Dear Community,
The second part of the 2026 Open Road Fund is underway! We received nearly 6,000 applications from Black people in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota this year, and we have informed all applicants of their selection outcome. Reaching out to the 100 finalists selected to receive $50,000 for their wealth-building plans is always the highlight of our year!
- By the end of 2026, the Open Road Fund will have distributed $50,000 gifts to 400 awardees. That’s $20 million and counting to help repair the harms of slavery, redlining, economic exploitation, and anti-Black violence in our region.
How were finalists selected?
After a rigorous review process, which helped us screen out ineligible and duplicate applications to ensure fairness, we randomly selected our 2026 finalists. About 60% of applicants are from the Twin Cities Metro and 40% are from Greater Minesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. This reflects the distribution of our population throughout the region.
We use a computerized random-selection process to choose finalists because of our inherent belief that all eligible applicants’ dreams and plans for creating and sustaining Black wealth deserve an opportunity to be chosen. 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.
Will finalists be publicly announced?
For those who were not chosen this year, we understand the grief and skepticism you may be feeling right now. With only 100 people selected across three states, some of us may not yet know anyone who was selected. Out of respect and concern for finalists’ privacy, Nexus does not make recipients’ 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 wealth-building plans and letters of support, and once approved, disbursement of funds. Awardees also have access to free financial coaching to support their planning process, and are grouped together in cohorts where they can provide peer support to one another based on their wealth-building project interests. With permission from awardees, we will share more about their stories and what we learn from their experiences in partnership with Research in Action, a Black-led research and evaluation firm.
Please stay tuned for more Open Road Fund announcements, opportunities, and our next application cycle!
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.