Healthy Lake Street Fund

Grant Application

Applications are CURRENTLY CLOSED for our Healthy Lake Street Fund. For assistance on your current application, please email grants@lakestreetcouncil.org or call 612-822-0232.

The timely reopening of small businesses along Lake Street has a direct impact on the well-being of our residents and their access to essential goods and services that allow them to live healthy lives. Through a generous gift from United Health Group, Lake Street Council has established the Healthy Lake Street Fund. We are excited to launch this effort and look forward to helping revitalize the Lake Street small business community and in turn the well-being of its residents.

The Healthy Lake Street Fund supports the reopening, relocation, improvement/expansion and predevelopment costs of small businesses within the Lake Street neighborhood and their efforts to offer essential products and services to the Lake Street community.

Applications are due by midnight on Monday, November 9. Please see below for the application process. To request an application please email grants@lakestreetcouncil.org or text 612-295-2969.

This is the first round of funding available from the Healthy Lake Street Fund. Additional funding from the Healthy Lake Street Fund may be made available in the coming months.

This initial grant round is focused on ensuring that core healthcare and medical services, including mental and behavioral health, that were impacted by the civil uprising in Minneapolis can continue to be available to residents and community members of the Lake Street neighborhood. 

Businesses and nonprofits located in the neighborhood who provide licensed medical, mental health, and behavioral services, such as pharmacies and clinics, can apply for funding to reopen, sustain, or expand their services, or increase their capacity to deliver services. Priority will be given to small businesses and nonprofits meeting healthy community needs in a culturally specific manner.

Applications are due by midnight on Monday, November 9. Applicants will be eligible for grants of up to $100,000. We expect that the majority of grants will be $50,000 or less.

Businesses receiving grants from this fund will also be eligible for professional technical support on topics such as supply chain management, technology systems, capacity building, small business management, and other areas.

A small business or nonprofit organization must meet the following criteria to be eligible for a grant in this first Healthy Lake Street grant round:

• Have staff that are licensed in medical services, including mental health.

• Provide a complete application including necessary supporting documentation.

• Be located within the Lake Street neighborhood, which is defined as the area bounded by West River Parkway on the east, 26th Street on the north, the border of Minneapolis and St. Louis Park on the west, and 34th Street on the south.

• Commit to retain your business or nonprofit in the Lake Street neighborhood.

• Have fewer than 200 full time employees.

• Have an annual revenue of less than $10 million.

• Experienced physical damage or theft during the civil uprising that occurred in the week following the death of George Floyd.

• Demonstrate a significant financial need in order to reopen, restock or sustain and/or grow the small business.

• Report progress regularly to Lake Street Council staff and board.

• Agree to have information about your business or organization and the grant you received shared with the broader public.

Applicants do not need to be members of Lake Street Council or any other organization to qualify for funding or to receive assistance. Immigration status does not impact eligibility.

Applicants will be required to submit clear and detailed plans about how they would use funding to reopen, sustain, or expand their services to the community. We will consider requests for one or more of the following potential uses of funding:

1. Repairs of remaining building damage, replacement of lost or damaged equipment and inventory, or other basic investments necessary to reopen business after closures related to the civil uprising. This includes the costs related to moving to and building out another location, as long as that location is within the Lake Street neighborhood.

2. Replacement of lost income and repayment of debt accrued during closures related to the civil uprising.

3. Investment in new equipment, infrastructure, staffing, or services to improve quality or reach of necessary medical services, especially to impacted residents.

Examples of eligible uses include:

• A pharmacy that uses funds to restock, replace broken shelves or windows, and fix their door

• A chiropractic clinic that uses funds to purchase signage and equipment for a new rental space on Lake Street after being forced to relocate from a damaged space

• A dental office that pays two months of overdue rent and bills in order to remain in their current space

• A mental health service provider that was damaged during the unrest, that wishes to provide reduced cost or pro-bono services to residents impacted by trauma

Grant funding from the Healthy Lake Street Fund may not be used to pay for expenses for which you have received other sources of funding. Requests must be intended to cover costs that have not been covered by insurance payments or other grants

To apply for a grant from the Healthy Lake Street Fund, please email Ruth at grants@lakestreetcouncil.org or call/text 612-295-2969. After ensuring that you are eligible to apply, we will send you the grant application form to fill out.

This grant follows up from the We Love Lake Street Recovery Fund grant previously released by Lake Street Council. If you have not previously applied for a We Love Lake Street Recovery Fund grant, we will ask you to go to www.welovelakestreet.submittable.com to submit an application.

Please note that you should not fill out a second We Love Lake Street grant application if your business or organization previously applied for one, even if your initial application was waitlisted or denied.

Applications will be accepted until midnight on Monday, November 9.  Applications will be reviewed immediately by members of the Healthy Lake Street Fund Working Group. Applicants can expect to receive an update by Monday, November 30.

Healthy Lake Street Fund Working Group or staff of Lake Street Council may request a short interview or additional documentation or conduct additional analysis before making final decisions. 

Grantmaking decisions will be made by the Healthy Lake Street Fund Working Group. The group is composed of representatives from United Health Group, anchor Lake Street employer Allina Health, Lake Street Council board members, representatives from other Lake Street businesses and organizations, and residents of the Lake Street neighborhood. All members of the Healthy Lake Street Fund Working Group will recuse themselves from decision making when they have a professional or personal relationship with a potential grant recipient.

Funds will be disbursed in a timely manner following final decisions. Depending on the size of the individual grant, Lake Street Council may release a portion of the grant funds initially and require that grantees spend the initial amount before requesting the remaining portion. 

Grant recipients will be required to submit documentation of expenses within 6 months of receiving grant funds. Reporting requirements may include metrics such as the following: 

• How many days or weeks earlier were you able to open because of the grant you received?

• Provide a short summary within 6 months describing the impact this grant had on your business and the community. 

• If significant losses are projected within three months after you received the grant you will be expected to communicate with the Lake Street Council

• If you intend to close or sell your business, you will be expected to notify the Lake Street Council prior to making a public announcement. 

• Outcomes of work with a technical assistance provider such as savings of time and /or financial resources, description of process improvements, new supply chain or vendor relationships established and impact on the business.

• Photos and receipts to show that funds were used as intended.

The Healthy Lake Street Working Group expects to authorize additional grant funding rounds for businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Lake Street neighborhood in the coming months. These funds will be available to businesses and nonprofits who contribute to other critical elements of community health and wellbeing. These grants will be available to businesses who provide nutritious and fresh food, healthy activities, and other essential services that go beyond licensed medical care.

After needs are met to help reopen or establish basic healthy community services, this fund may support nonprofit organizations and/or longer-term community needs such as, property acquisition to provide space for local entrepreneurs to facilitate healing and encourage positive outdoor activity.

For assistance on the application, email grants@lakestreetcouncil.org or call 612-822-0232.