Minneapolis Review

South Minneapolis went up in flames a month ago, and Urban Ventures is committed to helping its neighbors rise from the ashes. 

Urban Ventures is a faith-based nonprofit agency that battles urban poverty. It is currently raising money and hopes to assist businesses damaged or destroyed by rioting following the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 25. Parts of Minneapolis resembled a war zone, with burnt-out husks of buildings, debris littering the streets and graffiti sprayed across walls.

“We really want to bring economic vitality back to the community,” said President and CEO Dave Hawn. “Our strategy is focused on helping the smallest businesses, the mom-and-pop stores. We want to move quickly and get cash into their hands.”

Dozens of businesses around the Urban Ventures campus were struck by rioters and looting during the unrest following Floyd's death. This came in the wake of the COVID-19 economic downturn, so these stores already were hurting. Minneapolis police said more than 1,000 properties were damaged or destroyed.

Hawn said they are raising money to help business owners repair broken glass, restock their shelves and start anew.

Urban Ventures started 27 years ago, and Hawn assumed a leadership role in 2016. Its mission is “to address opportunity gaps in academics, nutrition, physical activity, parenting resources, and more — all with the overarching goal to prepare and send every youth in our neighborhood to college or post-secondary education.”

It has 70 partners to help it reach that goal. Since the rioting, hundreds of other people, companies and organizations have joined the cause and are donating money and time to help restore the neighborhood.

Urban Ventures had minimal damage, losing four large glass panels. No entry was made, and Hawn said he considers it lucky.

“Really, in the grand scheme of things, no big deal at all,” he said.

The agency has 50 employees and none were harmed or had their homes damaged. But many live in the area and, like their neighbors, they lost access to grocery stores, restaurants and other businesses that were devastated and closed.

“So many businesses are tucked behind doors here,” Hawn said. “They were all harmed in some way. There is economic impact to all of them. Some of them have minor, medium or severe damage done to their structures as well.”

Urban Ventures set up a food distribution center in its gym and provided area residents with more than 200,000 pounds of food. It has reached out to help locals and more than 3,000 volunteers provided their help to rebuild the area.

Donations poured in, including $800,000 from a Minnesota man and his father. Hawn did not want to give a total for the money that has been donated, but he said it is a substantial amount.

“We don’t independently have the resources to do this,” he said. “We sent out an appeal to our donor base. We said, ‘If you’re interested in helping, here’s some ways.' And the response has really been overwhelming.”

Urban Ventures also is assisting area businesses by helping them create gift cards and certificates that it will purchase and distribute to families. Volunteers with IT experience are ensuring the items are secure to reduce the risk of fraud.

“We just see it as a way to revitalize the local economy,” Hawn said. “We’ve had really good responses to that idea.”

But the main goal is to provide immediate assistance.

“That has been our priority, to get them opened again as soon as possible,” Hawn said. “Giving away free stuff is OK in a crisis, but in a longer term, we really need to get the local economy started again.”

He said Urban Ventures plans to distribute $5,000 checks to local companies in the next few days.

“You have to see a lot of these businesses,” he said. “It won’t solve all the problems but it is an immediate help. We want to hurry and get money into the hands of these business owners.”

Hawn said he has been moved by the support Urban Ventures has received.

“More than I would have ever dreamed, more that I would have expected,” he said. “I really saw kind of the worst of humankind, but also the best. It was pretty cool to see.”

Hawn invites people to give and join the cause.