Foundation News
The ongoing pandemic might have limited the 2021 Giving Project Program cohort from meeting in person, but it did not prevent them from setting fundraising and grantmaking records at Headwaters. The group of 16 volunteers made it possible for us to invest in 20 BIPOC-led organizations leading Minnesota to collective liberation. Each organization received a $15,000 general operating grant to support their work to build power and fight for justice. The…
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June 15, 2021 Through our Transformation Fund, and with leadership from a group of community volunteer grantmakers, Headwaters Foundation for Justice (HFJ) is deeply investing in 22 organizations or coalitions that are led by and for Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color. The group of grantees are on the front lines of organizing for systems change across Minnesota. Each $75,000 grant gives $25,000 of general operating support per year for three years—an HFJ first. “This is our mission in…
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April 20, 2021Dear Community, Earlier today in Minneapolis, a group of jurors announced their verdict in the Chauvin trial. Throughout the trial, and still going on into the night, armed National Guard troops and local law enforcement are coordinated under Operation Safety Net, occupying our neighborhoods where the community should be free to grieve, mourn, and be together. Here is what Headwaters knows and…
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Earlier this month, we welcomed Duaba Unenra, Ewan Scotto, and Elizabeth Zalanga to our team. Ewan Scotto is our new Communications Associate. They are a Giving Project Program alum who has spent the last three years co-leading communications strategies with grantee partner Reclaim the Block. They most recently worked as a patient advocate at Annex Teen Clinic. They use digital organizing tools that mobilize supporters to…
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March 3, 2021Dear Community, We are about to witness the murder trial of the former police officer who is charged in George Floyd’s death. When the trial starts next Monday, we want everyone—especially the Floyd family and our South Minneapolis community—to know that Headwaters is here with you in our ongoing movement for justice and…
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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,…
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On 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…
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Headwaters 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…
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June 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…
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Good 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…
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