Open Road Fund FAQs

This year you will need to include a photo of your ID to apply. We understand that this will present a barrier to some eligible applicants, and we did not make this decision lightly. We want to ensure that all recipients are a part of and connected to our community–and we want to discourage fake applications from hackers and bots.

The Open Road Fund is specifically for Black people descended from African people who survived the Transatlantic Slave Trade, who also currently live in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Requiring IDs is one way we are making sure we are reaching this community.

We will accept a variety of ID types. Types of identification we accept include: State issued ID or Driver’s License, School ID, Tribal ID, U.S. Permanent Resident Cards, and more.

If you have any questions about ID submission, please contact our team at ORFsupport@nexuscp.org.

This year, Open Road Fund finalists that are randomly selected to participate in round two of the application will need to submit two letters of support. The Letters of Support must both come from Black community members. Only one letter of support can be written by a Black family relative.

We want to ensure that all recipients are a part of, connected to, and supporting our communities. The letters should be less than one page, double-spaced. The letter should explain 1) how they know you; 2) why they believe in your wealth building plan; and 3) talk about the ways that you are connected to our shared community.

Only the 100 finalists that are selected to move forward to the second round will be asked to provide the letters of support. You will not need to submit them during registration, but you should think of a few people to write these letters in the event you are selected.

If you have any questions about letters of support, please contact our team at ORFsupport@nexuscp.org.

The Open Road Fund aims to have the most impact possible through our grantmaking process. We want to better understand who in our community we are reaching through our engagement process. This information will be confidential and only seen by staff and our advisory committee members.

This year, we will be asking applicants to share if they have had specific life experiences, such as housing instability, experiences of incarceration, and more. The life experience categories we chose were created by community, our advisory committee, and the Open Road Fund team. When filling out the application, please make sure to select any life experiences that are true for you.

If you have any questions about this addition, please contact our team at ORFsupport@nexuscp.org.

This year, all finalists will be required to have a bank account and valid mailing address to receive funds. If you do not have one at the time of application, you may still apply. However, if you are selected for an award, you will need to set up an account before we distribute your gift.

We understand the complexities and barriers that exist in banking for our community, and we did not come to this conclusion enthusiastically. Unfortunately, we learned in 2023 that other types of accounts—like Chime, Venmo, Paypal, and Cashapp—simply are not built to accept gifts this size.

If you are an adult receiving an award by direct deposit, the bank account will have to be in your name. We cannot deposit the funds into the accounts of family or friends.

If you are under 18, we will need to deposit your award into a parent or guardian’s account. We can also mail you a check so you can deposit it into your account yourself.

The Open Road Fund can only distribute funds to awardees via direct deposit or check. If you have any questions about this or any other part of the application please contact our team via email at ORFsupport@nexuscp.org.

This year, group applications must include all group applicant information on one application. To apply as a group, all members must be eligible for the Open Road Fund, and you must commit to a single wealth building project together.

The first person on your group application will be automatically designated as the primary contact for your group. Unlike last year, each of your group members will not need their own individual accounts. You will be able to share the application login with your fellow group members, so that they can fill out their sections on their own. To make things easier, you should also consider planning a day for all group application members to fill out the application together, in person.

Our hope is that these changes make it easier for groups to apply to the Open Road Fund. If you have any questions about this or any other part of the application please contact our team via email at ORFsupport@nexuscp.org.

This year, there will be questions about your ancestry during registration. We understand that you may not know the names of your enslaved ancestors, or you may not have access to all of your family history—that is okay! Tell us about what connections to ancestry you do know. Tell us about the family history you have that helps you know you are descended from Black people who survived the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

If you have any questions about this or any other part of the application please contact our team via email at ORFsupport@nexuscp.org.

The Open Road Fund applications for 2023 are closed. They will re-open in Summer 2024.

Over the next eight years (until 2031), the Open Road Fund will award $50,000 grants to at least 800 Black residents of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

We are only able to accept electronic applications at this time. We are thrilled to be receiving thousands of applications. However, given this high volume of interest, we are unable to review paper applications. We understand that this is a real barrier for eligible applicants. We encourage people to ask for support from their communities, and we hope to add capacity in future years.

Applicants for the Open Road Fund must be at least 14 years of age. They must be residents of Minnesota, North Dakota or South Dakota. And applicants must be a descendant of the Atlantic slave trade, including the Caribbean, North, Central, and South America. Descendants of formerly enslaved people who repatriated to Africa are also eligible.

When applicants are selected for an award, we will verify their identity using a background checking tool. This tool may or may not provide information that verifies an applicant’s lineage as a descendant of enslaved Africans. We are not expecting ORF applicants “prove” their lineage to us. For many of us, due to the violence of enslavement and its aftermath, we cannot identify a specific enslaved ancestor. Instead, what we hold is a deep connection and generations of relationship to Black communities formed during the Maafa (aka the Atlantic Slave Trade).

What’s important to us is protecting these funds from ineligible applicants who falsely identify as a descendant of enslaved Africans or residents of Minnesota and the Dakotas. We will focus our energy on thoroughly investigating any applicants who give us reason to suspect they are ineligible and have falsified their application information.

The Open Road Fund is open to applicants who are at least 14 years of age, and residents of Minnesota, North Dakota or South Dakota. And applicants must be descendants of the Atlantic slave trade, including the Caribbean, North, Central, and South America. Descendants of formerly enslaved people who repatriated to Africa are also eligible.We are not expecting ORF applicants to “prove” their lineage to us or to name specific ancestors. For many of us, due to the violence of enslavement and its aftermath, we cannot identify a specific enslaved ancestors. Instead, what we hold is a deep connection and generations of relationship to Black communities formed during the Maafa (also known as the Atlantic Slave Trade).

We will verify the identities of applicants selected for awards using a background checking tool. This tool may or may not provide information that verifies an applicant’s lineage as a descendant of enslaved Africans. What’s important to us is protecting these funds from ineligible applicants who falsely identify as a descendant of enslaved Africans or residents of Minnesota and the Dakotas. We will focus our energy on thoroughly investigating any applicants who give us reason to suspect they are ineligible and have falsified their application information.

The Open Road Fund is for descendants of the Atlantic slave trade, including the Caribbean, North, Central, and South America, and descendants of formerly enslaved people who repatriated to Africa. We designed this fund specifically to address the intergenerational impacts of slavery on our people. We refer to Black people’s collective experience of enslavement and oppression in the Americas as the Maafa. We made the decision to focus on descendants of the Atlantic Slave Trade because the Maafa has amounted to 500 years of disaster for our people with very little relief or restitution.

You may notice that we use words and concepts from continental Africa, even though the fund is not open to African Immigrants. We do this as a way to reconnect with our ancestry and with the languages our ancestors spoke before enslavement destroyed that connection. It can seem like cultural appropriation, but for us, it’s a way we ground in our lineages and attempt to heal.

We understand that people are frustrated that African immigrants are not eligible for the Open Road Fund–that is valid. African immigrants are our kinfolk. For us, Pan-Africanism is not about erasing differences between African people, it is about Africans banding together to support one another’s liberation as a unified and diverse community. We believe by showing up for one another in our unique and intertwined struggles, we can organize more resources for all African people. We are working on compiling a resource list for African Immigrants. We plan to publish it in August 2023. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

In partnership with Black folks living across Minnesota and the Dakotas, we’ve created a panel of Grant Stewards to review applications—folks from the community across a wide range of experiences working on getting the resources where they’re needed most to foster wealth and self-determination for our people. Eligibility registration is open June 19, through July 28, 2023. Everyone who wishes to be selected for funding must complete the registration by July 28th. All eligible applicants will be submitted into the ORF applicant pool.

The Open Road Fund will use a random selection process to select awardees. Our team and community members will review your registration application. If your application is eligible, your name will be entered into the selection process. We will use a computer program to select 100 people for an award. After awardees are selected, we will verify their identity and they will be invited to submit their wealth building plans. Our committee will review all wealth building plans, and once they are approved they will move forward for award disbursement.

Yes, individual Black business owners will be able to apply on behalf of their businesses. These resources can be used for several wealth-building projects, including housing, education, financial well-being, healing, and economic justice—and we encourage all applicants to identify the area of focus that best suits their path to building Black wealth.

No, non-profit organizations cannot apply. The Open Road Fund goes directly to Black individuals and families to build wealth. We embrace the opportunity to directly impact the lives of Black folks who still face barriers to buying homes, starting businesses, saving for their future, and so much more.

Yes. Applicants can apply for the grants individually. However, in order to build Black wealth that endures, we encourage folks to apply together to increase the impact of these grants for our communities.

Yes. These resources can be used for several wealth-building projects, including housing, education, financial well-being, healing, and economic justice—and we encourage all applicants to identify the area of focus that best suits their path to building Black wealth.

No. The Open Road Fund application process will reopen in the spring of 2024.

Yes! Applicants may only receive one grant from the Open Road Fund. Because we expect an abundance of applicants, you might not be selected in the first year. However, you are welcome to reapply in the spring of 2024, or until you receive a grant from the Open Road Fund.

No. There are no income caps or minimums in order to apply for the Open Road Fund.

Building Black wealth allows us to forge paths toward liberation on our terms. It’s the key to rebuilding our communities and reclaiming our right to self-determination. When we have access to an abundance of resources, we can foster collective healing, safety, care, and mutual aid.

No. The Open Road Fund is not reparations. The fund’s resources aren’t enough to correct all the harm done to the Black community over the last 400 years. However, it is a step in the right direction towards cultivating wealth and prosperity.

Since 2022, we’ve worked with a dynamic group of local community members who made up our advisory committee, and who were responsible for designing what has become the Open Road Fund. Nexus staff and advisory committee members hosted information sessions with Black community members in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota to hear their thoughts on how these resources should be distributed.

The Open Road Fund is a community fund for Black descendants of the Atlantic Slave Trade in Minnesota and the Dakotas. NDN Collective’s Collective Abundance Fund is for Indigenous people residing within Minnesota and the Dakotas. Both Nexus’ Open Road Fund and NDN Collective’s Collective Abundance fund were resourced by the Bush Foundation as part of an effort to close racial wealth gaps between white communities and Indigenous and Black communities.

Prospective Applicants to NDN’s Collective Abundance Fund have until Friday, July 7, 2023 at 3pm CT to register, and all parts of the application are due July 11th. Learn more on NDN’s website.