Ripley Memorial Foundation Awards $117,000 in Multi-Year Grants

The Ripley Memorial Foundation, a donor advised fund at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, has awarded 12 multi-year grants to organizations for a total $117,000. In this second year of funding efforts to prevent teen pregnancy, organizations will build on current work to promote access to women’s health education and services using cultural and community strengths so that young women and gender-expansive youth know about their bodies and can make healthy, informed choices as they grow.

In their first year of Ripley funding, organizations shared that general operating support created opportunities for success during challenges faced such as staffing transitions, the pandemic, and the need to increase education on reproductive justice as a result of Roe v. Wade’s reversal.

While comprehensive reproductive healthcare services and education continues to be a priority, Ripley Memorial Foundation is examining its funding focus to ensure it serves community needs in alignment with Dr. Martha Ripley’s legacy. More information about the next grant opportunity will be shared in the summer of 2023.

Congrats to these grantees:
Annex Teen Clinic | Robbinsdale | $10,000 — To help young people take charge of their sexual health by providing confidential health services and education. Annex Teen Clinic’s is a catalyst for creating a community where all young people have the resources and support they need to transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Centro Tyrone Guzman | Minneapolis | $10,000 — To support youth from the Raíces Youth Development Program to collaboratively develop LGBTQ+ educational materials in Spanish and share their knowledge with elders, community members, and local school partners to create more supportive environments for LGBTQ+ Latine youth. Centro Tyrone Guzman contributes to the well-being of Latines through education and family engagement.

Comunidades Latina Undas En Servicio (CLUES) | St. Paul | $10,000 — To provide multigenerational sexual health education programs for Latinx families. CLUES advances the capacity of Latinx individuals and families to be healthy, prosperous, and engaged in their communities.

Division of Indian Work | Minneapolis | $10,000 — To support the delivery of the Live It! teen pregnancy prevention curriculum, a holistic, Indigenous program, through a train-the-trainer model. Division of Indian Work supports and strengthens urban American Indian people through culturally based education, traditional healing approaches, and leadership development.

Family Tree Clinic | Minneapolis l | $10,000 — To deliver comprehensive sex education in Twin Cities Metro area schools, positively influencing sexual health outcomes among teens. Family Tree Clinic cultivates a healthy community through comprehensive sexual healthcare and education.

Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research (HACER) (St. Paul) | $10,000 — To work with the Latine community to access, generate, and disseminate research to inform institutional decisions and public policy. HACER will expand the Lateen Moms program, to support pregnant teens and young adults, as well as female-identifying teens and young adults that are already parents, to offer a safe space to talk about women’s health and destigmatize bodies so participants can prioritize their health.

Just The Pill | Minneapolis | $8,000 — To bring healthcare services, including telehealth visits and pop-up clinics, to people in ways that are more comfortable to them. Just The Pill was founded in April 2020 to bring sexual and reproductive healthcare to communities.

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota | St. Paul | $10,000 — To support the Seeing and Exploring Life’s Future (SELF) pregnancy/STI prevention program, which teaches self-advocacy in the disability community about sexually transmitted infections, consent, and sexual health, including youth of all backgrounds who identify as having a disability and who pursue individualized education programs.

Minnesota African Women’s Association (MAWA) | Brooklyn Center| $9,000 — To promote the health and well-being of African refugee and immigrant women and their families in the Twin Cities area through research, education, advocacy, and programming. MAWA’s programmatic goals ensure community integration, positive development, educational and career achievement, economic self-sufficiency, and teen pregnancy prevention for Pan-African girls.

Our Justice | Minneapolis | $10,000 — To foster a world developed by Black women where everyone, including young people, has the power and autonomy to decide if, when, and how they want to start or grow their families.

Way to Grow | Minneapolis | $9,150 — To fund the DreamTracks™ teen parenting program, which works with teen parents and their extended families to break the cycle of teenage pregnancy and poverty to move teens towards self-sufficiency. Way to Grow works closely with parents and communities to ensure children within the most isolated families are born healthy, stay healthy, and are prepared for school.

YWCA of Minneapolis | Minneapolis | $10,000 — To support Contact Plus, a high-quality youth development program offering comprehensive sexual health education, leadership development, and school connectedness to youth in Minneapolis Public Schools. YWCA of Minneapolis eliminates racism, empowers women and girls, and promotes peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.

Learn more: www.wfmn.org/funds/ripley-memorial-fund