20th Celebration Story Submission
Dear Community,
Our vision is for each and every person to flourish in a joyful and abundant life. All the creative and innovative work we do reflects the brilliance gifted to us by our people—our staff, fellows, partners, and supporters like you.
To help us usher in nourishing ways of living, owning, and working, our friends at Voqal Partners are matching year-end donations up to $20,000 in honor of Nexus’ 20th anniversary. Starting today, we hope to raise $20,000 and unlock the full potential of their match offer! Any gift you make between now and the end of the year will be doubled thanks to their generosity!
We have never asked for donations before, and $20,000 feels like a big goal. But we feel inspired by this opportunity and hope you do, too! Thank you for walking alongside us on this journey.
Make a donation
Whether you can contribute $20 or a story about what Nexus means to you, you will continue to make our work possible!
Share your story
Have you participated in one of our fellowships? Been a longtime partner? However you’ve crossed paths with Nexus, we want to hear from you!
Applications for the Boards & Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) are open now through Jan. 20! We are excited to recruit our next cohort of equity champions who want to be effective members on boards, committees, commissions and task forces at all levels of government. Apply and learn how to get a seat on a decision-making table!
How It Works
For too long, systems of governing have rigged the rules to concentrate power and wealth in fewer and whiter hands. They’ve put up barriers to shut out Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC) from decision-making, as well as women, queer folks, disabled folks, low-wealth folks, and other historically marginalized and oppressed people. BCLI is a seven-month leadership program working to change this. We support, train, and help place BIPOC and other underrepresented community members on city and county publicly appointed boards and commissions.
Fellows commit to making governing decisions from the inside to nourish communities for this generation and generations to come. At a time when civic participation and democracy-building is most preciously needed, we must be engaged at every level of decision-making that affects all our communities. And that starts with boards and commissions!
Time Commitment
April – October 2025
- Attend three, hour-long meetings per month on Zoom, plus our launch event and graduation
- Work outside of sessions includes readings, online discussions, webinars, and commission meetings
- Total time (including trainings and assignments) is approximately 80 hours
- Fellows receive a small stipend of $500 to honor their time and commitment
Info Sessions
Join us to learn more about the program, nomination, and selection process!
- Tuesday, Dec. 10, 5:30 – 6:30 pm (Zoom)
- Thursday, Jan. 9, 5:30 – 6:30 pm (In person)
- Tuesday, Jan. 14, noon – 1 pm (Zoom)
Nexus (noun): a connection or series of connections linking two or more things.
Dear Community,
Nexus has turned 20!
In 2004, we created Payne-Lake Community Partners to build engaged and powerful communities of color, connect BIPOC communities to economic and political power, and to usher in a world where each and every person can flourish with joy and abundance.
As our work grew in geography and scope, we realized we had outgrown our name. Guided by our elders, we were renamed Nexus Community Partners in honor of our ability to hold so many strong relationships.
Twenty years later, we still hold relationships at the center. So, what better way to celebrate this milestone than by gathering in community? Throughout 2025, we will be offering opportunities for you to join us for online learning and in-person celebrations of all that you have helped make possible as part of Nexus. Keep an eye out for more details to come!
As we prepare to celebrate our 20th anniversary and step into 2025, we know these times may feel impossible. Through it all, know that Nexus is still here at your side, working alongside you to usher in a more just and liberated future.
Stay tuned for ways to join our 20th celebration by coming to one of our events, donating $20 for our next 20 years, or sharing a story about your experience with Nexus. We value all the ways people show up for us, and we can’t wait to connect with you!
It’s Native American Heritage Month! November and year-round, we affirm and celebrate the existence, rights, and sovereignty of Native nations in Mni Sóta Makọce, Turtle Island, and around the globe.
Native American Heritage Month (NAHM) celebrates the cultures, deep histories, and immeasurable contributions of Indigenous people. It honors their resilience in the face of genocide, land theft, and colonization. The Dakota, Ojibwe, Ho-Chunk, Oto Hidatsa, Arikara, A’aninin, Cree, Blackfeet, Assiniboine, and Sac & Fox Tribes all have ties to Mni Sóta Makọce (Minnesota) spanning over 10,000 years.
Today, 11 federally recognized Tribal Nations share their geography with Minnesota. We at Nexus Community Partners live and work on the ancestral and occupied territories of the Dakota and Anishinaabe people — past, present, and future. Acknowledgement is just the first step in disrupting the ongoing violence of colonization and genocide.
Looking for ways to honor NAHM? Check out these community events!
- Saint Paul Public Library’s Arts and Culture Bearers Series, in partnership with local Indigenous artists, uplifts the voices and stories of the Native American community in Saint Paul. See their upcoming events, plus recommendations for Indigenous books, movies and music.
- Seward Community Co-op and Indigenous Food Lab are offering free, virtual cooking and lecture workshops throughout November. Local members of Native-led organizations share their ancestral knowledge while exploring the nutritional and cultural significance of traditional recipes.
- All My Relations Arts, Emerging Curators Institute, and the Native American Community Development Institute have opened Niimiwin: All My Relations Arts Exhibition in Minneapolis. Inspired by dance and powwow, Niimiwin (Everyone’s Dance) is a multimedia showcase of contemporary Indigenous artists who work within the theme of kinetic movement and how it relates to the body, land, and community.
- Meet Minneapolis has created a directory of Indigenous businesses, art and events in the city.
- Hennepin County Library is hosting film screenings throughout the month, plus an artist talk with Ojibwe and Ottawa artist Gordon Coons!
What does it mean to build power, change systems, and create abundance? At the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and Minnesota Council on Foundations Joint Conference earlier this month, Nexus CEO Repa Mekha had a thought-provoking conversation with Nick Tilsen, CEO of NDN Collective. Guided by facilitator Leah Lemm from MPR, they explored how they build power in their communities while navigating philanthropy and its power dynamics.
Repa and Nick’s conversation laid bare the hard work ahead and revealed what is possible when philanthropy takes risks and trusts in the authority and expertise of community-centered organizations. It was an honor to participate!
Happy Latine Heritage Month! Also called Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 – Oct. 15 honors the achievements, histories, and diversity of folx who trace their ancestry to Mexico, countries in South and Central America, and Caribbean countries like Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
At Nexus, we relish our distinctive cultural practices, traditions and needs, offering year-round programming and funding by and for Latine and other BIPOC communities. We’re also dedicated to supporting Latine-centered offerings from our local partners — mark your calendar for these community celebrations!
- Sept. 21: Brazil Day 2024
- Oct. 3: CLUES Gala Latina
- Oct. 11: Brooklyn Park LatinoFest
- Oct. 9-13: Cine Latino Film Festival
- Oct. 19: Dia de Los Muertos Festival + Family Art Day
Are you passionate about Black economic justice? Are you involved in a Black-led collective, cooperative, or land trust? Apply to the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship! Together, we will learn and reclaim the history of Black cooperative economics over seven months through co-learning, storytelling, and skill-building. Cohort 8 applications are open through Sept. 8, 11:59 p.m. CT.
How It Works
The North Star curriculum grounds fellows in Black cooperative economic history locally and nationally, challenges them to analyze and rethink capitalism, and supports them in building their own cooperatives, leadership skills, and networks.
As a cohort, fellows explore and receive:
- Black feminist history: Grounding in the history of Black cooperative economics in the US + history of cooperation and Black feminisms
- A power and landscape analysis of Minnesota cooperative and financial institutions
- Cooperative skills and tools, like governance, decision-making structures, and conflict resolution
- Access to alumni funds post-fellowship
- Support in designing and creating a strategy for a cooperative economic project
- A $1,000 stipend for participating in the fellowship
Time Commitment
October 2024 – May 2025
- Saturdays, 10 am – 2 pm, one to two sessions per month
- Black Study Sessions, 5 – 7 p.m., two per cohort year
- Total time: Approximately 85-100 hours, including reflection, co-op work, and research outside of meetings
It is important that our program participants have not only the passion and willingness to join North Star, but also the time and capacity to fully participate. We understand that life can be a lot of things for us, including stressful, traumatic, and isolating. Our staff work hard to cultivate a sacred Black space for cohort members to participate as fully as they can.
Dear community,
We have officially entered the next phase of the Open Road Fund 2023. We have informed all 11,000 of our applicants of their decisions. Our team felt excitement and hope as we reached out to the 100 finalists who were randomly selected to receive $50,000 to invest in their Black wealth plans. We were also filled with sadness turning so many people down. All Black folks’ dreams for their abundant futures are worthy and deserving of resources.
From the beginning, we have been clear that this is not reparations. While this $50 million is an important step towards cultivating black wealth, it is not close to enough to repair all the harm done to the Black community over the last 400 years. When we do get reparations, it should be for all descendants of enslaved African people, not just 800 folks from Minnesota and the Dakotas.
How were finalists selected?
We used a random selection process to choose finalists because of our inherent belief that all the eligible Open Road Fund applicant’s’ dreams and plans for creating and sustaining Black wealth deserved an opportunity to be chosen. For example, one family’s plan to buy a home does not have more or less merit than another person’s plan to invest in a business or to pursue higher education.
We worked with software developers to design a randomization tool built for our grantmaking process. Using this tool, we randomly selected finalists—50% of finalists are from the Twin Cities metro area and 50% are from Greater Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Will finalists be publicly announced?
For those of you who were not chosen this year, we understand the grief and the skepticism you may be feeling right now. With only 100 people selected across 3 states, some of us may not yet know anyone who was selected. Out of respect and concern for finalists’ privacy, Nexus will not make finalists names public, although finalists are free to share if they wish.
What’s next?
Phase 2 of the Open Road Fund includes finalists submitting their Black wealth plans, and once approved, disbursement of funds. After finalists receive their awards, we plan to consensually share grantee stories and evaluate grantee experiences in partnership with Research in Action, a Black-led research and evaluation firm.
The Open Road Fund will be distributing funds for the next 7 years. We hope you will continue to follow the Open Road Fund and Nexus Community Partners—across our organization, we work to nurture the prosperity of our communities, including our health, joy, peace, love, safety, and the needs of future generations. We will continue to share Black wealth building opportunities hosted by Nexus and our partners.
In Solidarity,
The Open Road Fund Team
If you have not heard back about your Open Road Fund application, please email us at ORFsupport@nexuscp.org. If you have questions, please reference our FAQ page.
On Juneteenth, applications for the fund will be available to Black residents in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota
ST. PAUL, Minn. June 5, 2023 / PRNewswire / Nexus Community Partners, a leading organization creating pathways to equity for communities of color in the Twin Cities and beyond, announced the $50 million Open Road Fund, a wealth-building community resource for descendants of the Atlantic Slave Trade living in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Resourced by the Bush Foundation, eligible Black residents will have access to apply for the fund starting June 19th, also known as Juneteenth.
This $50 million resource is seen as one way to help the Black community cultivate wealth and prosperity.
Though not labeled as reparations because the Fund’s resources cannot correct all of the harm done to Black people over the last 400 years, this $50 million resource is seen as one way to help the Black community cultivate wealth and prosperity.
“Through this $50 million Open Road Fund, Nexus has a chance to provide a return on the investment Black folks have long made to this country and create Black wealth. To us, Black wealth-building is about creating spaces and opportunities that help all Black people to thrive,” said Repa Mekha, president and CEO of Nexus Community Partners. “When we have access to an abundance of resources, we can cultivate healing, safety, care and liberation on our own terms.”
There are no income caps or minimums and Black people, age 14 and up, especially formerly incarcerated people, single parents, senior citizens, those living with disabilities, LGBTQ+ are encouraged to apply.
Over the next eight years, the Fund will award $50,000 grants to at least 800 eligible applicants to be used for several wealth-building projects, including housing, education, financial well-being, healing and economic justice. Applicants will need to identify the area of focus that best suits their path to building Black wealth and will be judged by a diverse panel of community leaders across the Dakotas and Minnesota. Applicants can apply for the grants individually, but groups are encouraged to apply in hopes of building long-term Black wealth and increasing their community impact.
The opening of the application process will be celebrated with an invite-only Juneteenth event for those connected with Nexus, the creation of the Open Road Fund, community leaders and media.
Those eligible to apply should visit The Open Road Fund. The Open Road application closes July 28th.
About Nexus Community Partners
In who we are and through what we do, Nexus Community Partners builds engaged and powerful communities so that each and every person can flourish in a joyful and abundant life. We hold central that, for this to be possible, we must usher out the rigged rules, attitudes, and practices that concentrate wealth and power in ever fewer and ever whiter hands, and usher in ways of living, working, and making decisions together that nourish communities for this generation and generations to come.
Media Contact
Danielle Mkali
dmkali@nexuscp.org
Repa Mekha, President & CEO of Nexus Community Partners, sat down with Chanda Smith Baker, Chief Impact Officer and Senior Vice President of The Minneapolis Foundation, to share his journey and work in a powerful conversation. Their discussion recently aired again on KMOJ 89.9 FM.
If you missed it, you can listen to it now here!
This request for proposal (RFP) is to contract for legal retainership in which an attorney will act as legal counsel and advisor to Nexus Community Partners. Read the full RFP here. Proposals must be submitted no later than 5:00pm (CST) on Wednesday, March 31st.
Nexus Community Partners is a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is to build more engaged and powerful communities of color. Through our work, we work to create a world where each and every person can flourish in a joyful and abundant life. For this to be possible, we must usher out the rigged rules, attitudes, and practices that concentrate wealth and power in fewer and whiter hands, and usher in ways of living, working, and making decisions together that nourish communities for this generation and generations to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Are joint proposals acceptable?
- A: Yes, Nexus will accept and review joint proposals. If a joint proposal is selected, Nexus may wish to go into contract with only one entity.
- Q: Will you accept proposals from attorneys/firms that cannot start by May 1, 2023?
- A: Yes, Nexus will accept and review proposals from attorneys and firms with start dates later than May 1st, The start date will be considered during the evaluation of proposals.
- Q: Will proposals from firms located outside of Minnesota be accepted?
- A: Yes, Nexus will accept and review proposals from attorneys and firms located outside of Minnesota. Should Nexus need counsel licensed in the state of MN, Nexus would expect the selected attorney or firm to identify the appropriate local and licensed representation.
- Q: What is the current organizational budget? Specifically, are you able to share the budget that has been set aside for the legal retainership?
- A: Our 2023 budget is $12, 640,052 with over $6 million of that being regranted to local organizations and individual community members. Proposals in the range of $45,000 to $60,000 are preferred, although there may be some flexibility if the scope expands, or additional services are needed.
- Q: Understanding that this RFP is for a 4-year contract, our firm rates increase annually. Is it acceptable that our “price” section reflects the rate change?
- A: Yes. Submitted proposals should reflect your price structures.
- Q: Are we able to suggest additional legal services that may not be called out in the RFP, but based on our experience working with similar organizations, will ensure overall organizational effectiveness and protection?
- A: Yes. If you have recommendations on additional legal services, please include them in the proposal.
