The GroundBreak Coalition, a group formed by the leaders of 25 national and Minnesota-based businesses, nonprofits, and local government officials, plans to raise $2 billion in private, philanthropic, and public funds to help rebuild neighborhoods affected by riots and arson following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and address long-term inequities in home ownership and business development in the Minneapolis-St Paul region, the Star Tribune reports.

The private sector-led coalition, spearheaded by McKnight Foundation president Tonya Allen, includes leaders from the Minneapolis Foundation, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the African American Leadership Forum, the Center for Economic Inclusion, the Rockefeller Foundation, U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo, PNC Bank, Goldman Sachs, Securian Financial, and the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, as well as the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

While nearly $200 million has been committed to rebuilding areas affected by the 2020 riots, further investment is needed to address the estimated $550 million in damage by rioters and arsonists across the Twin Cities. In addition to rebuilding decimated business districts, the coalition plans to accelerate and expand programs to address gaps in housing, employment, and entrepreneurship including the creation of paths to home ownership for 45,000 people of color, affordable rental housing for 23,500, and the launch of more than 11,000 businesses owned by people of color.

"We've been chipping away at this mountain a little bit at a time, and we haven't gotten far enough," said Dorothy Bridges, a U.S. Bancorp board member. "We're trying to aggregate and mobilize capital….If we do it right, I'm sure it will be much more than $2 billion that comes to bear."

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