Voqal is excited to announce grants to eight organizations working in Minnesota to create a more racially and socially equitable community. The grants to COPAL (Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Accion Latina), Awood Center, Black Visions, CTUL (Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha), Nexus Community Partners, Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE), Voices for Racial Justice, and the Philanthropic Collective to Combat Anti-Blackness & Realize Racial Justice reflect Voqal’s continued dedication to supporting organizations that are building progressive power for BIPOC communities.
COPAL (Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Accion Latina) $38,000
COPAL is a grassroots organization that seeks to impact the quality of life for Latinos in Minnesota through working on public policy, leadership, and community service. It works to unite Latinos in Minnesota in active grassroots communal democracy that builds racial, gender, social, and economic justice across community lines.
Awood Center $45,000
The Awood Center is a dynamic worker-led organization that creates a culturally and linguistically relevant space to build unity and develop the next generation of leaders in Minnesota’s diverse East African communities. The Awood Center is engaging the community of 100,000 and advancing recent immigrants and their families in the Twin Cities area by educating, organizing, developing leadership, and mobilizing to improve the economic and political life of the community and all working people.
Black Visions $45,000
Black Visions puts into practice the lessons learned from organizations that have come before it to shape a political home for Black people across Minnesota. It aims to center its work in healing and transformative justice principles, intentionally developing its organization’s core “DNA” to ensure sustainability and develop Minnesota’s emerging Black leadership to lead powerful campaigns.
CTUL (Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha) $45,000
CTUL organizes low-wage workers from across the Twin Cities to develop leadership and educate one another to build power and lead the struggle for fair wages, better working conditions, basic respect, and a voice in their workplaces. CTUL is an organization of workers and for workers, committed to securing fair working conditions for present and future generations.
Nexus Community Partners $45,000
Nexus Community Partners supports strong, equitable, and just communities in which all residents are engaged, are recognized as leaders and have pathways to opportunities. It believes the key to building more engaged and powerful communities of color lies in the dynamic relationship between authorship, leadership, and ownership.
Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE) $45,000
RISE amplifies the voice and power of Muslim women. RISE bridges the gap between faith and storytelling, leadership development, and advocacy. It has created a space —for Muslim women, by Muslim women — centering their voices and lived experiences to impact change in their communities.
Voices for Racial Justice $45,000
Voices for Racial Justice is a movement organization of leaders, organizers, and culture workers who envision a world without racism honoring the culture, knowledge, power, and healing of Black communities, Indigenous communities, and other communities of color. It is committed to building power through collective cultural and healing strategies for racial justice across Minnesota using organizing, leadership training, community policy, and research.
Philanthropic Collective to Combat Anti-Blackness & Realize Racial Justice $47,635
The Philanthropic Collective to Combat Anti-Blackness & Realize Racial Justice — a coalition of foundations and philanthropic organizations formed in response to the killing of George Floyd — has partnered to denounce anti-blackness and racism in Minnesota. This collective is working to create a visionary and historic, Black-Led Movement Fund.
These organizations are leading the effort to create a more racially and socially just world. Voqal is honored to be able to work with such amazing organizations and looks forward to their continued work in the Minnesota community. You can learn more about our grantmaking on our grants page.