New Grantees Highlight Foundation’s Expanded giving in 2024

The Ciresi Walburn Foundation announced $1,760,000 in grants to 21 nonprofit organizations and seven schools as part of their 2024 Annual Grant Cycle. Highlighting the full list of grantees are six Twin Cities-based nonprofits and one school which are receiving grants from the Foundation for the first time.

Though the Foundation recognizes the importance of providing sustaining support to ensure nonprofits and schools have consistent access to the resources necessary to pursue their mission and strategic priorities, the Board regularly seeks new potential partners where a grant from the Foundation can make a significant impact. The Foundation aims to identify roughly a half dozen new grantees each year, targeting organizations and schools seeking to scale their impact, expand their reach within the community, or launch new programming.

“The Foundation aims to identify roughly a half dozen new grantees each year, targeting organizations and schools seeking to scale their impact, expand their reach within the community, or launch new programming. ”

This year’s new grantees include:

MIGIZI

MIGIZI, a Minneapolis-based organization serving the American Indian community, is receiving a $75,000 Gen Ops grant. MIGIZI’s Cultural Leadership Academic Well-being (CLAW) program aims to merge cultural practices with academic learning to support Native youth in the Twin Cities, providing culturally relevant educational services, personal tutoring, and out-of-school activities grounded in traditional practices.

These services are designed to strengthen students' cultural identities and are offered free of charge, including meals and transit vouchers. CLAW operates at Minneapolis South High School and Saint Paul Harding High School—locations with significant Native student populations—and extends its services to several suburban districts. The program aims to enhance its cultural curriculum by focusing on language, medicine, and ceremonial practices.

During the 2023-2024 school year, CLAW reached over 100 Native youth, achieving measurable outcomes such as improved goal-setting, relationship-building, and cultural knowledge. MIGIZI assesses program quality through a Youth Program Quality

MIGIZI’s CLAW program integrates cultural practices with academic studies to provide Native young people with a relatable and engaging time of learning. Students receive personal, one- on-one academic support in the classroom and in-person or online tutoring four days per week after-school. They also participate in cultural activities after school and on school release days,  when credit-recovery options are also available.

Assessment tool and maintains robust data tracking to evaluate the impact of its services. Early data indicate a graduation rate of 85% for participants, significantly higher than the state average for American Indian youth.

The Foundation’s grant to MIGIZI will help to expand these efforts and further enhance educational outcomes for Native students in the region.

Friends of Education & New Millennium Academy

Friends of Education (a state-approved nonprofit charter school authorizer dedicated to improving K-12 education) received a $50,000 grant from the Foundation to support their Literacy Improvement Initiative aimed at revitalizing literacy education at New Millennium Academy, a charter school serving primarily the Hmong community in Brooklyn Center.

New Millennium, which once ranked among the top 40% of public schools in Minnesota, has faced a decline in student performance exacerbated by the pandemic. With new leadership as of January 2024, the school is committed to reaffirming its cultural identity while enhancing academic achievement.

Friends of Education, which has a proven track record of supporting high-performing schools, offers technical assistance and high-quality professional development to both their own and other schools. The Literacy Improvement Initiative launched in 2023-2024 at New Millennium focuses on enhancing teachers’ effectiveness in literacy instruction.

This initiative includes weekly teacher observation and coaching, data-driven instruction, and tutoring. Unlike standard interventions, which often involve infrequent observations, this initiative provides consistent, high-touch coaching to ensure teachers are effectively implementing Science of Reading strategies.

Key components of the initiative include:

Data-Driven Instruction Training
Teacher Training: In Science of Reading components, using Wit & Wisdom and Groves reading curricula.
Learning Disability Identification: Early diagnosis using aimswebPlus to screen all students, particularly addressing risks for English-Learners.
Weekly Teacher Observation and Coaching: Focused on K-2 to establish a strong reading foundation, with 70% of the effort on K-2 and 30% on grades 3-8.

The Foundation’s project support grant to Friends of Education aims to restore New Millennium Academy to its former success, ensuring that all students, especially those from marginalized communities, achieve literacy proficiency and are well-prepared for future academic endeavors.

Rêve Academy

Founded in 2010 in North Minneapolis, Rêve Academy provides innovative pathways to digital careers for low-income youth, particularly those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Rêve Academy is receiving a $50,000 Gen Ops grant to sustain and scale their existing programs and initiate a pilot expansion to integrate their successful model into up to five new schools in the Twin Cities metro area.

The proposed project for the academic year 2024-2025 aims to expand Rêve’s programs to serve over 3,000 students, increase internship opportunities, and provide college credit, enhancing students' pathways to high-value digital careers.

Rêve Academy's approach not only addresses immediate educational needs but also equips students with the skills and credentials needed to thrive in the digital economy, aiming to fundamentally alter their life trajectories and address systemic inequities in the community.

Short-term, Rêve’s work empowers students to achieve economic sustainability through higher education, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship. Long-term, their approach enables young people to become change agents in their communities, empowered to reach their full potential and represented at all levels of the workforce.

Aim Higher Foundation

AHF provides $1,000 tuition-assistance scholarships to children from low-income households, enabling them to attend one of the 80 Catholic schools in the 12-county Twin Cities metro area.

The Aim Higher Foundation (AHF) is a leading provider of school choice scholarships in Minnesota, dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to high-quality education. AHF provides $1,000 tuition-assistance scholarships to children from low-income households, enabling them to attend one of the 80 Catholic schools in the 12-county Twin Cities metro area. These scholarships, renewable annually for up to nine years of K-8 education, are available to all students, regardless of their religious background.

The Foundation’s Gen Ops grant will allow AHF to provide educational access to immigrant families, English Language learners, and families facing various socio-economic challenges across urban, suburban, and rural areas in Minnesota.

The Foundation is providing AHF with a Gen Ops grant of $50,000 for the 2024-25 school year, which will allow AHF to address the growing financial need by awarding more scholarships and expanding school choice for families across the Twin Cities. With over 6,700 financial aid applications received annually, 2,800 applicants demonstrate full financial need. The Foundation’s grant will support awarding additional scholarships and AHF’s expanding initiatives to track scholar outcomes post-graduation, including high school attendance, economic trends, geographic mobility, higher education, and career paths.

AHF works closely with parents and school leaders who know their respective populations to listen and respond with scholarship programs that address these unique needs. AHF serves a diverse population, with 65% identifying as people of color and nearly 25% practicing non-Catholic faiths. The average household income of newly awarded scholars is under $35,000.

The Foundation’s Gen Ops grant will allow AHF to provide educational access to immigrant families, English Language learners, and families facing various socio-economic challenges across urban, suburban, and rural areas in Minnesota.

CharterSource

CharterSource aims to enhance the quality of education by strengthening charter school governance, leadership, and operations. Recognizing the challenges schools face, CharterSource provides essential support to help schools develop effective systems, allowing them to concentrate on instructional programming. CharterSource's efforts are geared towards creating equitable and high-quality educational options by building strong, well-supported schools. Core programs include:

Board Development Program: Enhance board oversight and accountability practices.
Operations Institute: Offer back-office training, coaching, and peer exchange to bolster operational efficiency.
Leadership Support: Assist leaders with growth readiness, transitions, and crisis management to ensure effective instructional strategies.

A $20,000 project support grant from the Foundation will support CharterSource in expanding the following programs:

Leader Cultivation: Implementing governance systems, guiding transitions, and strategic budgeting for over 300 leaders.
Operational Elevation: Certifying 20 operations managers, providing audits and coaching for school operations leaders.
Governance Improvement: Helping 10 boards achieve Good Governance accreditation and training 250 board members.

Jeremiah Program

Founded in Minneapolis in 1998, Jeremiah Program (JP) is dedicated to disrupting poverty cycles by empowering single mother college students and their children through its comprehensive two-generation approach.

JP has expanded its reach to include two campuses in the Twin Cities, offering 77 apartments and child development centers. The program has notably supported the economic mobility of primarily BIPOC mothers and children by providing essential services such as high-quality early childhood education, family coaching, and access to resources for academic and career success.

Jeremiah Program is dedicated to disrupting poverty cycles by empowering single mother college students and their children through its comprehensive two-generation approach.

A $50,000 Gen Ops grant from the Ciresi Walburn Foundation will allow JP to continue and expand its impactful services. The program targets single mothers over 18, with at least one child under five, who are committed to pursuing a college degree while living in poverty. Initiatives include a foundational 12-week Empowerment & Leadership course, personalized family coaching, quality childcare at no or low cost, and supplemental supports for school-aged children, including tutoring and summer enrichment programs. Additional support services encompass affordable housing, mental health resources, tech support, and community-building activities aimed at fostering personal and leadership skills.

The Jeremiah Program model is designed to provide intensive, individualized support for families over multiple years while moms are in school. Because of this, program persistence is a key indicator of impact for our organization. Last year, 79% of Twin Cities moms persisted in their college, career, and leadership journeys—and with JP. Additionally, of moms who registered for courses in the spring 2022 semester, 79% registered for the spring 2024 semester.

When JP controls for a six-year course of study to earn a degree, moms across our organization have historically achieved a college graduation rate of 43% over 20 years. This is notably higher than the national average for low income, single moms completing a two- or four- year degree in six years, which is just 8% (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2019).

The $50,000 grant from the Foundation will allow JP to increase access to quality education and enhance family well-being, with targeted outcomes such as improved kindergarten readiness, sustained college enrollment, and increased family stability through supportive housing and comprehensive coaching. JP’s holistic approach aims to equip families to achieve lasting economic independence and educational success.

Expanded Giving in 2024

During the calendar year 2024, the Foundation will make grants totaling $2,750,000, representing 6.25% of the Foundation’s assets—well above the required 5% charitable giving threshold for private foundations set by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The total is the most the Foundation has given in a single calendar year.

Full list of 2024 Annual Grant Cycle Grant Recipients

Aim Higher Foundation—$50,000 for Gen Ops

Ascension Catholic Academy—$75,000 for Gen Ops

Breakthrough Twin Cities—$50,000 for Gen Ops

CharterSource—$20,000 for Project Support

Children's Theatre Company—$50,000 for Project Support

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School—Twin Cities—$75,000 for Gen Ops

Dunwoody College of Technology—$150,000 over two years for Project Support

EdAllies—$100,000 for Gen Ops

Friends of Education—$50,000 for Project Support

Global Academy—$75,000 for Gen Ops

Great MN Schools—$60,000 for Gen Ops

Jeremiah Program—$50,000 for Gen Ops

JFCS (Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis)—$50,000 for Project Support

Little Free Library—$20,000 for Project Support

MIGIZI—$75,000 for Gen Ops

Montessori Center of Minnesota—$40,000 for Project Support

Northfield Public Schools (ISD 659)—$100,000 for Project Support

Prodeo Academy—$75,000 for Project Support

Reach Out and Read Minnesota—$20,000 for Project Support

Reading Partners Minnesota—$50,000 for Gen Ops

Rêve Academy—$50,000 for Gen Ops

Risen Christ Catholic School—$50,000 for Project Support

Saint Paul Promise (Amherst H. Wilder Foundation)—$50,000 for Gen Ops

Summit Academy OIC—$100,000 for Gen Ops

The Sanneh Foundation—$40,000 for Project Support

Think Small—$50,000 for Gen Ops

TNTP / Teach Minnesota—$70,000 for Project Support

Way to Grow—$125,000 for Gen Ops