The Minneapolis-St. Paul-based GroundBreak Coalition has announced philanthropic and corporate investments totaling $926.75 million from Bremer, Huntington, and U.S. banks, M.A. Mortenson Companies Inc., Securian Financial, and the Bush, GHR, McKnight, and Pohlad Family foundations to expand wealth-building opportunities in the region, with a focus on Black homeowners, entrepreneurs, and commercial developers.

Launched in May 2022, GroundBreak is a coalition of more than 40 philanthropic, private, and public institutions working to create an inclusive, racially equitable, and climate-ready region and help rebuild neighborhoods affected by riots and arson following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. According to the GroundBreak Coalition Progress Report (28 pages, PDF), the coalition was shaped through a community-design process to create a new financial system for the region that engages both flexible capital and lending commitments from financial institutions, enabling a large amount of capital to intentionally flow toward financial tools and products for aspiring homeowners, entrepreneurs, and commercial developers, including grants to fill one-time funding gaps; guarantees for loans; low-cost, patient capital; and special-purpose credit program loans. Through this system, every $1 of flexible capital has the potential to unlock more than $3 in private-market capital.

In addition to private investments, approximately $175 million in state funding for first-generation homebuyers and Minnesota Housing mortgage lending will be available. Over the next 10 years, the coalition aims to mobilize $5.3 billion to fund financial tools and products to support the region.

“Today marks an important step forward in our work to create a more wholly just, equitable, and abundant Twin Cities,” said McKnight Foundation president Tonya Allen. “GroundBreak is harnessing the collective power and abundance of our communities, leaders, and institutions to rewrite the narrative and help create a region where all residents have the opportunity to thrive. As we move forward, we remain committed to this goal and to the people who provided our mandate—to unlock capital in a systemic and dependable way over time, so all residents can bring their aspirations to life right here in Minneapolis-St.Paul.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/photovs)