06/29/2023
Thank you Blandin Foundation for the continued support you share our community.
As Pride Month wraps up, itβs important to recognize that thousands of LGBTQI2SA+ Minnesotans -- friends, neighbors and relatives β live every day with challenges most of us can only imagine. Some of our grantees across the state, and in , are there for those folks, year-round. Savvy, caring staff deliver important resources and, more importantly, a source of human connection and compassion to the q***r community, who are combating a record 70 anti-LGBTQ laws that have been enacted across the nation. Thank you to these grantees, and so many other groups, who lead with compassion, and show courage through change, to move our communities forward toward a sustainable, equitable future.
Women's Foundation of Minnesota Young Womens Initiative - develops an equitable ecosystem of systems, organizations and leaders focused on ensuring economic opportunity, safety, and leadership for and with young women of color, American Indian young women, and young people from LGBTQ+, disabilities, and Greater Minnesota communities.
PFund Foundation β has supported Minnesotaβs LGBTQ communities since 1987. Itβs rural-focused grants program serves LGBTQ+ organizations serving or based in Upper Midwest rural communities. A crisis fund begun to assist LGBTQ+ rural Minnesotans during COVID has grown into an emergency fund available to people across the region. A training series for nonprofits and philanthropies aims to teach staff about LGBTQ+ funding needs.
YESS β has provided Iron Range area youth information/referral assistance, in-school support groups, and online/Zoom support groups, as well as employer support group collaboration, and one-on-one support for youth and families with needs. For more than 15 years, their goal is to facilitate the acceptance of LGBTQI2SA youth into schools and employment situations and to support them as they navigate discrimination in a variety of environments.
Haven, A Place For All β provides safe spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community in north-central Minnesota. Over the past 5 years they have grown to provide mental health awareness and support, and build community awareness of LGBTQIA+ needs locally. Their annual picnic and other events are designed to allow individuals to come together and celebrate the freedom to be themselves, and in doing so create a community of likeminded individuals supporting acceptance, while also encouraging straight people to join in, be educated, expand their walls of acceptance, and embrace the support this community has to offer. The overall goal is to bring to life their motto βA Place For Allβ and do so by DOING.