Civic Leadership
The Latest
Advancing Equity Through Advocacy
In 2025, our legislative agenda focuses on critical issues such as education, economic mobility, and protecting our democracy. Read this story to learn more.
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The State of Minnesota Nonprofits
Watch this video to learn about new insights into Minnesota's nonprofit landscape.
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A Message from Our CEO
We can’t know what we will face over the next century, or even the next few years. What we do know is that none of us can, or should, shoulder the challenges alone, which means we need to continue to grow our generous community.
Communities are stronger when everyone participates in public discussion and decision-making about issues that affect their lives and our society as a whole. Explore how we partner with others to foster civic engagement, discourse, and advocacy.
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Abundant Cities: Building Common Ground
As Minneapolis seeks to write its next chapter after three challenging years, we are not alone. Cities across the country face many of the same obstacles and opportunities—and those communities, like ours, benefit from a variety of changemakers who are stepping forward to meet the moment with real ambition.
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2023 Open Streets Festival Series
The Minneapolis Foundation is proud to be a presenting sponsor of Open Streets - an event series that transforms city streets into fun, car-free community celebrations.
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Advancing the Genius of Black-Led Change
Read the story of the creation and vision of Minnesota's first Black community foundation, which was made possible by Chanda Smith Baker, our Chief Impact Officer, and Lulete Mola and Repa Mekha.
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Abundant Cities: Inclusive Cities
Inclusive Cities is the second of three Abundant Cities events copresented by the Minneapolis Foundation and Walker Art Center. This panel focused on Minneapolis as a place where everyone is valued and seen as essential to our city’s economy and culture.
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“Abundant Cities” Series Brings Together Community Changemakers
The Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Foundation are joining forces to elevate the ongoing community dialogue about what’s next in the revitalization of downtown and our city as a whole. Learn more about the series in this article in the Sahan Journal.
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Is downtown MPLS on the rebound?
Minneapolis Foundation President and CEO, R.T. Rybak, appeared on WCCO Radio to discuss why he's hopeful about the future of downtown.
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Big Ideas for Downtown
Best known for his celebrated tenure at the Star Tribune, retired restaurant critic Rick Nelson is also a longtime student of urban design and one of his home city's most vocal fans. Watch this video to hear some of his ideas on how we can bring energy and new ideas to downtown Minneapolis.
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Abundant Cities: Evolving Downtowns
Our first Abundant Cities event brought together local leaders with deep knowledge of our community’s history, diverse perspectives on the importance of art and economic equity as drivers of regional prosperity, and visionary ideas about what downtown could look like in the future.
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Five Cities with New Ideas
An author, professor, and director of the Minnesota Design Center, Thomas Fisher specializes in urban design, systems design, and ethics. In this video, Tom discusses how cities around the world are thinking creatively about how they use space.
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Abundant Cities brings together innovators working in Minneapolis and around the country to define new visions for urban areas. Join a cohort of changemakers who will help the best new ideas become reality here in Minneapolis.
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