DEED Announces Recipients of Targeted Community Capital Project Grants

St. Paul – Today the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced recipients of the Targeted Community Capital Project (TCCP) grants. In recognition of the statewide impact of COVID-19, natural disasters, and the civil unrest that occurred in the last two years, the 2021 Minnesota legislature authorized $18 million for DEED to administer this competitive grant program, providing much-needed funding for complex and costly capital projects. Capital projects utilizing these funds must result in providing, increasing, and/or expanding access to economic development, education, or workforce development programs or services to underserved communities or economically disadvantaged persons or groups.

“We know the pandemic has had disproportionate impacts on Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities and on economically disadvantaged groups,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. “This funding demonstrates the state’s commitment to a new chapter of equitable economic growth.”

Funding was made available for State Fiscal Year 2022-2023, and organizations were invited to apply for a maximum grant award of $1.5 million – with a legislative requirement that DEED equitably divide the total appropriation between the metropolitan areas and greater Minnesota. A total of 149 proposals were received for the TCCP grant, totaling $173,545,117 in requests. With limited resources, only 11% of organizations that applied were able to be funded.

“Many excellent proposals were submitted, and our team went through an extensive review to analyze the applications with significant input from the community,” said Marc Majors, DEED Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development. “Across the state, these grants will help provide development of spaces that Minnesotans can go to for job training, youth after-school programming, and other many important services that will make a real difference in  communities.”

As part of DEED’s commitment to equity and community  engagement, the agency organized proposal reviewer groups comprised of volunteer community members and DEED staff. Potential reviewers were vetted by a team of DEED staff and selected based on their experience in Minnesota in community development, capital projects, public financing, economic development, and their relationships in underserved communities and economically disadvantaged areas (as defined in statute). The TCCP grant proposals were reviewed by teams comprised of 67 individuals – 25% of them were community members.

That review process deeply informed final grant decisions and reflects a significant commitment the agency is making in centering equity and community engagement in competitive grant decisions.

DEED will hold a virtual press conference to walk through the grant process and award decisions at noon on Friday, March 25. Email Alicia Cordes-Mayo at alicia.cordes-mayo@state.mn.us to obtain the link for the press conference. A recording can be viewed after the event concludes.

Sixteen grant awards will be issued. The grantees and their locations and award amounts are:

• Access North Center for Independent Living of NE MN: $123,071
  Hibbing (St. Louis County)
  They will construct a carpentry shop at the Access North existing location to provide training opportunities and paid internships in carpentry and handiwork for high school/college students and individuals with disabilities. The projects completed in training will be provided free of charge to seniors and people with disabilities needing home modifications to support accessibility and aging safely within their homes. 
• African Center, Education, & Resource, Inc. (ACER): $921,486
  Brooklyn Center (Hennepin County)
  ACER will purchase the Shingle Creek Center in partnership with COPAL, to create a Futures Entrepreneurship & Career Center in Brooklyn Center resulting in increased access to economic development and workforce development services. In addition, the project will work with existing store owners within the Shingle Creek Center to update and improve their retail spaces.

• CLUES: $1,500,000
  St. Paul (Ramsey County)
  Serving the Latino community on the Eastside of St. Paul, this project will expand the campus to accommodate increased workforce services and the organization’s behavioral health services. In addition, these funds will renovate an adjacent space to create an early childcare center, training family childcare providers to become licensed, and increase space for the food pantry.

• Ecolibrium3: $843,250
  Duluth (St. Louis County)
  A collaborative partnership with Duluth Housing & Redevelopment Authority and Duluth Children’s Museum, the SEE (Social, Economic, and Educational) Justice for Lincoln Park project will renovate three commercial properties in the Duluth area to provide a neighborhood resource hub, a small footprint grocery, and an experiential STEM lab serving the low-income Lincoln Park Craft District and St. Louis County residents.

• EMERGE: $610,000
  Minneapolis (Hennepin County)
  Located in the North Minneapolis and Cedar Riverside areas of Minneapolis, this project will expand the current Second Chance Recycling facility to increase access to workforce development services such as employment preparation, job skills, work experience, and placement for individuals who were previously incarcerated.
• Itasca Economic Development Corporation (IEDC): $1,080,000
  Grand Rapids (Itasca County)
  TCCP funds will be combined with additional funds raised by IEDC to complete “The Forge,” an innovation and maker space in Northeast Minnesota that will provide programming and equipping space for innovators and artists, as well as education, and training for residents from various and diverse backgrounds. This project will advance services to this low-income area with work readiness skills training, pre-apprenticeship training, and in-demand occupational training.
• Kootasca Community Action: $1,373,737
  Grand Rapids (Itasca County)
  Creating an Early Childhood Hub, these funds will renovate a vacated elementary school to centralize space for Early Childhood Education (ECE), increase access to social and workforce services to families, teen parents, and new fathers. The project will also increase availability of internships to ECE college students and provide onsite resources for residents of Grand Rapids.

• Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC): $1,500,000
  St. Paul (Ramsey County)
  Located on the Eastside of St. Paul, this project will purchase and develop the Plaza Del Sol building to increase economic development, workforce training, and offer additional commercial and business opportunities for Latino residents and business owners.

• Lower Sioux Indian Community: $1,500,000
  Morton (Redwood County)
  Increasing the current space, these funds will help create a 20,000 square-foot campus to house Lower Sioux Indian Community’s continuum of hemp farming, processing, and home building facilities. This project will expand and provide the building blocks for a diversified stable microeconomy to help sustain their tribal nation with reliable revenue, job training, and jobs for tribal members and their families.

• Masjed Abubakr Al-Seddiq, Inc. (MAAS): $1,500,000
  Rochester (Olmsted County)
  Serving the East African community in Rochester, MAAS will utilize these funds to increase access for individuals to their workforce training and services. Renovating the second floor of the current space will expand bus driving, childcare provider, home health aide, and IT/coding training opportunities and increase job placement assistance.

• MIGIZI Communications, Inc.: $921,486
  Minneapolis (Hennepin County)
  Increasing training and services to youth through MIGIZI’s Indigenous Pathways program, this project will renovate and increase space by building an addition to the current facility. With the additional space, trainings will expand to include communications, media, green jobs, and IT.

• Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures: $536,900
  Onamia (Mille Lacs County)
  Renovating an existing building, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe will open a childcare center in Onamia. This project will increase  access for tribal and non-tribal parents to obtain safe and secure childcare services in the Onamia area and provide opportunity for families to enter the workforce – resulting in increased economic self-sufficiency and stability.

• Osseo Area Schools: $190,000
  Brooklyn Center (Hennepin County)
  To meet the needs of this diverse community, Osseo Area Schools provides culturally relevant and responsive programming from English classes and college preparation to meaningful training opportunities and work readiness. This project will renovate the front space at the Northwest Family Center; with the increased space, services and training opportunities for Adult Basic Education students, individuals, and access to workforce service partner organizations will increase.

• Parents in Community Action, Inc. (PICA): $1,500,000
  Minneapolis (Hennepin County)
  This project will renovate PICA’s existing Training Center facility, located within the McKnight Center campus, to expand the existing Lab School and provide a dedicated space for workforce development programs, community training space, and professional development activities. This expansion will train more early childhood teachers, drivers, advocates, and food service workers, enable low-income families to acquire marketable job skills, and promote equity and diversity by training primarily people of color. 

• Ridgewater College: $1,500,000
  Willmar (Kandiyohi County)
  An addition to the current infrastructure, this project will expand Ridgewater College’s Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training by creating a 300’x200’ truck driving training range and gravel parking pad. This increased space will allow  more students to gain the skills required, and necessary licensures to obtain a CDL to meet the needs of employers in the area.  

• Somali Community Resettlement Services: $1,500,000
  Minneapolis (Hennepin County)
  Expanding services to the South Minneapolis area, this project will purchase a building in the Minneapolis area to provide workforce development and economic development training opportunities for Somali and other diverse communities in the area. It will include work readiness programming, legal assistance, career counseling, a business incubator program, and an adult day and childcare center.

DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and its services, visit the DEED website, the JoinUsMn.com website, or follow us on Twitter.

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Upon request, this information can be made available in alternate formats for people with disabilities by contacting the DEED Communications Office at 651-259-7161.