Program:
General Grants
- Budget:
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$644,800
- Category:
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Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking
- Population Served:
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Homeless
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Poor/Economically Disadvantaged, Indigent, General
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General Public/Unspecified
Program Description:
Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless provides grant funding for food and shelter providers for items such as mattresses, freezers and roof repairs that enable them to serve more people in need. Open Your Heart processes general grant requests monthly in order to respond quickly to these needs, which are not typically funded by other organizations.
Through the General Grants program Open Your Heart also provides vital financial support to Minnesota’s food banks, food shelves and on-site feeding programs, which obtained more than 800,000 pounds of fresh produce, dairy and meat last year with funds from Open Your Heart. This funding is especially important to food shelves in the summer when food supplies are low and the needs are greater because children are home from school.
Program Long-Term Success:
Open Your Heart provided a total of $235,000 in grant funding in 2007-2009 for the purchase and distribution of food to the six Feeding America food banks serving Minnesota. The food banks have been able to purchase an average of 10.3 pounds of food for every dollar donated, totaling nearly 2.5 million pounds of fresh produce, dairy and meat for people in need. This healthy food came at a crucial time as food shelf visits in Minnesota increased more than 50 percent from 2007 to 2009.
Program Short-Term Success:
Nine organizations purchased freezers and/or refrigerators in 2009 with Open Your Heart funding to increase their capacity to receive and distribute food donations. The additional food storage space allows these organizations to accept donations of produce, milk, meat and other perishable items they previously had to turn down.
Program Success Monitored by:
The Grant Audit committee reviews all grants to determine that funds have been spent in accordance with the grant agreement.
Program Success Examples:
The St. Paul Area Council of Churches got the beds and equipment they needed to open a third Project Home shelter site for homeless families. The additional space made room for 20 more people each night. More than 450 families, including 900 children, stayed at a Project Home site in 2009.
Program:
Education Fund
- Budget:
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$127,000
- Category:
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Education
- Population Served:
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Children Only (5 - 14 years)
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Youth/Adolescents only (14 - 19 years)
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Homeless
Program Description:
Open Your Heart meets the often overlooked needs of homeless school children through its Education Fund. This special grant funding is awarded each school year to homeless shelters and housing programs working with children and youth in grades K-12. The funding helps provide items such as backpacks, school supplies, gym uniforms and activity fees, giving students who are homeless the tools they need to stay engaged and succeed in school.
Program Long-Term Success:
Since 1996 Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless has supported over 50,000 children through the Education Fund. Thanks to the generosity of people who believe strongly in this program, the number of children served each year has increased from 549 in the program’s first year to over 5,000 students during the 2009-2010 school year.
Program Short-Term Success:
Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless supported over 5,000 homeless and highly mobile students during the 2009-2010 academic year. Children support staff report increased self-esteem, engagement and success in school among students who receive support from Open Your Heart. Many high-school students who were at risk of dropping out were able to graduate with support from Open Your Heart, and some of these students even received scholarships (from other sources) to attend college.
Program Success Monitored by:
The Grant Audit committee reviews all grants to determine that funds have been spent in accordance with the grant agreement. In addition, education grant recipients complete an annual survey providing both quantitative and qualitative data about the services provided and the impact on the children served. The responses are reviewed and assessed by the education committee.
Program Success Examples:
People Serving People (PSP) is the largest provider of emergency housing for families in the Twin Cities and surrounding area. The Open Your Heart Education Fund directly positively impacts the lives of these homeless children by helping PSP provide school expenses and supplies for children attending classes and the Tutoring Program. In the words of Elizabeth Hinz, District Liaison for Homeless and Highly Mobile Students in the Minneapolis Public Schools, PSP's "services are important for the physical and emotional health of children and youth and directly impact school readiness and academic achievement." This achievement is the best tool to help these children break the cycle of poverty, and the supplies provided by Open Your Heart enable them to complete their homework, assemble projects, and work on problem subjects with their tutors. Tutors love the program, and consider their work greatly improved this year with the curriculum materials provided by Open Your Heart.