The Ward 8 Community Benevolence Fund, a $500,000 fund established as part of the settlement George Floyd’s family received from the City of Minneapolis in 2021, has announced that it has awarded grants to businesses, community organizations, and nonprofits working to enhance the community at 38th St. and Chicago Ave., which is now known as George Floyd Square.

Grants of between $5,000 and $25,000 were made to unspecified recipients working to support children’s mental and emotional well-being through social services and literature and teach children entrepreneurial skills. The fund further described recipients as family-owned and community-based restaurants that provide jobs and gathering places, independent businesses and retailers that provide jobs and skills training, and visual and performing arts organizations that add cultural value and expression to the community. The fund will no longer accept or respond to grant requests.

A spokesperson for the law firm that represented Floyd’s estate told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the fund would make no further statements and that recipients were not identified to respect their privacy.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Rudy Balasko)