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The Art of Economic Justice: An Impact Report on Guaranteed Income Pilots for Artists and Creative Workers in Minnesota

February 9, 2023

In 2021, Springboard for the Arts launched one of the first Guaranteed Income pilots in the country focused on individual artists and creative workers.This innovative pilot and narrative change strategy was designed in partnership with the City of St. Paul's People's Prosperity Pilot guaranteed income program. The City of St. Paul is a leader in the national Mayors for Guaranteed Income network, which works to incorporate learning and research from local pilots into state and federal policy recommendations.Springboard undertook this work to demonstrate that artists should be recipients of economic system change and that they are powerful allies in movements for economic justice.The goals of Springboard's GI original pilot were:1) Provide 25 artists and creative workers located in the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods of St. Paul, MN with $500 monthly payments for 18 months.2) Support a cohort of artists to lead narrative change projects to build understanding about the need for economic justice in our community.3) Develop research and inform policy by specifically demonstrating the impact that guaranteed income has on artist communities and the ways in which artists can contribute their skills to movements around economic justice.

Regional Trends in Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium

August 8, 2022

In June 2021, the National Endowment for the Arts published Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Digital Technology as a Creative Medium. This report is the culmination of a nearly two-year research study into artists whose practices are rooted in digital technologies. Launched in partnership with the Knight Foundation and Ford Foundation, with research conducted by 8 Bridges Workshop and Dot Connector Studio, the report explores the broad spectrum of tech-centered artistic practice, as well as the networks, career paths, and hubs of activity that support this work.Prior to the report publication, the Arts Endowment organized a series of seven virtual field meetings between June 15-24, 2021. These roundtable gatherings welcomed 116 artists, funders, administrators, academics, writers, educators, activists, and other field leaders, in addition to representatives from the Knight Foundation, Ford Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts. Convenings focused on distinct geographic regions anchored by the cities of St. Paul, Minnesota; Detroit, Michigan; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York, New York; Miami, Florida; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and San Jose, California. Participants discussed challenges, existing assets, and practical steps for building the arts and technology field across the nation from the ground up. Through advancing regional conversations, the Arts Endowment sought to both strengthen regional arts and technology networks and develop an array of practical action steps for potential field supporters that complement Tech as Art findings and recommendations.

Seeing to Soar Regional Nonprofit Snapshot: Minneapolis-Saint Paul (Twin Cities)

April 26, 2022

This regional nonprofit snapshot is a follow-up analysis to Seeking to Soar, zooming in to better understand the AAPI nonprofit landscape in regions with AAPIP chapters, starting with Minneapolis-Saint Paul (Twin Cities).Key Findings:Although the Twin Cities has a robust philanthropic landscape (total grants nearing $1.3 billion), the slice designated to AAPI communities is miniscule, total just $5.3 million. This equates to just 42 cents going to AAPI communities per $100 awarded by institutional philanthropy.The majority of AAPI-specific organizations are small- to mid-sized. Nearly 90% are operating with less than five staff, and more than 80% are operating with budgets smaller than $500k.The funding landscape for AAPI-specific organizations is precarious. More than 75% of AAPI-designated funding comes from ten institutions. Investing long term and at higher levels is critical to building the capacity and sustainability of organizations that are foundational to AAPI communities.

Black Funding Denied: Community Foundation Support for Black Communities

August 1, 2020

In light of the national uprising sparked by the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor (and building on other recent tragic movement moments going back to the 2014 murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri), NCRP is analyzing grantmaking by community foundations across the country to find out exactly how much they are – or are not – investing in Black communities.We started by looking at the latest available grantmaking data (2016-2018) of 25 community foundations (CFs) – from Los Angeles to New Orleans to New York City to St. Paul. These foundations represent a cross section of some of the country's largest community foundations as well as foundations in communities where NCRP has Black-led nonprofit allies.

Evaluation of Twin Cities Youth Social Entrepreneurship Programs: Results from a Point-in-Time Research Study of Eight YSE Programs

May 1, 2020

This report presents the results of a three-year research study on the impacts of YSE programs on youth. It includes eight YSE programs located in the Twin Cities metro area.

Otto Bremer Trust 2018 Annual Report

May 20, 2019

Otto Bremer Trust 2018 Annual Report.

Evaluation of Twin Cities Youth Social Entrepreneurship Programs: Results from a Point-in-Time Research Study of 11 YSE Programs, Funded by the Sundance Family Foundation

May 1, 2019

This report presents the results of a 24-month research study on the impacts of Youth Social Entrepreneurship programs on youth, including work readiness skills and interpersonal and social-emotional skills.

Intergenerational Impacts of Small Business Ownership: Findings from a Study of Businesses Supported by the Neighborhood Development Center

March 1, 2019

A study of the impacts of business ownership on owners' children, including changes regarding financial security, education, health, and career skills and interests.

Central Corridor Tracker: Progress Beyond Rail

January 31, 2018

The Central Corridor Funders Collaborative (2007 – 2016) was an innovative partnership supported by 14 local and national foundations seeking to create a "corridor of opportunity" along Minneapolis and Saint Paul's Green Line Light Rail Transit (LRT).

Patterns of Disparity: Small Business Lending in Fresno and Minneapolis-St. Paul Regions

November 2, 2017

The report examines the state of traditional bank small business lending in Fresno County, CA, and Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN. It offers policy and practice recommendations concerning the noted disparities in lending to businesses in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and in communities of color. It is the fourth, and final, in a series of research reports examining small business owners' access to capital in eight major metropolitan areas.

Improving Early Literacy in PreK-3: Lessons Learned

August 23, 2016

In 2011, The McKnight Foundation partnered with a set of districts and schools in the Twin Cities area, all serving high-needs students, on a PreK–3 literacy initiative. The Pathway Schools Initiative aims to dramatically increase the number of students who reach the critical milestone of third-grade reading proficiency, an indicator predictive of later academic outcomes and high school graduation. This report focuses on findings from Phase I of the Pathway Schools Initiative (2011–2015).The McKnight Foundation selected the Urban Education Institute (UEI) at the University of Chicago to serve as the initiative's intermediary. UEI was tasked with providing the intellectual, conceptual, and managerial leadership for the initiative as well as professional development and technical assistance focused on literacy and leadership to the Pathway districts and schools. UEI anchored this support on two, validated diagnostic tools developed at the University of Chicago: the Strategic Teaching and Evaluation of Progress (STEP) developmental literacy assessment and the 5Essentials Survey.Participating Pathway schools and districts carried out the day-to-day work of the initiative. They used grant funds to expand or refine their PreK programs; hire additional staff such as program managers, literacy coaches, classroom aides, and family engagement liaisons; and purchase high-quality instructional materials, such as classroom libraries or tablets.An advisory group, the Education and Learning National Advisory Committee (ELNAC), was established in 2010 to help inform decisions about the initiative. SRI International has served as the initiative's evaluator since 2010.

About Community, Not a Commute: Investing Beyond the Rail

June 22, 2016

The Central Corridor Funders Collaborative (2007 – 2016) was an innovative partnership supported by 14 local and national foundations seeking to create a "corridor of opportunity" along Minneapolis and Saint Paul's Green Line Light Rail Transit (LRT). The Funders Collaborative supplemented the programs and grantmaking of its member foundations by working with community organizations, the business sector, and public agencies to encourage collaboration, planning, and investment beyond the rail. The Green Line opened in June 2014, and the Funders Collaborative concluded its work two years later in June 2016 as planned.