Launch of ALANA/BIPOC Economic Development Fund

The ALANA Economic Development Fund

Purpose

To grow the economic development assets of the African Latino Asian and Native American (ALANA) which includes businesses, workforce, capital, real estate and digital assets. The ALANA Economic Development Fund is formed by the ALANA Brain Trust – a network of individuals and organizations working to build capital and capacity in the ALANA communities of Minnesota.

Historical Perspective

In 1987 the State of Minnesota funded challenge grants through bipartisan legislative action to help provide business and economic development catalyst funds for the six new Initiative Foundations that still exist today across rural Minnesota. This was the state’s investment, paired with McKnight Foundation funding, regional development commission support (Regional Development Commissions started in the early 1970s for coordinated planning across the state), and local community contributions to build the economic development assets of rural Minnesota, spurred by a devastating farm crisis and national recession. Parallel to this was the launch of the Urban Initiative Fund to assist distressed neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The state funding totaled $100 million, a bold investment (in today’s dollars) in building shared prosperity across Minnesota. The Initiative Foundations and the Regional Development Commissions continue to play key roles in gathering and coordinating resources for rural and regional economic development in Minnesota.

We are launching the ALANA Economic Development Fund patterned after the Initiative Funds and including culturally appropriate structures to serve the diverse ALANA communities in metro and non-metro Minnesota. At the same time the ALANA Economic Development Fund will work in together with the Initiative Foundations and Regional Development Commission partners to effectively reach the ALANA communities in Greater Minnesota

ALANA Economic Development Fund Strategic Areas

1. Land trusts and Land Banks for affordable housing, commercial real estate development, ALANA farmers.
2. Capital pools – equity, loans, working capital, alternative finance for ALANA businesses to address access and barriers to capital.
3. Leveraging development finance resources for ALANA commercial real estate development projects that are owned or managed by ALANA communities.
4. ALANA cooperatives – housing, consumer, farmer, small independent business, and worker-owned.
5. Revitalization of abandoned malls and Main Street/Commercial corridors
6. Coordinating and connecting resources to effectively reach ALANA communities.
7. Building the infrastructure for ALANA Cultural destinations such as ALANA Cultural Malls, ALANA Cultural Districts in rural and metro areas  – leveraging cultural assets to bring economic development in low income ALANA communities (see www.culturaldestinationareas.org) 
8. Serving as a “talent” resource and matchmaker to help programs and policies effectively reach the ALANA communities.
9. Build the capacity of ALANA institutions to effectively serve their communities in rural and metro areas.

Charter Board

The ALANA Economic Development Fund will be developed and managed by a charter board reflecting the diversity of the ALANA communities in Minnesota and possessing talents and skills to build economic development assets. The Charter Board will establish the organizational structure and strategic direction of the ALANA Economic Development Fund.

Recent Activities during the Pandemic

The ALANA Brain Trust engaged in the following recent activities:

1. Engaged with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (FRB) to be take on the role of the “Lender of the Last Community Resort” in the light of the devastating impact of the Pandemic and civil unrest on the ALANA communities. Requested the FRB to back a billion-dollar bond fund to build ALANA economic assets and helped create an ALANA Capital Platform.
   
   Result: FRB can do so with Congress changing FRB statutes. ALANA Brain Trust engaging with Minnesota’s Congressional delegation to do so
   
   
2. Engaged with the Minnesota House Select Committee on Racial Justice on estimating the economic cost of racism, co-chaired by Representatives Rena Moran and Ruth Richardson.
   
   Result: ALANA Brain Trust economist Dr. Bruce Corrie provided an estimate of the economic cost of racism in Minnesota to be an estimated $287 billion dollars. This perhaps is the first time a statewide estimate of the economic costs of racism has been documented in Minnesota. The ALANA Brain Trust offered a set of recommendations called The Minnesota Solution – policy and program initiatives, some of which cost no money to implement, and investment ideas. The Minnesota House Select Committee on Racial Justice considered and incorporated recommendations from the ALANA Brain Trust into their final report.
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3. The ALANA Brain Trust economist, Dr. Bruce Corrie, provided testimony to the Minnesota House Committees on Capital Investment, Workforce and Business Development, Education Policy and Higher Education Policy on the economic costs of racism and the Minnesota Solution recommendations in the jurisdiction of those committees.
   
   
4. The ALANA Brain Trust engaged with the U.S. Small Business Administration and Minnesota’s Congressional Delegation on the PPP program and its failure to effectively reach the ALANA communities. ALANA Brain Trust economist researched and documented the poor utilization of the program by ALANA businesses. He reported the local experiences as a member of the Columbia University World Projects committee that issued a report on the failures of the PPP program and the need for program changes.

Result: Recommendations of the ALANA Brain Trust is reflected in some of the changes in the current policies and practices of these federal efforts.

• To address the need for ALANA businesses to develop a personal relationship with a banker the ALANA Brain Trust launched the ALANA Lending Alliance – a network of banks that agree to work with the ALANA Brain Trust on capital access issues.
  
  Result: A pilot program with 9 banks (Associated, Bremer, Choice, Drake, Premier, Maple, Sunrise, Spire Credit Union, AEDS, MEDA and NDC) agreed to accept PPP loan referrals and offer a customer-friendly service to these referrals. 56 ALANA businesses were referred to these partners.
  
  
• The ALANA Brain Trust was approached to help provide outreach for CARES funding for youth. A statewide network of partners was recruited to participate to bring resources for ALANA youth statewide.
  
  Result: 5 organizations statewide were successful in receiving these grants. The ALANA Brain Trust partners launched a fellowship for high school students with college students as mentors with a focus on community development projects. Over 100 youth from across Minnesota participated from 30 cities and 60 school districts. Many of the youth leaders are working with the ALANA Brain Trust to build capacity for ALANA youth.

• Launch of the ALANA Wealth Creation Team – a forum of practitioners from across Minnesota to explore how to integrate the ideas of the Minnesota Equity Blueprint and the Minnesota Solution to build capital and capacity in the ALANA communities.

Result: The launch of the ALANA Economic Development Fund

ALANA Brain Trust

(Economic Development Fund Team)

Stewards: Brett Buckner, Dr. Bruce Corrie, Jane Leonard

Team

Fowzia Adde, Immigrant Development Center, Fargo-Moorhead

Andrea Duarte Alonso, Southwest Initiative Foundation, Immigrant Law Center, Worthingon

Siad Ali, Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis

Anika Bowie, NAACP Minneapolis

Sreeni Checka,  India Association of Minnesota, Eden Prairie

Anika Robbins, The Anika Foundation, Minneapolis

Gene Gelgelu, African Economic Development Solutions, Minnesota

Brett Grant, Voices for Racial Justice, Minnesota

Michael Goze, American Indian Community Development Corporation, Minnesota

Jannssen Hang, Hmong American Farmers Association, Minnesota

Cheryal Hills, Region Five Development Commission, Staples

Ezell Jones, Fifth Quarter Enterprise, Minnesota

Kevin Lindsey, Minnesota Humanities Center, Minnesota

Suyapa Miranda, New Native Theatre

Marjorie Zoe Negron Munoz,  Region Nine Development Commission, Mankato

Mary Sam, Central Lakes College, Brainerd

Pamela Standing, Minnesota Indigenous Business Alliance, Minnesota

Karin Sonneman,  Attorney, Winona County

Dr. Anna Wasecha,  West Central Initiative, Fergus Falls

Ahmay Ya, Karen Community, Minnesota

Kaying Yang, Coalition of Asian American Leaders, Minnesota

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