Front Porch Investments’ Post

We’re pleased to share a new impact report for the East Metro Main Street Economic Revitalization Program, which supported 42 Saint Paul nonprofits and businesses that faced immense challenges the past four years due to the pandemic, civil unrest and other obstacles. With support from Mardag Foundation and other funding partners, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development granted $3.7 million to nonprofits and $3.3 million to businesses in the Snelling-University-Rice Cultural District, the East Side community and along West Seventh Street in Saint Paul. 100% of the funded projects serve communities that have been historically under- and dis-invested by traditional funding, and 85% of the projects are owned or led by people of color. We’re proud to have been a partner in this program and support the vitality of East Metro communities. Read more about the projects and their impact → https://hubs.ly/Q02x4CsJ0 #EastMetroMainStreet #SaintPaul #CommunityDevelopment #StPaulMN

Some important nuance for this conversation based on recently-released data from Minnesota Council on Foundations: When it comes to in-state investments, Minnesota foundations are woefully under-investing outside the Metro. Of the 3 foundation types in the report (community, private, and corporate), only community foundations are investing in Greater Minnesota proportionally to population. If my math is right ( 🤞 ), 17% of private foundations' in-state investments went to Greater MN, and only 9% of corporate giving did so.

We’re pleased to share a new impact report for the East Metro Main Street Economic Revitalization Program, which supported 42 Saint Paul nonprofits and businesses that faced immense challenges the past four years due to the pandemic, civil unrest and other obstacles. With support from F. R. Bigelow Foundation and other funding partners, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development granted $3.7 million to nonprofits and $3.3 million to businesses in the Snelling-University-Rice Cultural District, the East Side community and along West Seventh Street in Saint Paul. 100% of the funded projects serve communities that have been historically under- and dis-invested by traditional funding, and 85% of the projects are owned or led by people of color. We’re proud to have been a partner in this program and support the vitality of East Metro communities. Read more about the projects and their impact → https://hubs.ly/Q02x4vmn0 #EastMetroMainStreet #SaintPaul #CommunityDevelopment #StPaulMN

Louis Wolfson, III, co-founding partner of Pinnacle, was recently featured by Miami Today Newspaper in the "The Achiever" section. In the article, Louis discusses his work of blending affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing with artistic design, as well as the Wolfson Family's philanthropy, which has donated over $200 million to initiatives in and around Miami over a century. “For the whole family, art, education, and most importantly passing it on to the next generations is a legacy,” Louis told Miami Today. “We don’t want to lose it, we’re going to continue it, and that thinking separates us from most others. Most people are short-term thinkers. We’re trying to think in 50-year periods, Pinnacle included.” In conversation with reporter Monica Correa, he explored his holistic and forward-thinking approach linking real estate, innovation and lasting social change fueled by philanthropy. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ghWYswa7 #affordablehousing #privatepublicpartnership #realestate #CREnews #community #development #realestate #workforcehousing #neighbors #houising #southflorida #miamidade #broward #palmbeach #orlando #tampa #housingnews #affordablehousingnews #workforcehousingnews #news #floridarealestate #marketratehousing #apartmentliving

In this edition of #MicDrop, Elizabeth Wampler makes powerful points on the role of #philanthropy in the housing preservation ecosystem "Philanthropic resources are well-suited to invest in new models, pilots, and the replication of pilots at different scales, with different partners across geographies. Building a deeper tolerance for risk also comes with a tolerance for projects that are challenging, even messy, where it can take time and mistakes and learning to get it right. We need a strong housing preservation ecosystem as part of our larger toolbox in responding to the housing crisis, and we have the building blocks here in the Bay Area – with our thoughtful philanthropic partners and innovative organizations on the ground. " 📖 https://lnkd.in/ghzz3i4P

As president & CEO of Aeon, Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson sees the challenges that nonprofits are facing. Now, it's a perfect storm of financial, economic and logistical challenges. How can nonprofits weather this and fulfill their mission?

"One critical change…is a shift in mindset away from a focus on specific projects toward a relationship-based focus." READ: How Community-Based Public Space Can Build Civic Trust in Nonprofit Quarterly. Dana Bourland, AICP of THE JPB FOUNDATION shares the story of Akron Civic Commons and the impact of active co-creation of shared public spaces. #trust #akron #publicspace #equity #economy #civicinfrastructure #impact #connection #cocreation #relationships #systemschange #CivicCommonsUS https://lnkd.in/ebW2JPcW

This is a great piece highlighting cross-sector partnerships. I am particularly interested in how we “seed stronger awareness of the community development and healthcare sectors as go-to partners for impacting health.” There is such an opportunity to “work together to take their collective work farther upstream.” #socialdeterminantsofhealth