With nearly $100,000 invested through our Community Impact Grant, we’re partnering with a diverse group of organizations and initiatives committed to improving quality of life across Minnesota. From youth programs and food security efforts to stabilization and emergency supports, each partner was chosen for their clear vision, measurable impact, and deep community roots. We’re honored to support their work and excited to share the difference they’ll make together.
A Place for Hope: Recovery and Wellness Center & Food Shelf
$5,000 | Moorhead
Open Your Heart funding helps cover the freight and handling charges that limit A Place for Hope’s ability to purchase food for its shelf, which serves more than 1,100 households each month facing inadequate income and SNAP shortages. This support covers the essential costs of transporting food from regional banks to their local shelf—expenses that often act as a barrier to stocking the nutritious items their community relies on. By alleviating these logistical costs, the funding strengthens A Place for Hope’s capacity to meet growing demand.
$ 5,760 | Grand Rapids
Open Your Heart funding provides emergency housing placements, including short‑term hotel stays, for victims of domestic violence fleeing unsafe situations in a rural area with limited shelter options. The grant supports safe, confidential temporary housing while advocates respond 24/7 to stabilize survivors, develop safety and housing plans, increase safety, reduce risk of further harm, and strengthen access to stability.
$5,000 | Aitkin
Open Your Heart funding supports Aitkin Youth Center’s expansion of its storage and outreach capacity. The grant provides five rolling metal shelving units, baskets, and totes to organize personal care items, bedding, and winter clothing for minors. It also supplies 20 gas cards for families experiencing homelessness, along with journals, art supplies, and blankets for the rural after‑school program and resource hub.
Austin Salvation Army Food Program
$4,065 | Austin
Open Your Heart funding purchases a new freezer to help meet the increased need for food following recent immigration enforcement and rising food costs. The commercial appliance also supports the launch of their Mobile Food Pantry. This grant strengthens the quality of services provided to nearly 25,000 individuals seeking food assistance in southern Minnesota.
Basic Needs Inc of South Washington County
$5,887 | St. Paul Park
Open Your Heart funding replaces a failing commercial refrigerator vital to Basic Needs Inc.’s daily food distribution. Basic Needs provides barrier‑free access to food, household essentials, and coordinated services for nearly 200,000 individuals each year. A new refrigerator ensures safe cold storage and supports cost‑effective food purchasing, helping maintain an inventory of fresh, healthy options for the community.
Black Butterfly Women Services
$7,000 | Crystal
Open Your Heart funding supports Butterfly Women Services in providing short‑term housing and food assistance for women experiencing housing instability after incarceration. The grant covers rent, food support, and other basic needs. This funding helps stabilize participants during a critical point of reentry, reducing the immediate risk of homelessness and allowing them to focus on recovery and long‑term stability.
Centenary United Methodist Church, Mankato
$5,117 | Mankato
Open Your Heart funding provides a freezer for Centenary United Methodist Church to serve as a distribution site for ready‑made meals prepared by South Central MN Food Recovery, increasing food access for neighbors facing transportation barriers. The grant also repairs shower facilities at Holy Grounds, an onsite meal program for individuals experiencing homelessness. These improvements strengthen support for community members struggling with food and shelter, affirming the dignity and worth of every person.
$2,500 | St. Cloud
Open Your Heart funding supports the purchase of sturdy shelving units, food storage bins, and basic shelving racks for Community Angels Inc. The organization’s community pantry provides barrier‑free access to dry goods, hygiene products, clothing, and other essentials for individuals and families who have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault as they transition from shelter into permanent housing. This investment strengthens Community Angels’ capacity to meet growing community need while maintaining a welcoming, inclusive environment for all who seek support.
$5,000 | Minneapolis
Open Your Heart funding supports a targeted initiative to advance housing equity for youth aging out of foster care. The primary beneficiaries are underserved and at‑risk BIPOC foster youth ages 14–24, all living below the federal poverty guideline. Participants gain access to enhanced life‑skills opportunities, rental assistance, safe living conditions, and hands‑on learning across five key areas: education, employment, housing, financial health, and personal well‑being. This investment strengthens educational outcomes and long‑term housing stability for youth transitioning into adulthood.
Feeding Our Communities Partners
$3,274 | North Mankato
Open Your Heart funding supports the purchase of two 2‑door glass‑front refrigerators for the Summer Time Outreach Meal Program (STOMP). This equipment expands Feeding Our Communities’ capacity to safely store and distribute weekday meals at off‑site lunch locations serving food‑insecure youth who face barriers accessing other summer meal programs. This investment strengthens STOMP’s ability to provide consistent, reliable nutrition to children during the summer months when school meals are unavailable.
$7,316 | Fairmont
Open Your Heart funding helps maintain Heaven’s Table’s fresh‑food inventory and service capacity with the purchase of two new glass‑door coolers. This infrastructure improvement ensures food safety and consistent availability for individuals and families throughout Martin County. The coolers provide the reliable space needed to prevent food loss, expand food‑rescue capacity, and meet the growing demand for assistance.
$7,500 | Red Wing
Open Your Heart funding ensures survivors of domestic violence can escape immediate danger, remain safe, and stay connected to advocacy and resources at Hope Coalition during a critical transition period. Hotel vouchers provide individuals and families in Goodhue and Wabasha Counties with a safe place to stay while they wait for a shelter bed to open or for legal protections—such as Orders for Protection—to be secured.
$3,500 | Minneapolis
Open Your Heart funding supports the large‑scale electrical upgrade needed at Involve MN’s new downtown Minneapolis location. Involve MN serves three warm, scratch‑made meals a day, 365 days a year in Minneapolis and St. Paul. This investment ensures there are no operational interruptions in the production and delivery of 15,000 meals each week to encampments, detox centers, and individuals who come directly to their door.
$6,613 | Cambridge
Open Your Heart funding provides bunk beds and twin frames for families with children experiencing homelessness in Central Minnesota. These beds support New Pathways’ transition from a church‑based rotation model to a permanent 24‑hour shelter opening in Summer 2026. The new site aims to offer a stable, supportive environment where residents are empowered to achieve long‑term success.
New Ulm Ministerial Association Shelter Haus (DBA NUMAS Haus)
$3,500 | New Ulm
Open Your Heart funding supports NUMAS Haus and its Life Happens program, which responds to unexpected expenses that threaten a family’s financial stability. The grant covers transportation needs, job‑seeking or work‑related expenses, winter clothing, and infant or child safety items for participants in their shelter program. This support helps families remain stable and safe as they work toward long‑term independence.
$5,000 | Monticello
Open Your Heart funding will provide immediate, life‑stabilizing support for individuals and families impacted by domestic violence including grocery and gas gift cards, emergency food, safe phones, home‑safety items, temporary hotel stays, transportation, and other urgent expenses. By meeting essential needs quickly and compassionately, Rivers of Hope helps prevent homelessness, increase stability, and enables advocates to respond effectively when survivors are most vulnerable.
$5,400 | St. Paul
Open Your Heart funding helps Shobi’s Table, a pay‑as‑you‑can mobile café serving St. Paul, expand its service capacity. Shobi’s Table currently serves 15,000 meals each year and, with this support, is expanding its meal program to include an onsite community meal option. Upgrades to storage space, refrigeration, and ventilation systems strengthen their ability to provide real, scratch‑made meals to neighbors who need them.
$5,211 | Victoria
Open Your Heart funding enables the purchase of new equipment for the expansion of The Humanity Alliance’s onsite Soup Stock program. These soup stations provide immediate access to healthy food across seven counties. Essential kitchen tools for this expansion include stock pots, warming plates, and utensils that support safe, efficient food distribution.
Walking With A Purpose Minnesota
$5,000 | St. Paul
Open Your Heart funding purchases outreach supplies for more than 3,500 adults experiencing homelessness and staying outside in Ramsey County. Each week, volunteers provide lifesaving support—including tents, tarps, camping gear, food, socks, shoes, boots, clothing, and other essential items—to help make life more bearable for neighbors facing unsheltered homelessness.