The Twin Cities - Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

Founded in 1971, Common Bond Communities is the largest nonprofit developer of affordable housing in the Midwest. It owns or manages more than 5,700 affordable rental apartments and townhomes that are home to over 9,000 residents in 50 cities throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The nonprofit also provides a range of free, on-site services based on residents’ needs, which include health and wellness clinics, youth mentoring, adult education, job readiness and search services, financial literacy education, and financial coaching.

Located just south of downtown Minneapolis and founded in 1977, Hope Community works to revitalize one of the most diverse and economically challenged areas in Minneapolis. The Hope Block, a ten-year development effort, now encompasses 50 affordable rentals, 27 supportive housing units, and community green space.  Grounded by the belief that “buildings alone do not make community; people must build a community,” all of the CDC’s development work involves extensive community engagement.

Neighborhood Development Alliance (NeDA) builds affordable housing and empowers communities through financial education and guidance.  Since its establishment in 1999, the nonprofit is credited with building or rehabbing 175 homes on the West Side of Saint Paul, developing real estate projects totaling $30,000,000 in the East Metro area, providing homebuyer education to 4,500 people, and helping 5,000 families avoid foreclosure.

Minneapolis-based Community Reinvestment Fund works to raise capital on behalf of community development lenders through the secondary market for loans. Started in 1989, the group has injected hundreds of millions of dollars into low-income and economically disadvantaged communities across the country to help stimulate job creation and economic development, provide affordable housing, and construct community facilities.  Its work is credited with creating or retaining 73,000 jobs, developing 19,000 units of affordable housing, and directly benefiting 1.7 million people.

Based in Minneapolis, the Nonprofits Assistance Fund aims to strengthen the community by investing capital and expertise into nonprofit organizations.  In fiscal year 2015, the CDFI provided over $16 million in working capital and facilities loans and 1,362 hours of financial technical assistance to a wide range of 501(c)(3) organizations operating across Minnesota and its neighboring communities.

Beginning as an initiative to provide University of Minnesota students with affordable housing, Riverton Community Housing focuses on promoting community-oriented and democratically run student housing cooperatives. Riverton now manages six buildings with over 480 units.

Founded in 2002 in direct response to the “profit first mentality” of some businesses, The Hub Bike Co-op is Minneapolis’ only worker-owned bike store.  With four locations across the city, the co-op sells bikes, provides bike-related services, and offers a range of classes focused on bike maintenance and safety.  Committed to the community, the co-op directs five percent of profits to support cycling, the community at large, and the environment.

Founded in 1954 to produce a new, quieter, wheel-based rolling door mechanism, Stylmark has expanded to become a manufacturer of aluminum and steel products for retail, hospitality, entertainment, and other commercial environments. As a worker-owned company since 1998, Stylmark has 150 employees, revenue exceeding $20 million, and is considered one of the 50 largest companies in its industry.

Eastside Financial Center provides integrated financial and employment services to help families and individuals create and build financial assets that improve their financial wellbeing.  Key services include financial coaching, employment coaching, screening for public benefits, job-seeker and money management workshops, banking products, and free tax clinics.  The nonprofit has also launched innovative matched savings account programs in partnership with other local nonprofits, including the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA).

Established in 2007, Better Futures Minnesota helps men with a history of incarceration, homelessness, poverty, and untreated mental and physical health challenges achieve self-sufficiency.  A core part of its program is its social enterprise, which provides on-the-job training in deconstruction, warehouse safety, appliance recycling, janitorial services, and snow and lawn care equipment training and maintenance.  Materials salvaged through its deconstruction work are sold in its ReUse Warehouse, diverting about 700 tons of building materials a year from area landfills and providing revenue to help support the nonprofit’s outreach and supportive services.  In 2015, the social enterprise employed 72 men.

Founded in 1995, Emerge is place-based nonprofit focused on helping people in Minneapolis and Cedar Riverside who are facing significant obstacles to find a career pathway and achieve financial stability.  A core part of its long-standing programming has been EmergeWorks, a social enterprise that provides staffing services to businesses in the Twin Cities.  In 2015, Emerge merged with Momentum Enterprises, which brought three new social enterprises to the nonprofit:  Second Chance Recycling, which recycles mattresses, box springs, batteries, and medical blue wrap; Custom Manufacturing, which performs assembly, packaging, and wood fabrication work; and Furnish Office and Home, a nonprofit retail store in Northeast Minneapolis that sells office and home furnishings. In 2015, the four enterprises employed 88 people.