Foundation News
October 2020 Beloved Community, The summer was full of pandemic, physical distancing, mutual aid, and righteous anger. Through it all, HFJ grantee partners continued to care for community, fight for liberation, and call out for justice across Minnesota. Sometimes with grace, sometimes with fury. Always with hope. With fall settling in, many of us are in back to school mode. We know it’s both familiar and different this year. As these routines become another new normal for now, everyone at Headwaters sends care to families, teachers, school staff,…
Read MoreOn Sunday, May 31st, Headwaters responded to the murder of George Floyd by setting up The Transformation Fund. We wanted to move money quickly to frontline organizations as they kept fighting against an ongoing culture of institutional violence and white supremacy. We also wanted to support the long-term movement work for real change required for…
Read MoreHeadwaters recently awarded Community Innovation grants, totaling $303,500, to 21 organizations. An ongoing partnership with Saint Paul-based Bush Foundation made the grants possible. The investments will help grantee partners and their communities find more effective, equitable, and sustainable solutions to challenges and opportunities. Program Director Melissa Rudnick said, “Communities across Minnesota need time, space, and…
Read MoreJune 30, 2020Headwaters Foundation for Justice (HFJ) gave 14 Minnesota-based grassroots organizations Giving Project grants. A 19-member Giving Project Program volunteer cohort made the general operating investments possible. The cohort started meeting at the Headwaters office starting in January 2020. Given concerns about the coronavirus, they moved to online meetings —a major program shift. They…
Read MoreGood afternoon Community, I hope you’re finding new ways to stay connected while being physically distant. Lately, I’ve been enjoying long walks with my wife and dinnertime with our kids—things I’ve always enjoyed, but appreciate more deeply now as I do my best to cope. Headwaters is still grantmaking through our Communities First Fund. I’m…
Read MoreMarch 18th, 2020 Community, We’re here and we’re with you. This is the way we’ve always gotten through, and is how we’ll keep getting through the next days, weeks, and months. Like you, Headwaters can see how this current moment is much more than a public health crisis. The coronavirus is magnifying how systems and…
Read MoreApril 17th, 2020 Good afternoon Community, It was clear to me from the start that the coronavirus pandemic would change daily life for all Minnesotans—both in the short- and long-term. I also knew that systemic racism would make these changes feel heavier in communities where Black People, Indigenous People, and people of color (BIPOC) lived,…
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