Otto Bremer Supports Civic Engagement in Minnesota

The Otto Bremer Foundation in St. Paul supported civic engagement, health accessibility and other human rights issues and needs in Minnesota as part of its September 2004 grant awards.

The foundation awarded $24,000 to the Alliance for Justice in Washington, D.C., to support the Nonprofit Advocacy Project in Minnesota; $35,000 to Civic Organizing, Inc. for the general operations of the Minnesota Active Citizenship Initiative, a project that works to achieve sustainable civic engagement; and $100,000 to the Hamline Midway Coalition, St. Paul, for the Leadership in Service to Neighborhoods, a program of leadership development and community organizing. Other recipients of the foundation's civic engagement grants included the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota ($25,000), to develop the work of the Somali Action Council, and the Minnesota Community Action Association Resource Fund ($24,000), St. Paul, for Affirmative Options, a statewide coalition of organizations dedicated to promoting public policies that create economic security for low-income people.

In the area of health accessibility, the foundation provided a $100,000 grant to Ain Dah Yung Center in St. Paul to support Stand with the People, a mental health program that provides mainstream therapeutic models and traditional American Indian cultural therapy. Cedar Riverside People's Center in Minneapolis also received a $100,000 grant, to go toward improvements to the community medical clinic, and the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Minority and Multicultural Health in St. Paul received $150,000 to develop partnerships and coalitions for eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities.

Other recipients of the Otto Bremer Foundation's latest grants include:

Civic Engagement:

• Macalester College, St. Paul ($24,000), to support Pluralism and Unity, a program to develop students' cross-cultural skills.
     
• Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action (MAPA) Education Fund, St. Paul, ($80,000), for general operations of this nonprofit that works to organize around civic participation.

Health Accessibility:

• Portico Healthnet, St. Paul ($80,000), for translation and interpretation services related to health care for low-income families.
     
• Regions Hospital Foundation, St. Paul ($25,000), to support the Hmong screening clinic, a project that will provide physical and mental health evaluations to refugees arriving from Wat Tham Krabok in Thailand.

Organizational Effectiveness:

• Resource Center of the Americas, Minneapolis ($120,000), for general operations and to conduct a business plan for this organization that educates and organizes to promote human rights, democratic participation and economic justice.
      
• Western Community Action, Inc., Marshall ($300,000), to support a strategic planning process, assist in leadership development and implement strategies.

Shelter:

• African Development Center, Minneapolis ($15,000), for start-up costs associated with homebuyer education and training programs.
     
• ShareHouse, Fargo, N.D. ($20,000), to furnish and provide supplies for Sister's Path, a home that provides shelter and chemical dependency treatment for homeless mothers.

Other Human Rights:

• Children's Defense Fund, Minnesota Office, St. Paul ($150,000), to promote the enrollment of eligible families in work support programs.
     
• Philanthrofund, Minneapolis ($50,000), to assist GLBT individuals in rural areas.

In total, the Otto Bremer Foundation awarded 83 grants totaling more the $4 million in September 2004. For a complete list of grants (PDF, 9 pages), click here.

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