Grantee Learning Logs

To build community collaboration and inspire action on climate change through rural climate dialogues

To identify short-term and long-term collective strategies to address the opioid epidemic and create a regional hub for treatment and family services for people addicted to opioids in the Minot North Dakota area

To strengthen Minnesota foster care and ensure standard of practice aligns with the best interest of parents and youth through inclusive community problem-solving process

IN Equality: Testing a new model of partnership between community members and juvenile justice system leaders to find innovative alternatives to confining youth in institutions and to transform Ramsey County Juvenile Justice Practices

To fund a coordinated social service system of care for low-income individuals called the Sioux Empire Network of Care

To develop a sustainable model for individuals in recovery from mental illness and/or chemical dependency, which will be integrated into the East Metro's Mental and Chemical Health crisis care system through the Mental Health Crisis Alliance

To develop a coordinated regional forensic medical response to sexual violence in Northeast Minnesota

To promote high quality research relevant to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians that will advance the tribe's problem solving capacity and economic development, and uphold its positive images

To coordinate local transportation services for vulnerable people in the Headwaters Region

To support the realization of a Rondo Land Bridge to reconnect communities proximate to I-94 in the Rondo neighborhood of Saint Paul

To build a regional workforce recruitment approach guided by local industry projections

To build a statewide problem-solving process on the issue of mass incarceration and the impact of the prison system on communities of color

To initiate Partnering for Resilience -- supporting high needs families with young children through collaborative problem-solving around safety, resilience and independence

To further develop the Mental Health Advocacy Network to better serve those in need of mental health support

To increase access to adequate health care for rural school children in North Dakota by piloting school-based telehealth technology

For the GROW-IT Center, an innovative response to maximize an unused capital resource where university and community groups can generate and disseminate best practices in sustainable urban agriculture, healthy food access and ecological preservation

To engage local residents, primarily new American communities, in the transportation design planning process for the crossings of I-94 between Seward and the West Bank

The creation of a collaborative working group approach to achieve strategic goals and outcomes within the Oyate Omniciye Regional Plan

The METRO Green Line light rail line connects downtown Minneapolis and downtown Saint Paul. When it opened in 2014, it brought many benefits for neighborhoods along the line, as well as new challenges. Despite new construction, barriers to stable and affordable housing in the Frogtown Rondo neighborhoods remain. The Frogtown-Rondo Action Network (FRAN) will bring together residents from these neighborhoods, along with district councils and other advocates, to begin a dialogue about ways to break through barriers to accessible, affordable housing for residents. At the same time, FRAN will train and guide local leaders on ways to engage their fellow residents, share what they’re learning with key community stakeholders and create a housing action plan that can be implemented in 2018.

To solve the need for better access to affordable, culturally competent, quality early childhood education services (ECE) in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood (West Bank)

Energy poverty, or a lack of access to modern energy services, affects one out of eight families in the United States. Rates in some communities like Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (Leech Lake) are even higher. In communities where households are on a fixed income, even a modest increase in the cost of heating or cooling can force families to make difficult choices about their resources. While energy assistance is available, funds are limited. Rural Renewable Energy Alliance will collaborate with Leech Lake partners to build a local, sustainable and shared alternative energy infrastructure. This partnership engages energy insecure households through the Tribal Government Community Action Agency, sustains an education and workforce pipeline with Leech Lake Tribal College and consult local utilities agency expertise. Developing and demonstrating this model has the potential to be transformative at the regional and national scale.

To make progress on tenant and landlord energy issues through community conversations, communication strategies, collaboration, toolkit/policy implementation and sharing lessons learned

To partner with Community Health Centers and other community stakeholders to improve access to colorectal cancer screening in North Dakota and South Dakota

To lead a statewide effort to increase the number of residents who participate in Advanced Care Planning in order to ensure that families and health care providers know and respect the wishes and goals of individuals at the end-of-life

To create an inclusive coalition that builds connections and engages community stakeholders, gathers data on youth, creates a data report with actions, and provides a Blueprint so that youth become more respected, empowered and engaged

To work toward a thriving community where racial, social and economic equity is a reality for everyone in Minneapolis

To build connections between community members and increase the community's capacity for engagement across race, class and religion in Steele County

To create a framework in which local farmers and ranchers are able to compete in the food market, increase the exports of local foods, create economic opportunities and address the fresh food needs of the community in Tuttle, ND

To build sustainable educational efforts to improve services for sexual assault victims with disabilities, in partnership with the South Dakota Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities and Community Service for the Deaf

To expand the Greater Than MN Project to North Dakota and additional rural Minnesota communities linking child care and rural economic development

To engage with families to access educational opportunities and build inclusive communities in Southwest Minnesota

For a cross-sector community collaboration united together to solve the problems of drugs and alcohol abuse within the Karen community

To build the leadership capacity of LGBTQ middle school and high school students and the support capacity of teachers and staff across Minnesota

For Legal Advocates for Health, a cross borders medical-legal partnership embedded in Family Health Care Center to improve the social determinants of health for New Americans and other vulnerable populations

A pilot program to remove barriers to Native home ownership in South Dakota

Studies show that high quality out-of-school-time programs really make a difference in the lives of young people. However, young people of color and from families with lower income access these programs at lower rates. Urban Arts Academy is creating “Agents of Change”: a highly collaborative, sustainable youth program model fueled by youth-driven engagement. The 20 organizations in the Agents of Change collaborative believe that they will better serve youth and families in the Bancroft, Bryant Central and Powderhorn neighborhoods of Minneapolis if they truly listen to youth and work together.

To further develop a multi-tribal power authority and to plan workforce development of a utility-grade wind power installation

To engage communities in identifying factors contributing to high youth dropout and unemployment rates