Minnesota Helps- Bridge Disaster Relief

Background

The Minnesota Helps - Bridge Disaster Relief fund was created five days after the 35W Bridge collapse. The purpose of the fund is to provide financial relief to victims and their families following the bridge collapse. Immediately following the bridge collapse, in September of 2007, Minnesota Helps distributed $213,998 to six different charities to provide financial support not only to the victims but also relief workers who needed everything from financial to emotional support. Currently, a total of $492,705 has been disbursed to families mainly through grants provided to nonprofit organizations. The grants can be used for everything from counseling services to funeral costs. Minnesota Helps requires that all money distributed by the fund must go to assist the victims. (1)

Minnesota Helps' goal is to provide assistance to victims such as the one shown providing an interview above. The victim in the photo above remains unidentified by the photographer. The photo comes from Wendizzle on Flickr.

Funding and Grants

As previously mentioned, the initial $213,998 went to six individual charities. Each of these charities requested the funds for a particular purpose. The six charities and the use of the provided grants can be found below. (1)

1. Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio received $4,000 for initial counseling and follow-up therapy for children and their families who were directly affected by the bridge disaster. (1)
2. Family and Children's Services received $6,175 to use for "immediate crisis intervention, family stabilization services, crisis response mental health team, outreach and for future clinical services to people affected by the disaster." (1)
3. Metro Critical Incident Stress Management Team received $10,000 to use for services, outreach, education, and support for the responders impacted by the bridge collapse. (1)
4. Pillsbury United Communities received $163,473 to meet the immediate and on-going needs of children and youth workers from the Waite House who were impacted by the collapse of the bridge. (1) The Waite House offers programs in Minneapolis's Phillips neighborhood in order to help establish the strengths of the residents of that neighborhood. (2)
5. Survivor Resources received $15,000 to provide grief support for families of deceased victims as well as individuals who survived on the bridge and any citizens who took place in the rescue effort. (1)
6. United Cambodian Association of MN received $15,350 to assist families with funeral expenses for the victims of the bridge collapse as well as any legal counseling that is needed and translators to surviving family members. (1)

Contributors

Since the establishment of the relief fund on August 5, 2007 it has collected over $1.2 million for the relief effort. These funds have been donated by about 1,500 organization and individuals. There are seven main funding partners that work in conjunction with Minnesota Helps:

1. The Minneapolis Foundation- The Minneapolis Foundation is the oldest foundation in Minnesota, being established in 1915. They provide a variety of services including consulting services, professional advisors, and campaigns to raise awareness to need throughout the state. Their funds are distributed through a grant fashion to the individuals and groups in need.
2. Minnesota Community Foundation- The MN Community Foundation was established in 1949 to help manage charitable donations which are then distributed throughout the state to help communities and individuals develop.
3. The Saint Paul Foundation- The St. Paul Foundation was established in 1940. Since then it has worked to improve the lives of individuals and communities in the greater Saint Paul area. It provides permanent capital and grants to sustain positive growth in communities and to encourage diversity.
4. Greater Twin Cities United Way- The United Way of the Twin Cities area works to match caring individuals with people in the greatest need of help. They also work to inspire citizens to build strong communities and support each other and provide resources to meet needs with in the community.
5. Northwest Area Foundation- Establish in 1934 by Louis W. Hill, the son of James J. Hill, the owner of the Great Northern Railway. Since it's beginning, the Northwest Area Foundation has worked to help communities in an eight state region including: Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, to reduce poverty within their communities.
6. McKnight Foundation- The Foundation was established in 1953 by William L. McKnight, a former CEO of 3M. The Foundation provides grants to families and children and focuses on the arts, the environment, and research efforts. It focuses its work almost entirely on the Minnesota area and is one of the only charities centered in one state. The board of The McKnight Foundation is still run by the family of William L McKnight.
7. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation- The Foundation was established in 1982. It functions for charitable, education, and religious purposes in an effort to improve the communities it serves.

Many contributions are still coming in from community response benefits and fundraisers. For most of these events, 100% of the profits are given to Minnesota Helps. In some cases expenses are subtracted from the earnings from the charity events. Furthermore, many of theses community response benefits provided emotional and physical support to all involved.

Distribution of Funds

Minnesota Helps does not release any grants to individuals. All support is provided through nonprofit organizations, and all grants require proof of need before the awards are distributed.(1) All expenses must be documented, including time lost. Many victims complain that in order to receive support they must fill out an invasive and detailed financial declaration. The declarations must include monthly income, expenses, rent or mortgage, debt payments, medical expenses such as hospital bills for physical damages, and expenses from therapy or counseling. Aid for most survivors is limited to $10,000 and is only provided to immediate family of victims and only if they can demonstrate an inability to pay for basic necessities. All grant applications must be filed by a Resource Coordinator. All applications must be filled out on behalf of a individual or family that was directly impacted by the collapse of the 35W Bridge. Extended families do not qualify for relief on behalf of a victim unless they provide care or direct support for that individual. Once grant applications are received they are reviewed by a Long Term Recovery Committee and The Minneapolis Foundation. The grants are distributed to nonprofits which disperse the funds as they see fit within the rules designated by Minnesota Helps. Some examples of actual distributions are demonstrated above in the Funding and Grants section on this page. (3)

Current Status of Minnesota Helps

Minnesota helps has only distributed about $400,000 of the $1.2 million it has collected thus far, and as a result still has substantial funds to distribute. Applications for grants are still being accepted. Victims or immediate families of victims are encouraged to contact a nonprofit to apply for a grant for further funds.

Further information is available at the Minnesota Helps website.

Resources