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Nexus May Investments

On May 18th, 2010 Nexus Community Partners approved our third round of grants for 2010. The grants represented work being done in two of our three geographic areas; South Minneapolis and East St. Paul.

Below you will find a brief summary of the grants:

American Indian Family Center - East St. Paul

Purpose: Nexus Funds will support the American Indian Family Center to explore the development of culturally specific homeownership programming for the American Indian community on St. Paul's East Side. At the end of this grant, the AIFC will have completed a comprehensive assessment and analysis of homeownership readiness and resources for the American Indian community on St. Paul's East Side, and a recommendation for culturally specific homeownership related programming for the AIFC.

Strategic Fit for Nexus

Nexus Community Partners supports approaches that result in asset building and wealth creation within communities of color in our three geographic areas. This grant aligns with the East Side Housing Initiatives' (ESHI) goal to build on capacities that currently exist in the community and to provide support where there are gaps. Homeownership is a key asset building strategy that helps to stabilize families and communities, but the majority of the American Indian community has not taken advantage of this opportunity. The AIFC is determined to find ways to understand and remove whatever barriers exist, and to provide appropriate skills and supports to their community to be able to take advantage of homeownership opportunities.

This planning project will serve as a platform for developing comprehensive and culturally specific homeownership programming for the American Indian community on the East Side of St. Paul, and inform our work in South and North Minneapolis. Supporting the AIFC's efforts to develop homeownership programming adds a missing piece to the housing infrastructure ESHI has helped put in place.

Casa De Esperanza - East. St. Paul

Purpose: Nexus Funds will support staff time to provide culturally relevant financial tools and resources to Latinas experiencing domestic violence. These financial tools and resources will promote economic stability and help build strong foundations for the future, including home ownership.

Strategic Fit for Nexus

This grant aligns with the East Side Housing Initiatives' (ESHI) goal to build on capacities that currently exist in the community and provide support where there are gaps. There is a demonstrated need for financial skills and resources for Latinas experiencing domestic violence. This population often exists under the radar of many service agencies and community organizations and their unique needs are often unmet. Nexus supports organizations who intentionally engage communities often overlooked by traditional or mainstream organizations. These organizations understand their communities and their unique strengths and challenges and are best equipped to address them.

This project will have impact at the residential level - addressing the need for financial skills and support for Latinas experiencing domestic violence; at the organizational level - building the capacity of staff to provide financial literacy and counseling services; and at the community level - linking with and better equipping organizations who want to work with the Latina/o community.

Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network - South Minneapolis

Purpose: Nexus funds will be used to support the continuing work of the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network's Immigrant (MIFN) Leadership School (ILS) model with Latino residents in South Minneapolis. Earlier this year Nexus provided a grant to MIFN in support of their initial engagement activities with Latino residents in South Minneapolis. These activities resulted in identifying a core group of 10 families and 12 youth, cultivating their leadership skills while addressing issues that they self-determined were important in their lives. Through this work, the residents determined that they were interested in learning root causes of key community issues and strategies to impact systemic change, particularly in the education and immigration system.

Strategic Fit for Nexus

This grant supports Nexus' goal to fund community engagement strategies that link engagement to broader community and economic development efforts. The proposed activities will help deepen the core leadership and knowledge of the immigrant residents participating in this project. Core group members will be able to practice decision-making, do planning, take action, learn about US systems, analyze their collective experience and the root causes of challenges facing their neighborhoods and come up with group solutions to help improve their lives and that of their families. This work will also complement the asset building work that Nexus has long supported in South Minneapolis with efforts to create more human and social capital among residents.

 

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