Partners & Past Work

“…for the benefit of future generations.”

Our Partners work hard to positively affect and improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities. They are innovative, responsive, and caring. They are collaborative and look for sustainable solutions. They align with our values and demonstrate how working together provides solutions to overcome some of our community’s greatest challenges.

Breakthrough Twin Cities

Breakthrough Twin Cities’ (BTC) goal is closing the opportunity gap to ensure students have the resources to reach their full potential. Classrooms are led by engaging teachers and society realizes the social and economic benefits of investing entirely in youth. BTC prepares low-income, high-potential youth for success throughout middle and high school with demanding academic instruction and hands-on experiences in math, science, literature, writing and elective courses. BTC combines summer programming and monthly school-year Saturday sessions for students with mentoring and coaching check-ins, problem-solving and goal-setting, college counseling and career exploration. Students’ families receive resources and tools to support their scholar’s success with parent/student conferences, help in advocating for their children and navigating high school and course selection, as well as family events celebrating milestones.

Additionally, BTC cultivates the next generation of educators by giving college and select high school students an opportunity to lead their own classrooms during the summer. They practice classroom teaching while serving as near-peer role models for the students.

“Support from Mortenson Family Foundation has been critical in helping our students be so successful. It surpasses financial support and feels like a true partnership, where the Foundation is invested in the students, Teaching Fellows and whole organization being healthy and effective.”

"Mortenson Family Foundation has been a catalyst to help us grow and mature into an organization with more reach than ever before. We are fortunate to have a partner who is dedicated to clean water so that the next generations of Minnesotans have a brighter future ahead."

Clean River Partners

Since 1990, Clean River Partners (CRP) has partnered with people and organizations to value, protect, and improve the Cannon River Watershed’s land and water. With a focus on conservation and community engagement, CRP inspires people to work toward a landscape with healthy soils; drinkable groundwater; and clean, fishable, and swimmable rivers, lakes, and streams in southeastern Minnesota.

As an agricultural watershed, CRP understands the importance of building relationships with area farmers to get more conservation projects on the land as a way to protect soil health, sequester carbon, and keep soil from running off into local waterways. They foster farmer-to-farmer learning, host Field Days, conduct sustainable ag research, and support local farmer leaders in their conservation practices. CRP also helps small clusters of homes and businesses find funding to upgrade sewage treatment. By doing this, they have kept more than 167 million gallons of raw sewage from entering the lakes and rivers of southeastern Minnesota every year. They partner to enhance and expand Wildlife Management Areas, and host events that bring together and engage youth, adults, and decision-makers from all walks of life to take individual and community action for clean water.

Thousand Currents

Since its founding in 1985, Thousand Currents has invested in over 1,000 community-led initiatives in over 40 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. As a vocal and visible advocate for grassroots organizations and movements led by women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples, the organization addresses and resources interdependent issues of food sovereignty, alternative economies, climate justice, and human rights. In Guatemala, where the Mortenson Family Foundation supports its work, there are five organizations embedded and working directly with communities to tackle root causes of poverty and injustice to improve and increase economic decision-making, literacy rates, health and hygiene, food security and sovereignty, access to and control of economic and natural resources, and women’s and Indigenous Peoples’ rights and leadership. By integrating emerging approaches and learnings from the Global South with philanthropic models and practices in the Global North, Thousand Currents and its grassroot partners are transforming practices and dismantling injustice and inequity, building capacity and leadership, and supporting social change movements at the regional, national, and global levels.

“Thousand Currents is grateful for the long-term support of the Mortenson Family Foundation, which has enabled us to deepen our partnerships with grassroots organizations in Guatemala working to alleviate poverty, strengthen the power of women and youth, and increase the resilience and capacity of communities. The Foundation’s ongoing support has been critical to the depth and growth of our work in Guatemala.”

"The Mortenson Family Foundation is providing the critical support that we need to expand our impact, helping more Muslim girls participate in sports and build valuable leadership and teamwork skills."

ASIYA

ASIYA is a Muslim woman-owned business offering products for Muslim women. The idea began in the Brian Coyle Community Center gym in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, where founder Fatimah Hussein had been helping young Muslim girls gain access to sports activities for over a decade. Her mission was to enable Muslim girls & women to participate in sports while upholding religious beliefs. The name ASIYA pays homage to a revered woman from Islamic history, Asiya bint Muzahim, known for her courage and standing up to injustice.

Historically, access to culturally-appropriate activewear was a major barrier for Muslim girls, causing them to miss out on meaningful leadership and personal development opportunities that come from playing sports. Now Muslim girls and women can play hard without compromising their religion or culture or worry about their hijabs getting in the way. Since 2017, ASIYA has partnered with youth sports organizations and schools to outfit over 5,150 Muslim women in sports hijabs in 27 countries, sponsored 750 athletes, and customized 500 hijabs with team logos. ASIYA’s belief in the power of sport to help set girls up for success as students, community members and future leaders is a success story in the making.

Awards

Building a Better Future

Improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities.

Photo: The Chain Collaborative