Minnesota Community Foundation Awards $500,000 Grant to Transform AchieveMpls

SAINT PAUL, Minn.— After reviewing more than 100 applications from Hennepin County nonprofits, Minnesota Community Foundation awarded a $500,000 grant to transform AchieveMpls, an organization that focuses on career and college readiness and places low-income youth on a path to high-wage jobs, education beyond high school and economic self-sufficiency.

The family of Tom Grossman partnered with the Foundation to design a unique grantmaking project that awards $500,000 to fund long-term, sustainable organizational change for one Hennepin County nonprofit. Grossman is a Minnesota Community Foundation board member and business owner known for his entrepreneurial spirit.

“Our staff supports many large grantmaking programs throughout Minnesota, and we are thrilled that Tom’s partnership gave us the opportunity to leverage our community and issue expertise for greater impact,” says Carleen Rhodes, CEO and president of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners which supports Minnesota Community Foundation and more than 1,600 affiliates across Minnesota.

The Foundation selected AchieveMpls because of the organization’s history of helping young people, clear business plan, solid metrics for measuring future success and long-term strategy for sustaining the organization at a new level.

Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak, a board member of AchieveMpls, says, “The work of AchieveMpls, particularly in managing the STEP-UP summer jobs program with the City of Minneapolis, is critical to ensuring the success of Minneapolis’ youth, closing our region’s achievement and employment gap and keeping our region competitive in the global market into the future. This $500,000 grant from Minnesota Community Foundation will enable AchieveMpls to take its work to an entirely new level.”

Enthusiastic about the experience of working with Minnesota Community Foundation on this project, the Grossman family plans to support the Foundation in continuing the program again next year. He also hopes that this project inspires others with the financial means to partner with community experts and do their part to help transform their community. “There are many organizations doing outstanding work in this community that

are poised, with a significant capital infusion, to do even more good for even more people,” Grossman says.

About Minnesota Community Foundation

Founded in 1949, Minnesota Community Foundation is an innovative leader in philanthropy. Recent creative ventures include GiveMN.org and the Minnesota Idea Open. The Foundation helps Minnesota donors support the causes and communities that matter most to them. The Foundation is an affiliate of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners. Learn more at mncommunityfoundation.org and mnpartners.org.

About Minnesota Philanthropy Partners

Minnesota Philanthropy Partners is a network of foundations, funds and organizations that share knowledge and services to have the greatest possible impact through charitable giving. MN Partners supports The Saint Paul Foundation, Minnesota Community Foundation, F. R. Bigelow Foundation, Mardag Foundation and more than 1,600 affiliates across Minnesota. Learn more at mnpartners.org.

About AchieveMpls

AchieveMpls mobilizes our community’s generous resources to ensure that all young people in Minneapolis have the tools and support they need to be career and college ready. We lead the STEP-UP Achieve summer jobs program with the City of Minneapolis, manage AchieveMpls Career & College Centers in 14 Minneapolis public high schools and create opportunities for individuals and organizations to make a difference for youth as volunteers and community partners. Preparing our young people to succeed in school, work and life is the best investment we can make in our city’s health and vitality. Learn more at http://www.achievempls.org or call 612.455.1564.