2020 Accomplishments and 2021 Goals
Friends and Supporters,
For all the endless ways to describe 2020, we simply say: What a year it’s been.
From the origins of so much pain, you showed us how the love and support of a united community could accomplish so much to re-envision a new reality.
For that, we say thank you.
Here’s a snapshot of what this new community accomplished together since May:
Over 12,000 people from just about every country worldwide donated to our efforts, bringing our total close to 1 million dollars.
Of that, 48% of the donations were under $25. That’s almost half a million dollars in small contributions—proof that every person creates value.
These donations enabled us to start a 501c3 organization—Du Nord Foundation—to support our under-resourced community, whether through food security, business support, or economic prosperity.
Accepted and distributed tens of thousands of pounds of donated food to over 3,000 community members and their families over the course of ten days.
Disbursed $496,751 in emergency rebuilding funds to 76 small and under-represented business owners in Minneapolis and St. Paul, whose physical stores or offices were damaged during the civil uprising.
Beyond the numbers, this list also contains thousands of faces who shared their stories, tears, anger, hopes, and dreams. And over the coming months, we’ll introduce you to some of them.
As you might imagine, this is only the beginning. So, what’s next?
The Du Nord Foundation supports under-resourced community members by focusing on three core tenets: providing stability through disaster, supporting business ownership and economic prosperity, and investing in rebuilding the community through intentional and innovative business development—all with an eye towards economic justice.
We have more work to do under the first tenant, and food insecurity is still top of our list. Between the effects of COVID unemployment and local grocery stores still working to reopen at full capacity, our community continues to need consistent food support. To fill that gap, the Foundation’s Food Pantry will be reopening in February under the direction of our new team member and Food Pantry Director, Trica Trowbridge. Once open, we’ll reach out to our community with more information and a call for food, health-care, and household staple donations.
Through the lens of the second and third tenets, we’re working hard to envision just how the rebuild should look within the Twin Cities. Ownership for Black and brown business owners is a critical way to create radical change in this country, and having an equitable runway to launch a business from is essential for success. Our vision is to build a space to support their growth and create economic wealth for their families and staff. To that end, we are in active negotiations to purchase property and are working with major developers and BIPOC firms to design the programming and physical space for our business incubation project.
There’s a lot to dig into in 2021, and the future is hopeful. So I want to sign off by thanking you again. As you’ve read, your donation impacted much of what laid the groundwork, and as you can see, it’s just the beginning. We’ll continue to tell our story throughout the coming year and grow this community of abundance with new faces and new opportunities. So help us by sharing our story; let’s make our new community bigger.
And, if you feel so inspired to continue what you’ve started, we welcome your year-end donations. At any level. You can donate here: dunordfoundation.org/take-action
Till 2021: be well, be safe, and continue to be you. The world needs us all more than ever before.
Chris Montana
Chair, Du Nord Foundation
Co-Founder, Du Nord Craft Spirits
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