Lake Street Council 2020 Annual Report
MY LAKE STREET.
OUR LAKE STREET.
OUR MISSION
Since the late 1960s, the Lake Street Council has advocated for businesses large and small along the commercial corridor. Our goal is to help ensure the vitality and prosperity of the commercial corridor for years to come. We do this through programs that support entrepreneurs, beautify our buildings and streetscapes, and engage businesses in policy initiatives.
Following the murder of George Floyd, Lake Street became an epicenter in the call for racial justice. In the civil unrest that followed, hundreds of businesses on and near Lake Street saw millions of dollars in damage ranging from theft to complete loss. While no property can measure up to the value of human life, the losses experienced by these businesses have had real human impacts.
On May 28, we launched a We Love Lake Street fundraising campaign to support the damaged businesses. By the end of the day, hundreds of supporters had donated $20,000 and by the end of the year, that total was $12 million.
THANK YOU!
Your support is making Lake Street’s recovery possible.
Letter from the
Lake Street Council Board of Directors
Last year was like no other in our lifetimes. Most communities, across the country and the world, struggled to “survive” the Covid pandemic. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the Lake Street community also found itself at ground zero for the civil uprising of this generation. It forced many of us to confront our own thoughts and beliefs as we struggled to watch the businesses we know and love – and even many of our own - be destroyed on national news. We, personally and collectively as a Board of Directors, were heartbroken and afraid.
Thankfully, so many of you stepped up when we needed a spark of hope, through financial contributions, offers of your skilled time, and even emotional support. You showed up with brooms in socially distanced solidarity to begin the clean-up effort. You showed up with bags of groceries to support those who found themselves suddenly living in a food desert. You showed up with accounting skills, digital marketing skills, construction skills, and legal skills to help lift up businesses and residents alike. You showed up financially and helped more than 350 businesses get reopened as quickly as possible, you helped essential businesses like pharmacies invest in their long term viability and we know you will continue to show up and support this community so that the Lake Street corridor can continue to be open to everyone.
Just as importantly, you’ve come back as customers; you’ve ordered delivery from our restaurants, you did curbside pickup for your holiday gift shopping, and as things slowly reopen, you’re shopping, dining, doing business, and embracing the diversity that can be found along this incredible and vibrant street.
Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We could not have gotten through the past year without you and we can’t get through the next year without you, either. Please keep supporting Lake Street businesses. We need you now as much as ever.
Sincerely,
YEAR IN REVIEW
YEAR IN REVIEW
donated to support Lake Street recovery efforts from over 70,000 individuals, foundations, and corporations.
4,320
hours of business assistance to primarily BIPOC and immigrant-owned businesses.
$8,000,000
in grants to more than 400 local businesses.
6
new staff members adding capacity both Somali and Spanish.
2,556,973
individuals reached via our Visit Lake Street placemaking initiatives.
OUR WORK IN 2020
OUR WORK IN 2020
LENDING A HAND
We believe that local businesses are essential to the vitality and economic well-being of our community. While our programs and activities are always adapting to the needs of our community - supporting our Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) business owners and immigrant-run businesses and organizations has always been a priority. Despite everything, 2020 was no different.
While the Covid-19 pandemic took a quick and immediate toll on our business community - in the early months of 2020, we strove to support our business community by helping them apply for government grants and loans as well as advocating for safe shopping and social distancing throughout the corridor.
With support from the Minnesota Disaster Recovery Fund, we were able to directly fund 23 nonprofit organizations whose programs or services had been and continued to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, our Lake Street Business COVID Relief Grant will soon provide additional assistance to businesses along the corridor that have not been able to access significant assistance from federal, state, and county grant programs.
RESPONDING TO IMMEDIATE NEEDS
In the wake of civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd, we quickly mobilized a business outreach team that could provide in-language support in the areas of construction management, insurance, and legal assistance, financial resources, general business consulting, and marketing.
From fixing doorknobs and assessing damage to simply listening to the stories of our community, our work in 2020 quickly shifted again to supporting the primarily low-income and BIPOC entrepreneurs that were dispositionally affected by the damages from the civil unrest.
Our rapid response We Love Lake Street & Healthy Lake Street grants programs awarded $6,750,000 in grants to more than 375 local businesses and nonprofit organizations. These grants provide much-needed support to cover immediate repairs and lost inventory. With an average grant size of $15,000, these grants were given to preliminary BIPOC and immigrant-run businesses who rented their space.
YOU BELONG HERE
While our We Love Lake Street fundraising campaign captured nationwide attention we have always prioritized our local community. We believe Lake Street is the most unique corridor of small business, culture, and heritage and that you belong on Lake Street.
Our robust social media and placemaking channels reached over 2 million individuals in 2021, helping to drive traffic to businesses and support the prosperity of our corridor.
Working with local artists, photographers, and videographers we worked to showcase not only what’s amazing about Lake Street but to share the stories of Lake Street’s recovery and resilience in the face of continued challenges.
Our We Love Lake Street Fund was covered in more than 1,000 news stories in the Twin Cities and across the country. This allowed us to get the word out and engage donors both here in Minnesota and around the globe. We also worked with local reporters to highlight dozens of small businesses on Lake Street as they continue to recover, rebuild and welcome back customers – from LV’s Barbershop to Dar Medina to Ingebretsen’s.
Working Together & Advocating for Support
Immediately following the civil unrest we began working closely with other stakeholders along the corridor to share knowledge, resources, and work collectively to begin the recovery work. We helped form not only our We Love Lake Street Oversight Committee but also a Lake Street Recovery Leadership Group.
These partnerships are made up of community leaders, organizations, businesses, and funders who are committed to working together to support the recovery, healing, and equitable development in and near South Minneapolis and includes organizations like:
Seward Redesign
Neighborhood Development Center
Latino Economic Development Center
Longfellow Community Council
African Development Center
New Americans Development Center
African Economic Development Association
Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association
City of Lakes Commercial Land Trust
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Community Reinvestment Fund
Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers
City of Minneapolis
The recovery of Lake Street has only just begun. The size of the need is a tremendous challenge. Hundreds of businesses have been damaged, resulting in several hundred million dollars in total damages. Your donations and local funders are stepping up to help meet these challenges, but there is a need for federal and state support, too.
OUR VISION
OUR VISION
The Lake Street Council is committed to the principles of equitable development. We believe Lake Street will and should always be a home for immigrant and minority-owned entrepreneurs, as well as a place where anyone can come to start a business, experience the vitality of life, and be embraced by a warm and welcoming community.
Our allocation of $1.5 million in Predevelopment & Acquisition grants is an important first step toward building a more equitable Lake Street. These grants and forgivable loans incentivize community-driven redevelopment within the Lake Street area and support local entrepreneurship by giving individuals and businesses access to the resources that help build wealth.
With partners like NEOO Partners Inc. and the Black Women’s Wealth Alliance, we plan to continue this work building a better Lake Street community for our business owners, customers, residents, and everyone in between.
What does equitable development look like?
“The We Love Lake Street fund has undoubtedly made an impact in our lives through financial, informational, and emotional support. Your unwavering support has been vital to our recovery as well as our success in turning our long-time goals into a reality. Thank you for helping us back on our feet and for allowing us to continue our operations through these tough times.”
El Rey Car Audio
Predevelopment & Acquisition grant recipient
BUILDING A SHARED VISION
Lake Street is ever-evolving - it does not represent one idea, one past, one belief, or one entity - it requires all of us working together to make it thrive. Over the next 5 years, we hope to bring this shared vision to life - to be a catalyzing agent that reflects the interests of the corridor’s diverse businesses, residents, and visitors.
WE HOPE TO:
Help ensure our business community survives and thrives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leverage our We Love Lake Street funding to bring additional recovery investments and subsidies to the corridor.
Work to preserve and expand affordable commercial space and support local property ownership - including opportunities for Black and immigrant entrepreneurs.
Continue to expand awareness of Lake Street offerings and re-affirm its status as a destination of culture, commerce, recreation, and opportunity.
Advocate for equitable development and landmark redevelopment projects in the area
Support initiatives that celebrate the vitality along Lake Street and modernize our streetscapes – from signage and exterior improvements to transportation and infrastructure.
OUR PARTNERS
OUR PARTNERS
Thank you to everyone that has donated. We are amazed by your generosity.
$100,000 +
3M Open Fund
Canadian Pacific / Soo Line West Railroad
Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Fund
M. A. Mortenson Company
Morfitt Family Charitable Fund
Robert L Smith
Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation
Target Foundation
Thomson Reuters
$50,000 - $99,999
Abbot Northwestern Hospital Medical Staff
Abbott Northwestern Hospital Foundation
Community Reinvestment Fund, Inc.
LuLuemon
Magnusson Family Foundation
MN Wild Hockey Club
National Hockey League Foundation
Piper Sandler Foundation
RBC Capital Markets LLC
TCF National Bank
The Schnieders Family Foundation
Watson Family Fund
$10,000 - $49,999
Affinity Plus
Albrecht Family Foundation
Allen Lenzmeier
Amy and Chip Pearson Family Foundation
Andersen Corporate Foundation
Arthur E and Jan M Anderson Charitable Account
Astro Gaming
Avocet Foundation
Barr Engineering
Bean's Greenwood Marina, Inc.
BetterUP Inc.
Bituminous Roadways
BNGF Rieke Hankins Fund
Boardman Family
Brenda Johnson
Bridgewater Bank
Broadhead
Butler Community Fund
Capella University
Charles P and Mary E Belgarde Foundation
Chris Schoonover
Crisp & Green Foundation
Daniel Berning
Dorothy Kirk
Dream Family Charitable Gift Fund
East Side Games
Emily Fritz
Engelsma Family Foundation
Face Foundrie
Farley Family Fund
Flagship Bank
George Family Foundation Brokerage
George Hicks
Halftone Digital
Harvard Maintenance
Hawkins Family Foundation
Hawkins, Inc.
Helming & Knies Family Foundation
Hennepin County
Impressions, Incorporated
JP's Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation
Kevin Anderson
Kimley-Horn Foundation
Land O' Lakes
Lurie LLP
Margaret V.B. Wurtele
Mentormate Inc
Michelson USA
Minnesota Twins
Nancy Wiens Charitable Fund
New Belgium Brewing Company
Novu Health
OC Tanner Company
Opus Foundation
Opus Group
Otto Bremer Trust
Outsell Corporation
Patina
PayPal Giving Fund
Pendleton Woolen Mills, Inc
Perforce Software Inc
Piper Sandler
Production Engineering Corporation
Punch Neapolitan Pizza
Reckitt Benckiser LLC
Red Wing Shoe Co Foundation
Robins Kaplan
Rockler Woodworking and Hardware
Scott and Lynn A La Rue
Shane Smith
Siteimprove Inc
Solhem LLC
SPEDCO Economic Development Foundation
Stillman Family Foundation
SunOpta Foods Inc
Syngenta
The Anderson Revocable Trust
The Baker Family Fund
The Benevity Community Impact Fund
The Gerald and Patrice Halbach Charitable Fund
The Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota
The LuLu Foundation
The Ruffing Philanthropic Fund
The Sherwin-Williams Company
TIAA Charitable
Total Expert
UCare
Uponor
US Bank Foundation
Wells Fargo Foundation
Werner Electric
White House Custom Colour
WSB Engineering
Yale and Irene Gotsdiner Family Fund
In-Kind Support
Accenture
Allina Health
Cardinal Glass
Community Reinvestment Fund
Deloitte
Mpls Downtown Improvement District
Fredrickson & Byron
Hiline
Jaanuu Masks
Jimmy RedLayer
Lurie LLP
Lyft
Mortenson Construction
Otto Bremer
Sherwin Williams
Sonus Interiors
Stigma Hemp
Structural Resource Center
Target Store - Uptown
Trustworthy Glass
United Health Group
US Bank
Watkins Spice