Thanks to your support, Open Your Heart has completed its final grant round of 2025, awarding $75,000 to 17 Minnesota crisis service agencies. This investment will indirectly reach nearly 119,000 Minnesotans experiencing food and housing insecurity. Your generosity sustains critical services and creates meaningful change—thank you for standing with our neighbors in need.
$3,500 | Minneapolis
Open Your Heart funding will provide transportation and gender affirming clothing as needed to support LGBTQI+ youth experiencing homelessness. For over 30 years, Avenues for Youth has supported more than 3,600 youth aged 16 to 24 in Hennepin County transition from merely surviving to thriving young adults. Whether a young person needs a place to stay for just one night or for an entire year, Avenues provides youth with the tools to find their path out of homelessness. They do so by providing a stable home, building trusting relationships, and supporting youth in navigating toward their self-identified goals in education, career, health and wellness, housing, and other areas. Open Your Heart is proud to partner in Avenues for Youth’s commitment to ending homelessness among youth.
$3,000 | Brainerd
Open Your Heart funding will provide new storage equipment at The Bridge on 7th, an overnight shelter for vulnerable and homeless adults in the Brainerd Lakes area. The Bridge on 7th provides individuals experiencing homelessness with food, clothing, and a bed during the frigid winter months. Bridges of Hope is a trusted partner for those in crisis to connect by providing basic needs when there are gaps in community safety nets. Bridges of Hope aims to be the epicenter of a collaborative network of supportive services designed to meet immediate, basic needs and create community-driven, innovative solutions that catalyze systemic change and mitigate barriers to stability for families and individuals in Crow Wing County and surrounding communities. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of Bridges of Hope.
$6,000 | Plymouth
Open Your Heart funding will go toward the purchase of supplies for Coated in Love’s 3,000 Acts of Kindness Event. This one-day event invites individuals experiencing homelessness to receive essential material items such as coats, boots, shoes, even reading glasses, in a safe and warm space. Healthcare services are also offered. The event has grown from serving 900 guests in its first year to nearly 3,000 guests and powered by over 500 volunteers. Each year the event is created in collaboration with over 80 social service agencies and helps fulfill Coated in Love’s mission to provide hope, help and resources to people experiencing homelessness and to all who are in need. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of Coated in Love.
$5,850 | Willmar
Open Your Heart funding will support Community Connectors Services (CCS) with facility improvements in their new Halal Food Shelf. Funding will be used to add food storage, equipment, and print marketing materials in response to the growing need for food. CCS strives to bring cross-cultural understanding to new and long-standing residents in Willmar and is dedicated to fostering a vibrant and inclusive community by offering free, culturally-connected food to those experiencing food insecurity in Kandiyohi County. In addition to food, CCS offers bilingual language classes (English and Somali Language Connections) to improve communication skills and foster inclusivity. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of Community Connector Services’ and their commitment to creating a vibrant community.
$3,500 | Mankato
Open Your Heart funding will provide Food Recovery by Wooden Spoon with additional freezers. Begun as a bakery and catering business in the heart of downtown Mankato, Wooden Spoon began building a community-led food recovery effort by working with local nonprofits, coalitions, and individuals committed to ensuring quality food is not wasted but given to those in need. The food recovery distributes ready-made meals to rural food shelves, governmental entities, school counselors, school pantries, transitional housing, churches and many other non-profits. In 2024 the Food Recovery program distributed nearly 35,000 servings of food. This year, they have exceeded 58,000 servings to date. Open Your Heart is proud to partner with the Food Recovery Program by Wooden Spoon eradicating hunger in Minnesota.
$3,251 | Hastings
Open Your Heart funding will provide sturdy gondola shelving units for Hastings Family Service’s Market Food Shelf. The new shelving will improve efficiency and safety for volunteers as well as increase choice for neighbors while shopping. Hastings Family Service’s Market Food Shelf is a place for neighbors’ experiencing food insecurity to turn to in Hastings and Dakota County. In addition to the high cost of food and limited low-income housing options, Hastings neighbors are also responding to increased utility costs as the result of PFAS in the water and the need for new water treatment plants. Whatever the challenge, the goal of Hastings Family Services remains the same: ensuring the basic needs of neighbors are being met. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of Hastings Family Service.
$2,500 | Little Falls
Open Your Heart funding will support Helping Hands 365 in purchasing a new refrigerator and upgraded shelving in their food pantry. Helping Hands 365 actively works with local businesses to reduce food waste and provide food assistance to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity by providing produce, dairy, dry goods, snacks, cereal and pantry staples. In recent months, Helping Hands 365 has seen an increase in young adults and elderly seeking assistance. The organization is motivated by the desire to meet the growing need for food in central Minnesota. The new equipment will help them care for those experiencing food insecurity in their community. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of the positive change Helping Hands 365 is making in their community.
$5,000 | Bloomington
Open Your Heart funding will connect youth experiencing homelessness in Richfield, Bloomington, and Edina with emergency housing support and basic needs. Funds will provide approximately 200 emergency hotel vouchers. Vouchers will ensure youth have access to safe and stable housing while working with Oasis for Youth case managers for shelter referrals, coordinated entry support, and identifying long-term housing options. Launched in 2010 by a group of community members who were alarmed by the number of suburban youth experiencing homelessness, Oasis for Youth was the first suburban drop-in center in the Twin Cities metro area. Today, Oasis for Youth supports more than 400 young people annually in their four programs: drop-in, outreach, housing, and employment. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of Oasis For Youth, and pleased to support their efforts addressing barriers and the lack of services for youth experiencing homelessness in the southern metro.
Our Savior’s Community Services
$3,362 | Minneapolis
Open Your Heart funding will support the replacement of a failing oven and stove at Our Savior’s Community Services emergency shelter. Our Savior’s Community Services aims to address the needs of people who face barriers to housing stability by providing safe shelter, healthy food, and access to robust resources in a welcoming environment. Our Savior’s Community Service case management programming aims to increase the self-sufficiency and well-being of participants. Construction on their improved and expanded shelter is finished and they aim to be fully operational in their expanded space by late 2025. In effect doubling the number of community members they can serve with their supportive emergency shelter. Open Your Heart is proud to partner of Our Savior’s Community Services’ mission of increasing skills and improving lives in the Phillips neighborhood.
Servants of Shelter of Koochiching County
$4,000 | International Falls
Open Your Heart funding will support the Servants of Shelter of Koochiching County’s Sunflower Fund. The Sunflower Fund is a flexible resource for families and individuals experiencing homelessness to resolve unmet, one-time needs not provided by other programs. The Sunflower Fund can be used for storage unit rental, car repairs, security deposits, utility deposits, transportation needs, medication co-pays, work shoes/uniforms, and more. In addition to Servant of Shelter’s emergency shelter, supportive housing, and drop-in center, these “small investments” have the power to increase economic and housing stability for those experiencing housing instability and homelessness. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of the effort Servants of Shelter of Koochiching County has made upholding the dignity of persons in need.
$5,000 | St. Paul
Open Your Heart funding supports Small Sum’s On the Bus program. $5,000 will help bridge the gap between homelessness and employment by providing 150 bus passes for 150 individuals to travel to and from work during their first month of employment. Small Sum’s works tirelessly to help individuals experiencing housing instability or homelessness overcome barriers to employment. In addition to their On the Bus program, Small Sum’s Dressed and Ready and Keep the Job programs create pathways to long term stability by equipping workers with specialized gear and tools as well as training and development opportunities for career advancement. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of Small Sums’ “big” effort outfitting individuals experiencing housing instability with the required work items needs to start and keep a new job.
$4,500 | Shakopee
Open Your Heart funding will provide emergency hotel vouchers for Southern Valley Alliance. Southern Valley Alliance is the only emergency shelter for individuals and families fleeing domestic violence in Scott and Carver counties. Domestic abuse survivors often must leave dangerous situations quickly and with little or no time to prepare or safe places to go. Without immediate alternatives, many face the impossible choice between homelessness or returning to unsafe environments. To fill this critical gap in services, Southern Valley Alliance uses emergency hotel accommodations as a short-term safety solution. Hotel stays offer immediate protection, privacy, and dignity, which is especially important for those who may not be able to access shelter services due to space limitations, medical needs, children, pets, or personal safety concerns as survivors work towards long-term stability. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of Southern Valley Alliance.
$6,662 | Springfield
Open Your Heart funding will support Springfield Area Food Shelf in purchasing new equipment including two convertible refrigerators and freezers, shelving, and four shopping carts to meet the increased demand for food. Funding will also make the purchase of a standard food prep sink and mop bucket for improved food safety possible. The Springfield Area Food Shelf was formed in 2013 by women from the churches of Springfield, Minnesota, for the purposes of distributing food and providing emergency food services to people in need. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of their effort to provide healthy food, create a welcoming and dignified shopping experience, and making individual choice possible for food insecure clients.
St. Andrew’s Community Resource Center
$4,000 | Mahtomedi
Open Your Heart funding will provide essential basic household and personal items free of charge for individuals and families visiting St. Andrew’s Community Resource Center (CRC). As one of the first organizations to address family homelessness in Washington and Eastern Ramsey counties, the CRC has grown into a comprehensive agency tackling homelessness and its precursors in the East Metro. The Resource Center is a hub for community support providing weekly community meals, employment resources and referrals, emergency rental assistance, family shelter, and access to basic needs. To date, CRC has had more than 21,000 visits to their resource center and served 456 families and 1,533 individuals through their family sheltering program. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of St. Andrew’s Community Resource Center.
$3,700 | Minneapolis
Open Your Heart funding will support The Real Minneapolis’ Meals with Meaning program. In 2025, Meals with Meaning prepared 27,500 meals and provided more than 10,000 healthy snacks and survival supplies. Their mission is to meet people where they are with compassion and trust, offering food as both nourishment and the entry point to support, tools, mentorship, and training that help people move beyond survival. The Meals with Meaning program partners with Nenookaasi Coalition, Youthprise, and George Floyd Square ambassadors. In this way, Meals with Meaning is more than food, it is a redistribution of resources and dignity that advances inclusion at every level. This grant will go toward outreach needs and meal packaging. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of The Real Minneapolis’ cultivation of an ecosystem of care that brings hope, health, and healing to the most under-served community members.
$5,000 | Rochester
Open Your Heart funding will be used to purchase essential items needed for guests such as documentation/IDs, transportation, medications, clothing, and storage for The Landing MN’s Day Center. The Day Center is open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm and open to all aged 18 and older. The Day Center provides guests with access to critical services, including a resource room stocked with essential items such as clothing, shoes, and hygiene products. The Landing MN offers comprehensive, trust-based support that empowers individuals to take steps toward sustainability and transformation. For over ten years, The Landing MN has served as a critical point of contact and support for individuals experiencing homelessness in Olmsted County. Open Your Heart is a proud partner of The Landing.
$5,000 | St. Paul and Minneapolis
Open Your Heart funding will support provide Wildflyer Coffee’s Stabilizing Futures project. Stabilizing Futures offers critical stability stipends to youth who graduate from their four-month Work and Life Skills Program. Funding from Open Your Heart will also provide hygiene and basic needs supplies, food and gas cards. Wildflyer Coffee is a social enterprise dedicated to supporting youth experiencing homelessness by providing employment opportunities coupled with skill-building programs. Founded on the principle of offering more than just employment, Wildflyer aims to provide a stable environment that provides both earnings and personal growth. Their two coffee shops function both as retail spaces and as training sites teaching practical job skills and integrating direct employment experience. Open Your Heart is proud to partner in Wildflyer Coffee’s commitment to innovating solutions to end youth homelessness.