to increase the ability to access and sustain new funding for expanding programs.
- Foster Advocates: Improve organizational infrastructure to increase the ability to access and sustain new funding sources. Funds will be used to hire a development consultant as the organization builds capacity to hire a development director.
- Hurston Institute for Learning and Development: Implement programs and achieve goals more effectively by hiring core staff members to develop the systems, protocols, and processes that will support key functions and programs and embed best practices into the organization’s day-to-day workings.
- In Progress: Support the workforce capabilities of the organization’s artist-led studio. Funds will be used to train key contractors already serving in leadership roles and provide professional consultants to support the development of a long-term development strategy.
- Jugaad Leadership Program: Establish fundraising practices and develop successful and efficient fundraising events or initiatives.
- Katha Dance Theatre: Upgrade/enhance existing website, upgrade office technology infrastructure, and hire a part-time booking person for tours.
- LatinoLEAD: Create underlying infrastructure as an on-ramp to hiring a program and network director, as well as a development manager/director.
- Leech Lake Financial Services: Create a staff position to expand programming capacity solely dedicated to housing and home ownership for the Leech Lake Reservation community.
- Lovelys Sewing & Arts Collective: Grow and strengthen the organization’s infrastructure by hiring administrative staff.
- Manidoo Ogitigaan: Collaborate with other Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists and knowledge-keepers to build upon artistic knowledge and skill sets and to fill in the gaps and missing pieces that have disappeared because of colonization and forced assimilation.
- Market Entry Fund: Move from sole dependence on volunteers for all functions, including management, to hiring one full-time staff plus targeted consultants who will consistently manage daily organizational and program functions, and do more fund development/fundraising.
- Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming: Hire contractors to build organizational infrastructure in grants management, finance, marketing, communications, strategic planning, and evaluation. Expand traditional and western clinical offerings by contracting with an Indigenous nurse practitioner to provide onsite and telehealth services.
- Morning Glory Montessori: Continue foundational infrastructure support with overall financial systems, donor/grant management systems, and student/family administrative systems.
- Phumulani Minnesota African Women Against Violence: Support program activities to improve data collection and reporting processes, implement new donor databases and financial management systems, increase staff diversity and inclusion trainings, conduct new staff domestic violence advocacy trainings, and expand community partnerships with immigrant advocacy groups.
- Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment: Strengthen organizational infrastructure through building a strategic plan to develop a more sustainable future.
- Sisters Need A Place (SNAP): Hire an Executive Director and Community Health worker to increase and provide more sustainable partnership structures and to create policies and procedures for the organization.
- Somali Museum of Minnesota: Support administration team in focusing on capacity building strategies, museum goals, staff development, fundraising programs, and financial strategy.
- Somali Youth and Family Development Center: Improve fundraising and finance infrastructure and increase culturally specific programming.
- StoryArk: Strengthen partnership with Equity Alliance MN by identifying areas of alignment, sharing collective expertise, and growing organizational capacity to meet the needs of geographically, culturally, and racially diverse participants.
- Sweet Potato Comfort Pie: Accelerate ability to strengthen internal infrastructure and capacity primarily through workforce development.
- TaikoArts Midwest: Hire a Community Outreach Director who will further develop programming, build community partnerships/relationships, and provide accessibility opportunities primarily for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth/homeless youth.
- The Organization of Liberians in Minnesota (OLM): Identify event space management software, create a programmatic and grant management file server, seek client tracking software including training staff on it, and develop financial policies, procedures, and a system for financial tracking.
- The Park Place: Increase salary to two pre-existing program staff who are Latina and historically underpaid, allowing them to prepare curriculum to increase program capacity and depth. This will free up time for the executive director to pursue grants, organizational partnership, and donor relations.
- Tusaalo: Support the organization’s rapid development and growth by strengthening internal infrastructure and developing executive/programming teams.
- Twin Cities Media Alliance: Hire a development associate who will help build the organizational infrastructure by (1) increasing access to funding to bring on and sustain the staff capacity needed to grow, and (2) establishing a more robust development management and compliance system.
- Wicoie Nandagikendan: Develop a comprehensive strategic plan to pave the way for expanding to include classrooms in their building, incorporate remote learning for families living outside of the Twin Cities, and build internal capacity for administrative staff to fundraise, manage grant funds and activities, and provide transformational leadership.
NIGP 2021-2023 Press Release
38 Organizations Awarded Nonprofit Infrastructure Grants
Minneapolis, Minn., December 21, 2021 – Propel Nonprofits, with a state appropriation coming through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development that was secured in partnership with the Coalition of Asian American Leaders, has awarded $1.71 million to 38 culturally led nonprofit organizations for infrastructure funding.
“These nonprofits play an essential role in building strong and vibrant communities, and they connect ethnic minority populations, who are often isolated and marginalized, to culturally and linguistically needed services,” said Naima Farah, Capacity Building Manager at Propel Nonprofits. “They prepare people for the workforce. Like other nonprofits, their services provide a social safety net and drive employment, community, and economic development. Investing in these organizations makes our communities better.”
These infrastructure grants will be used for everything from implementing new financial and data management systems to building staff and board capacity. There was strong demand from this kind of infrastructure support from nonprofits across Minnesota.
“After two rounds of NIGP (Nonprofit Infrastructure Grant Program) funding we can see the state’s investment is working to build a pipeline of nonprofits serving cultural communities who can apply for state grants and contracts,” said Kate Barr, President and CEO of Propel Nonprofits. “For example, almost all the previous grantees of this program said they are likely to apply for a state or other publicly funded grant in the next 3-12 months. This result is a big step forward for both the organizations and for state agencies hoping to work with nonprofits that are grounded in their communities.”
In addition to grant funding, awarded organizations will also receive ongoing technical assistance from Propel Nonprofits regarding financial administration.