Opportunity Fund Guidelines

“Economic systems must shift from extractive models toward strategies that build regenerative economies.”
 

Who we are

The East Side Funders Group is a collaboration of partners who come together to learn, identify, influence and align around community wealth building opportunities that increase economic vitality and advance economic justice for residents on the East Side of St. Paul, particularly the Dayton’s Bluff and Payne-Phalen neighborhoods.

The East Side Opportunity Fund

The East Side Opportunity Fund provides smaller-scale, nimble community investments that aim to increase the economic vitality for residents on the East Side of Saint Paul. These investments are intended as seed funding to advance a program, partnership, or project to its next level or to catalyze an innovative approach focused on our priority areas. We intend to be flexible and responsive with our resources, with a willingness to take on the necessary risks that come with innovative ideas and leaders. Our practice is to continuously improve our understanding of the issues that impact our priority areas most. In alignment with our values, we always seek to be transparent, equitable and accountable in our partnerships and funding.

What we fund

East Side Funders Group invests in projects that are aligned with ESFG’s goal of increasing the employment of East Side residents, predominantly residents of color and indigenous communities, through work in one of these priority areas:.

 

Priority Area 1: Workforce Development: Connect Eastside Residents including Youth (16-24) with meaningful employment opportunities.

  • Support innovative initiatives on the East Side where partners are working together in new ways to prepare East Side residents for meaningful, sustainable employment.     

  • Support efforts for small businesses and social enterprises to accelerate job growth on the East Side.

 
 

Priority Area 2: Increase Access to Capital for East Side Residents

  • Advance new financial approaches and tools for community-driven investment.

  • Promote homegrown economies through local control of land, businesses, and resources to leverage shared social, cultural, and financial assets.

  • Support grassroots organizing and leadership development that will build economic justice.

 
 

Priority Area 3: Support Local & Collective Ownership Models

  • Invest in the development of innovative and nontraditional ownership models, such as cooperatives and land trusts.

  • Magnify and advance local ownership models including worker-owned businesses, social enterprises and small business development.      

Priority Area 4: Value and Support Cultural Communities, Spaces, and Assets

  • Hold up and build upon shared and individual asset-based   narratives of People of Color, Black, Asian, Latinx, and Native American populations on the East Side.

  • Support community-led initiatives that contribute to the cultural identity and economic vibrancy of the East Side.

 

HOW CAN I ACCESS FUND OPPORTUNITIES?

Opportunity Fund: As an intermediary we have limited regranting funds and capacity to manage traditional application processes. Instead, East Side Funders Group conducts all of our grantmaking through relationships with grantees and the community. ESFG members and staff work proactively to identify investment opportunities and only consider proposals that have been invited. Please contact Erin Heelan at erin@eastsidefundersgroup.org with questions or to share an idea. Once invited, the ESFG Steering Committee reviews proposals on a rolling basis; once an application is received the timeline for a decision is approximately 30-45 days. Funding supported through the ESFG is not meant to support on-going operations.Past investments to date have ranged from $3,000 to $50,000.

Sponsorship Application: New in 2023! ESFG will provide sponsorships for East Side events and programs that align with our criteria. We are proud to support local organizations that are aligned with our mission to amplify and invest in community wealth building strategies that promote local ownership, high quality living wage jobs, and advance economic justice. Funds are limited. To learn more or apply here.