Women’s Foundation of Minnesota Awards $259,000 in Pathways to Prosperity (P2P) Grants

The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota has awarded $259,000 in grants to four organizations through its Pathways to Prosperity (P2P) Fund. Through P2P, the Women’s Foundation aims to create unrestricted pathways to economic security and prosperity for low-income women, women of color, and women in greater Minnesota.

Through P2P, the Foundation awards grants to innovative programs at nonprofit organizations or community/technical colleges that focus on workforce development, wealth building, or entrepreneurship. Funded programs also focus on providing wrap-around support services including childcare, financial literacy, and transportation.

Grantees:

Friends of Saint Paul College (Saint Paul) | $29,500 – To support 60 low-income women of color to persist through pathways leading to middle-skilled trades employment. The Women in Trade Careers program cohort receives comprehensive support through scholarships, financial assistance, Certified Production Technologist courses, and peer/mentor networking. Faculty and employers will also receive training on increasing gender equity.

Minnesota State Colleges & Universities – Northwest Technical College Central MN (Bemidji) | $29,500 –To support Coding the Path from Poverty to Hope, a program offered in partnership with Leech Lake Tribal College and Red Lake Tribal College to help women enter the medical coding field. The program includes classroom and online courses, culturally grounded advising and mentoring, career counseling, daycare/eldercare support, transportation support, and up to $3,000 of past higher-education debt forgiveness. Program participants must be living below the federal poverty level, be a caretaker of a child or an elder, or a woman of color.

Minnesota State Colleges & Universities – Hibbing Community College (Hibbing) | $100,000 – To connect underrepresented women from the Iron Range region to employment opportunities in high-wage, high-demand careers. The EMPOWER program provides students with academic and employment bridge support services, as well as tuition, childcare, and transportation assistance.

Minnesota State Community & Technical College (Moorhead) | $100,000 – To support Minnesota women of color and low-income women in engineering and technology programs at the Moorhead campus with strategic recruiting, mentoring, advising, support services, and study tables.