Northwest Minnesota Foundation seeks applicants for Racial Equity Accountability Grants
Apr. 1—BEMIDJI — The Northwest Minnesota Foundation
is seeking funding proposals for efforts aimed at improving the outcomes for individuals who have experienced homelessness.
The Racial Equity Accountability Grants support a Northwest Continuum of Care project aimed at identifying, dismantling and de-colonizing instances of racism within the regional homeless response system, a release said.
"The Racial Equity Accountability Project is focused on improving the region's current system of coordinated entry, which is the primary way individuals access supportive housing services in the Northwest service area," added the release.
Examples of funding potentials include:
* Initiatives to increase cultural competencies, including costs associated with providing and organizing training and professional development for staff working with those experiencing homelessness.
* Initiatives to develop stronger relations between those living through homelessness and supportive housing staff. This can be accomplished through culturally relevant events and opportunities for the community to express their cultural identity, such as sweat lodges, traditional ceremonies, drum circles, talking circles, community meals, support groups or other events related to specific cultural and racial identities.
* Initiatives to increase stabilization, which could include providing job training and acquisition opportunities for individuals leaving homelessness.
Eligible applicants are nonprofits, public agencies and tribal organizations located within the Northwest Minnesota Foundation service area that includes the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Red Lake and White Earth Nations along with Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake Falls and Roseau Counties.
The maximum grant award is $7,500, with average funding expected to be between $2,000 and $7,500. The total funding available is $30,000.
The deadline to apply for these grants is Tuesday, April 30.
To learn more about this round of funding and apply, visit the Grants page on the NMF website,
