Community Solutions for Healthy Child Development
Grantee Projects
| Grantee | About | Geographic Area Served |
|---|---|---|
| All Nations Rise | Based on decades of expertise and leadership in tribal early childhood development and program development, All Nations Rise (ANR) was established by Indigenous Visioning, LLC (IV) in 2021 to fill a gap in the current landscape. As an Indigenous women-led nonprofit, All Nations Rise is committed to improving the well-being of children and families through multi-generational support. ANR focuses on a cultural approach in its key initiatives, including First Children's First Nations, MN Indigenous Family, Friend & Neighbor Network, Indigenous Parent Leadership Initiative, and Indigenous Children's Leadership Initiative, aiming for meaningful and lasting impact. Collaborating with tribal, state, federal, and philanthropic partners, All Nations Rise advocates for tribal sovereignty through policy advocacy, system enhancements, family empowerment, and the promotion of tribal economic development. | Tribal Communities in the State of Minnesota |
| Children’s Dental Services (CDS) | Since 1919, CDS is dedicated to improving the oral health of children from families with low incomes by providing accessible treatment and education to our diverse community. Over 104 years CDS has weathered major recessions, political and social change, emerging a national leader and major provider for low-income people in Minnesota. CDS pioneered and continues five major programs: 1) Advancing health equity in dentistry via culturally focused care, tailoring services and hiring diverse staff to meet cultural, socio-economic, language, and other needs, 2) CDS is the first dental program in the nation to bring on-site care in Head Starts, delivering services where kids naturally congregate, 3) CDS embraces innovation and new technology that improve efficacy and reach, 4) CDS specializes in providing care via a “hub and spoke” portable delivery model to eliminate transportation barriers, and 5) CDS develops and advances workforce solutions to improve dental access. | Statewide |
| Cultivating Family Services, LLC | Cultivating Family Services, LLC, provides community-based, culturally responsive prevention and early prevention mental health services to strengthen the children, youth and family. Further, to integrate a comprehensive system of care to ensure those children, youth and families with significant emotional, behavioral and mental health needs obtain individualized services to support and maintain success in home, school and the community. Moreover, to provide individualized trauma-informed prevention and early intervention services that cultivate strong foundations for the future. Cultivating Family Services, LLC, goals are to enhance the delivery of child and family-centered mental health services. Further, to strengthen the relationship between families and communities by building a solid foundation and partnership through collaborative long-term opportunities through Family and Child Therapy; and, Parent-Child Relationship Training Program. | Twin Cities Metro Area |
| Division of Indian Work | Since 1952 DIW has provided services free-of-charge to American Indians in the Twin Cities metro area. Today, we serve 7,000+ people of all ages annually. Mission. To support and strengthen urban American Indian people through culturally based education, traditional healing approaches, and leadership development. Our core work revolves around equity for our people and considers the education, cultural supports, information, and tools they need to build on their inherent strengths and create safe, healthy, and nurturing environments. DIW program participants represent a multitude of tribes in which many cultural aspects and traditional activities are similar, but staff also work to incorporate specific traditional distinctions so that each person feels represented and heard. Programs. DIW provides services through four program areas: Health Services, Strengthening Family Circles, Youth Leadership Development, and Healing Spirit. | Twin Cities Metro Area |
| Fond du Lac Tribal College | Since 2009, Fond du Lac Tribal College has provided language immersion education to more than 225 adults from every Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota. In 2019, we began Grandma's House, a language nest for local families with children prenatal to 5 years. Our facilities include a farmhouse, classroom, greenhouse, and garden on 12 acres of woods and water. The language nest brings together elder-first speakers, language staff, immersion childcare trainees, and preschool children with a parent who is required to attend until the child is age 3. Currently, we enroll 15 families with 16 children. The goal of Grandma’s House is to raise a new generation of first-language speakers and cultural practitioners to sustain their Ojibwe heritage for future generations through a family-centered approach. By revitalizing our language and culture, we are building strong and resilient identities to offset historical traumas inflicted by attempts to eradicate our heritage. Our program also assists families to reclaim their language and cultural identity where we work with the tribal clinic and other programs serving pregnant women and families with young children. | Central and NE MN |
| Friendship Community Services | Friendship Community Services, Inc. (FCS), is a non-profit service organization committed to strengthening families and communities through education. It was established in March 2000 by members of Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. With a focus on expanding educational availability to families, FCS became the launching pad for Friendship Academy of the Arts Charter School, whose mission is to educate children to be confident, creative, and competent citizens. The primary mission of FCS is centered around the family unit focusing on and implementing comprehensive activities that would positively impact the family structure. Friendship Community Services mission is to promote the development of healthy family life through education. FCS recognizes that education is a powerful tool in the augmentation of a healthy and successful family structure. We strive to create a variety of activities addressing specific needs related to education, employment, and family stability. | Twin Cities Metro |
| Hmong Early Childhood Coalition | Hmong Early Childhood Coalition’s (HECC) mission is to partner with families and communities to ensure children have access to culturally appropriate early learning services through training, resources and advocacy. The Coalition is a community-based organization dedicated to sharing research and best practices on early learning and education. HECC advocates for policy and systems change to benefit Hmong children and bridge the gap between Hmong families and community services. HECC’s work has expanded from a biennial summit to include training, community conversations, curriculum development, and family engagement opportunities. | Twin Cities Metro |
| Korean Adoptees Ministry Center | Korean Adoptees Ministry Center (KAM Center), founded in 2000, is a non-profit organization providing vital services to Korean adoptees in Minnesota, recognized as the Korean Adoptee Homeland. Over the years, 15,000 to 20,000 Korean children have found homes in MN families. International adoption brings profound issues such as identity, belonging, trust, racial dynamics, trauma, neglect, and grief. To respond these issues, KAM Center provides cultural education and connection, mental health related services, trip to Korea, educational workshops, crisis intervention services, and sensitivity trainings for teachers, faith groups and gate keepers. | Seven Metro Area Counties |
| Legacy Family Center | Legacy Family Center provides West African refugee and immigrant families with holistic, culturally appropriate support services focused on education, workforce development, wellness building, and being a social services connector to minimize the barriers to self-sufficiency and enable all family members to thrive in their homes and communities. | Twin Cities Metro |
| Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming | Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming is dedicated to addressing maternal-infant health disparities among Native American community members in Northwest Minnesota. Rooted in the vision of mino-bimaadiziwin, or living well, our mission is to empower American Indian families, advancing racial, social, and economic justice. Focused on holistic and integrated health pathways, our organization recognizes the impact of colonization and a for-profit healthcare model on rural American Indian families, striving to provide culturally appropriate care and support. | Northwest MN |
| Montessori American Indian Childcare Center | The Montessori American Indian Childcare (MAICC) has been in operation since 2014 and offers access to a high-quality early learning opportunity for children in the Native American community. MAICC is the only American Indian-directed preschool for Native children in St. Paul that offers a community-powered solution to address the academic achievement gap of American Indian children. Mission: to address the early childhood needs and the academic achievement gap of American Indian children through revitalizing language and culture. Vision: to be the premier early childhood educational model for children in the American Indian community. Major programming focuses on early education for children ages 3-6; a Prenatal to Three Program, a Parent Nest to involve parents in the early education of their children; Family Stabilization Fund to help families meet basic needs; and an Economic Mobility Hub to increase and sustain economic stability for American Indian families. | Twin Cities Metro |
| Morning Glory Montessori | Morning Glory Montessori (MGM) is a community-birthed, all-boys, culturally rooted Montessori school. MGM is the first school of its kind - locally and nationally - to provide a holistic curricular confluence of faith, African-American culture and history, and high-fidelity Montessori pedagogy. MGM’s mission is to be a safe, nurturing refuge that affirms, inspires, and empowers little boys to become who God created them to be, which supports them to grow into successful, compassionate, joy-filled men, thus dismantling the cradle-to-prison pipeline. For the past six years, MGM has intentionally focused on community-based programming, such as an awareness and empowerment campaign to expose African-American families to Montessori as an educational option, and organizational start-up efforts for sustainable impact. Opening fall 2024, MGM will serve boys 3-6 years old and later expand to serve toddlers - 3rd grade, including girls. | Twin Cities Metro |
| Multicultural Autism Action Network | The Multicultural Autism Action Network is a non-profit organization formed by parents of children with disabilities from the Somali and African American communities in 2017. It was created for the purpose of helping families from diverse communities navigate supports and services for their children with disabilities. MAAN is dedicated to transforming and empowering multicultural communities by providing effective support and education for autistic individuals and their families. We do this through providing services in three categories: 1) we offer family facing services, including training, support groups, and 1:1 support to help families navigate disability systems. 2) we offer provider-facing services to train professionals on the unique barriers faced by people with disabilities and their families in multicultural communities. 3) we work on advocacy to remove barriers and improve outcomes for children with disabilities in multicultural communities. | Statewide |
| Network for the Development of Children of African Descent | Network for the Development of Children of African Descent (NdCAD) is a culturally-specific family education center, established in 1997. We serve children and families throughout the Twin Cities. Our programs include reading interventions for children, parent education, community engagement and training programs for educator/service providers to advance systems change. Our goal is to positively impact the cultural, spiritual and academic success of our children. Our approach is holistic and multi-generational, meaning we work with the whole child, family and community. Our mission: We exist to strengthen the cultural connections within communities of African descent that promote, sustain and enhance the healthy development of our children. Our work addresses health disparities, specifically in the areas of education and employment. Our programs have been proven to improve education, employment and family stabilization outcomes, among African descent children and families. | Twin Cities Metro |
| NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, Inc. | NorthPoint was created by the community, for the community in 1968 in the wake of civil unrest over racial injustice across the nation. Originally called Pilot City, NorthPoint was one of 13 Neighborhood Service Programs (NSPs) established across the U.S., primarily in communities of color. NorthPoint provides access to medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, optometry, human services, and a community food shelf. Integrated programming connects all guests to programs and services to address the causal factors of their presenting needs to achieve long-term health and stability. Our mission “partnering to create a healthier community” advances our vision to set a standard of excellence in providing culturally responsive, integrated, holistic primary health and social services that strengthens our community and the lives of the people we serve, and to be leaders and partners in a shared vision of a healthy, environmentally safe, and economically stable, self-reliant community. | Twin Cities Metro |
| Parents In Community Action, Inc. | Founded by Head Start parents in 1969, Parents In Community Action (PICA) is a private, nonprofit agency operating Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Hennepin County for a racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse population of over 2,000 young children and their families living in poverty, including homeless families living in area shelters. We also offer workforce development programs for Head Start parents to assist them in achieving economic self-sufficiency. PICA’s mission: To provide comprehensive early childhood and family development services that empower children and families to reach their full potential; support parents and their communities in defining their needs and programs; promote community change those values children and their families; and develop partnerships with parents and the public, private and corporate sectors to assist in achieving our goal of healthy, happy, productive children and families. | Twin Cites Metro Area |
| La Red Latina de Educacion | La Red Latina de Educacion Temprana (The Latino Early Childcare Provider Network) is a community-created model to address health and social inequities that benefit children an early age and members of the Latino community living in Richfield, Bloomington and across Minnesota. History: Established in 2013, La Red focuses on organizing, capacity building and providing resources to Latina Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFNs) childcare provider. La Red trains FFN childcare providers Knowing that children’s early experiences are deeply connected to their physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. Mission: provide tools, capacity, and leadership development for FFNs to deliver high quality childcare and support the wellbeing of their community. Vision: La Red will enable FFNs to provide quality childcare and transform the support for and narrative around FFNs. Major Programming: 1. Provider trainings; 2. internal referral system for affordable, quality and culturally appropriate childcare options; 3. Build in-community assets such as childcare providers, facilitators, advocates and trainers; 4. advocacy for policy, systems and environmental changes; 5. Build the credibility and visibility of our model. | Southwest Minnesota and Twin Cities Metropolitan Area |
| Owner Roots Community Birth Center | Roots Community Birth Center will continue to serve as an organizing and convening hub around culturally congruent community care as started in the first round of the Community Solutions Fund.The focus will be on the perinatal episode and the first 3 years of the child’s life. Roots currently serves the North Minneapolis and Twin Cities Metropolitan area providing culturally congruent prenatal care and community birth. Roots has a less than 1% preterm birth rate for US born African American birthing families. Roots has built relationships with community clinics and during the pandemic developed the capacity to provide wrap around care to the family unit. We hope to continue this model and strengthen the ability of Roots to provide this unique model of care | Twin Cities Metro |
| STIM Learning Center | The STIM Learning Center is a Rule 3 Licensed early childhood educational center servicing ages 6 weeks -12 years of age that was founded in 2007 by Pastor Bettye Howell of Shiloh Temple International Ministries (STIM). Our mission is Building Strong Foundations in Children and Families. The STIM Learning Center, which is located at 1201 W. Broadway, started as a family child care that provided daycare to teen mothers who were students at MNIC high school but quickly expanded. Our vision is to promote healthy development of the child by supporting the family system. Therefore, we provide transportation, food, clothing, assessment social-emotional/autism services, parent support groups, employment, and housing referrals. Our 'wrap-around' philosophy resulted in increase in enrollment. We began with a capacity of 10 and currently are licensed for 148 students that consists of 92% African American and 8% Hispanic. We are also currently working on becoming Parent Aware rated. | Twin Cities Metro |
| Sunny_Side Day Center | Sunny-Side Day Center, based in Moorhead, MN, actively addresses social determinants of health to promote healthy child development and family well-being for American Indian children and children of color. Focusing on disparities in healthcare, such as black maternal health, obesity among African American and Hispanic children, and the underrepresentation of medical professionals of color, the organization advocates for immigrants, refugees, and US-born minorities. Their current work emphasizes behavioral health for adults, witnessing firsthand the disproportionate discrimination across many sectors. The proposed monthly workshops aim to tackle various issues, including nutrition, assistance with government programs, educational connections, community safety, and safe housing. Recognizing the high mortality rate for black pregnant mothers, Sunny-Side Day Center plans to provide essential support through home visits, advocacy, and connections to programs like WIC, with a particular emphasis on early child development and services for children with special needs. The organization aims to bridge gaps, foster collaboration, and offer the necessary advocacy for parents of color in accessing culturally relevant services. | Northwest MN |
| WE WIN Institute | WE WIN Institute is dedicated to the academic and social success of all children, with a special focus on Black children from economically poor neighborhoods who are underachieving in school and face negative influences in their communities. WE WIN was founded in 1996 by Titilayo Bediako, a Minneapolis Public School teacher, who saw a system that was failing Black children and decided to act. To date, WE WIN has served more than 6,000 children. We use a culturally relevant approach to education and social development. Our programs recognize that the academic and social problems of Black students are connected. Critical to this approach is the establishment of relationships and trust, which build upon the cultural traditions and connections within the Black community. During our 27 year history, WE WIN has continued to evolve to best meet the needs of our youth and their families by addressing institutional barriers to success. | Twin Cities Metro |
Last Updated: 11/25/2024