If Minnesotans are anything, we are resilient, and we step up to care for each other. Our cold winters help us in that way, keeping us nimble, looking out for our neighbors, and requiring us to prepare for rough weather or challenges.

That resilience – and the hearts – of Minnesotans was evident when a large expansion of ICE enforcement officers arrived in our state, and we chose solidarity over fear and division. Nonprofits helped to develop creative solutions to meeting folks’ needs. “Neighboring” became our unifying call to action.

Our state’s nonprofit organizations have long contributed to strengthening individuals, families, and communities, through vital services that help ensure each of us has what we need to thrive. And now, as we face threats to our funding and challenges to meet our missions, we understand we need to step up and meet this moment.

As nonprofits, we understand that those choices to be good neighbors and care for others through challenges can also be created through policies at the Capitol. That’s why growing numbers of nonprofits, from the arts to housing to the environment, are joining together under the Together We Rise MN campaign.  

The massive federal reconciliation bill, also known as H.R. 1, made sweeping changes and funding cuts to our nation’s core basic needs services, including health care and food assistance, gave large tax cuts primarily to the wealthy, and transferred responsibilities to the states while cutting funding to states. That reconciliation bill was signed into law last July, even as Minnesotans, their communities, and nonprofits, faced cutbacks and pressures on funding streams and public services they count on.

In response, we are calling on Minnesota policymakers to be bold and build a strong, stable future. We envision a state where all of us have what we need to thrive, regardless of who we are or where we live.