06/19/2026
Giving has slowed, and we are at serious risk of losing the Firefly Center. Why does it matter?
🏥 We led the entire staff of an area care facility through the Virtual Dementia Tour. Our elders will now receive more compassionate care.
👧 We took a busload of girls from area schools to the MN History Center to see the "Girlhood" exhibit, imparting lifelong lessons.
🎨 We are providing artists of all abilities the opportunity to display their work in our gallery.
🌻 We are providing our assisted living community with opportunities to connect with others outside their facilities.
🎤 We are planning two events this fall with a world-renowned speaker.
🤝 We are planning an event that will connect area kids with their White Earth neighbors to explore their art and customs.
The list could go on…
Thanks to programming grants and small gifts, all of the above programming was, or will be, free of charge.
We raised nearly $1 million in capital funding to build Firefly. Our space is complete, Alluma operates within it daily, and we've built in two Airbnb units to help sustain the Center.
Through no fault of our own, the federal treasury changed the rules on funding we received under contract — and, to make matters worse, we had to sign an agreement to pay back funds we had already spent and been reimbursed for under that same contract. If we hadn't signed, we risked losing further reimbursements, or the remaining funds we were still able to use.
We have been left without the bridge we need to achieve full financial sustainability — which we know we can do. We didn't come into this project lightly. We had feasibility studies done before we even began looking at a space.
Our board and staff are stretched thin. We've put in countless volunteer hours over the last seven years building this space. We have attempted every avenue to solve this problem before coming to you. Lawyers have reviewed our contract for this funding and told us we have a leg to stand on, but we simply can't fight the federal treasury. We've received news coverage. We've contacted legislators. We are still working to solve this on our own, but the prospects are bleak. Unfortunately, we are simply one of many organizations that have become collateral damage to the current administration's funding cuts.
We need your help. Giving $1, $5, $10 — it all adds up.
https://givebutter.com/c/light-the-way-at-firefly
Please reach out to us directly with any questions. We’ve heard some inaccurate information circulating about our situation, and we’d welcome the chance to chat and provide clarity.
The Firefly Center for Art & Wellbeing needs your help. Join the Light The Way campaign and invest in rural Minnesota's future.
