Brooklyn Center, March 19, 2024 – Today, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced CAPI USA as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with people and places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. CAPI received $2 million.
Established in 1982 as a culturally-specific food shelf for refugees arriving in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, CAPI has adapted to meet the needs of the community through not only food assistance, but employment training, financial education, advocacy, and community health initiatives for immigrant and refugee communities in the Twin Cities.
In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.
“When we received the email, I was at an event and had to maintain my composure,” said Mary Niedermeyer, CAPI CEO. “We feel incredibly grateful and honored to receive this once in a lifetime gift. These funds will not only help CAPI boost our general operations, but they will also help us to establish a community reinvestment fund that is focused on the City of Brooklyn Center.” Funding will also support the launch of CAPI’s building expansion in the Spring of 2025, furthering the organization’s vision of becoming a community resource hub for the Brooklyns and beyond.
The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.
“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”
More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.
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CAPI USA
CAPI is a 501(c)(3) social services nonprofit that has served refugees and immigrants in the Twin Cities for over 40 years. CAPI’s mission is to guide refugee and immigrants in their journey toward self-determination and social equality, and it annually serves and advocates for 12,000+ lower-income immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized communities residing in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. For more information, visit www.capiusa.org or find CAPI on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Yield Giving
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,5000,000,000 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.
Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.7 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org
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