Nonprofits to Know

Nonprofits to Know is a video series produced by Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, highlighting Minnesota nonprofits doing important work in our communities. Featured organizations in the series are selected from those nonprofits that receive grants from The Saint Paul Foundation, F.R. Bigelow Foundation or Mardag Foundation, all of which are affiliates of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners (www.mnpartners.org). The videos feature interviews with organization leaders and people they have helped, and can be viewed online at www.mnpartners.org/nonprofits_to_know. Below is a list of all the currently featured nonprofits, together with a brief description of their mission and links to their websites, where you can find information (where applicable) on how to give and get involved.

AccountAbility Minnesota helps Minnesotans move out of poverty by providing pathways to increase income, build assets and become financially secure. Some of the services AccountAbility Minnesota offers: Providing free tax assistance each year to thousands of low-income working taxpayers and sole-proprietors in the Twin Cities, and helping them to maximize the tax credit refunds they are due to significantly boost their incomes; partnering with financial institutions and community organizations to expand access to financial products and services that encourage low- and moderate-income taxpayers to use their cash credits to build assets and improve their long-term financial security; providing technical assistance to other organizations throughout Minnesota, training them to provide these vital services.

AchieveMpls

As the nonprofit partner of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), AchieveMpls mobilizes a wide web of community resources to help ensure that every MPS student is career and college ready. It directs the STEP-UP Achieve youth employment program with the City of Minneapolis, manages Career & College Centers in all MPS high schools, secures corporate and foundation support for MPS, and engages community members as volunteers, employers, partners, funders and advocates for student success and strong public schools.

A Child's Delight is a nonprofit child care facility in Faribault, Minn., that offers a theme-based curriculum based on the needs and interests of children. The staff provides sensory, concrete and hands-on learning activities to address the development of the whole child, including physical, intellectual, social, emotional and moral development. This will enable the children to solve problems, think creatively, continue learning and develop maximum potential for leading productive, fulfilling lives in a complex and changing society.

Ampersand Families is a Twin Cities nonprofit that recruits and supports permanent families for older youth, and champions practices in adoption and permanency that restore belonging, dignity and hope.

Apple Tree Dental

Beyond Walls

Beyond Walls provides academic, physical and personal development for at-risk inner city youth in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Students begin in sixth grade and continue through high school, attending three program days each week consisting of 90 minutes of squash and physical training and 90 minutes of academic work. Students achieve personal development goals, become more fit and graduate ready for college. For many families, this will be their first college student.

CAIR-MN

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Minnesota (CAIR-MN) is a nonprofit, civil rights advocacy organization that strives to protect all Minnesota Muslims from discrimination. CAIR enhances the understanding of Islam, encourages dialogue, protects civil liberties, empowers American Muslims and builds coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Camphor Fiscally Fit Center

The Camphor Fiscally Fit program provides financial empowerment, credit literacy and home buyer training, including accountability and responsibility, budgeting to create savings and savings accounts. Over a seven-month period, participants notice debt behavior changes and improve their household financial position.

Center for Victims of Torture

The Center for Victims of Torture is an international nonprofit dedicated to healing survivors of torture and violent conflict. CVT provides direct care for those who have been tortured, trains partners around the world who can prevent and treat torture, and advocates for human rights and an end to torture.

College of St. Scholastica

The College of St. Scholastica is an independent private, nonprofit college based in Duluth, Minn., with campuses across the state.

Ecumen is a nonprofit that provides senior housing and services, empowering individuals to live richer, fuller lives. Ecumen is dedicated to creating home for older adults, wherever they choose to live, and envisions a world in which aging is viewed and understood in radically different ways than in the past.

The Highland Friendship Club gives teens and young adults with disabilities the chance to connect with friends — with and without disabilities — and create a typical social life. This 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization started in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul and many of the activities take place in Highland Park, but members come from all over the Twin Cities to participate in events that interest them.

Hnub Tshiab mobilizes Hmong women and girls to actively engage and participate in their families and communities to elevate the status of Hmong women and to shape their own lives.

jeremiahprogram.org

Jeremiah Program is a nonprofit that provides transitional housing and support services to single mothers and their children in the Twin Cities. Jeremiah Program is nationally recognized for its approach that transforms families from poverty to prosperity two generations at a time.

The Minnesota Project is a nonprofit organization that connects people with policy to nurture collaborations that build strong local economies. Farmers' Legal Action Group is a nonprofit law center dedicated to providing legal services to family farmers and their rural communities in order to help keep family farmers on the land.

more-empowerment.org

MORE is a multicultural community-based organization empowering people of many races, cultures and ethnic backgrounds to live and work in peace. The St. Paul-based organization helped almost 600 immigrants and refugees find a place for themselves in our community through meeting basic needs, providing formal education and advocacy and mental health services last year.

saintpaulfoundation.org

Numbers Work! is designed for children at high risk for academic failure. Studies show that a student's math skills upon entering kindergarten are a strong indicator of future school success. Numbers Work! takes a proactive approach to closing the state's achievement gap by preparing preschoolers for math education in grade school and beyond. This program of The Saint Paul Foundation creates math-rich classrooms in partnership with Head Start programs, community child-care centers, charter schools and public schools.

page-ed.org

Page Education Foundation grants financial assistance to postsecondary students. In return, these students actively foster positive attitudes toward literacy and learning among younger, school-age children of color through mentoring relationships.

Peta Wakan is a nonprofit that promotes the social, economic, physical and cultural health of American Indian people through programs like Dream of Wild Health, a 10-acre organic farm in Hugo, Minnesota. Surrounded by plants and medicines grown from the seeds of our ancestors, they teach the old ways of growing food and living healthy lives.

Project for Pride in Living

Project for Pride in Living (PPL) is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that works with lower-income individuals and families to achieve greater self-sufficiency through housing, employment training, support services and education.

Project 515 Education Campaign takes its name from the 515 Minnesota laws that discriminate against same-sex couples. The nonprofit is committed to teaching Minnesotans about the inequalities that arise from those laws and the real-life consequences for same-sex couples and their families.

Public Art St. Paul engages artists in shaping the form and experience of Minnesota's capital city. Through advocacy and support, artists collaborate in the planning and design of public places and structures, create works of art for public places, develop temporary installations and produce public art events.

Rebuilding Together is a Twin Cities nonprofit that brings volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and lives of low-income homeowners. The organization provides critical home repairs for homeowners in need, particularly older adults, individuals living with disabilities, families with children and active and retired members of the armed services to ensure these homeowners live independently in safe and healthy homes.

Refuge Network

therefugenetwork.org

St. Paul Public Schools Foundation Tutoring Partnership Program

sppsfoundation.org

The St. Paul Public Schools Foundation Tutoring Partnership Program works with more than 6,500 children to increase their proficiency in math and reading. The Tutoring Partnership is a collaborative of more than 20 community and school-based tutoring programs.

tudance.org

TU Dance is a nonprofit dance organization that reveals the connective power of dance and celebrate diversity on stage. The Minnesota-based company draws on a broad range of dance traditions, from contemporary ballet to modern and traditional forms.

Ujamaa Place assists young African-American men who are economically disadvantaged and have experienced repeated cycles of failure. This Saint Paul-based nonprofit offers these men success in their lives through education and skills training specifically aimed at turning their lives around to become productive members of their families and communities.

Walker West Music Academy provides musical training that is affordable and accessible to the Summit-University neighborhood of Saint Paul. This 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is dedicated to instruction and performance reflective of African-American traditions, including jazz, blues and contemporary.