Our Work

Investments in Minnesota’s communities of color tend to revolve around crisis moments rather than recognizing their intrinsic value and innovative ideas. This situation leaves Black, Indigenous, Asian and Latinx communities with unfulfilled dreams due to a lack of support and inadequate investments resulting in fragile community infrastructure. We firmly believe that we can and should do better.

Minnesota stands to reap tremendous benefits when all communities of color thrive. To achieve this, we must recognize and uplift the leaders and organizations that have emerged from these vibrant communities. Failing to take meaningful action now will only perpetuate unfair and inequitable systems. This is where Rooted to Last (R2L) comes in, dedicated to creating sustainable pathways for investing in both current and future leaders and organizations within Minnesota’s Black, Indigenous, Asian and Latinx communities.

Our journey began with a commitment to truly listening. We dove deep into the lived experiences of leaders of color and those working within philanthropy and government to understand what stand in the way of resourcing communities and what the opportunities might be. In collaboration with our Wisdom Circle, we identified and prioritized key strategies, and now, we are bringing them to life through our Taking Root Plan. Join us on this transformative journey.



What motivates us? Listen to learn more.

  • Framework
    In 2023, Rooted to Last (R2L) began a journey of deep listening, learning, strategizing, and development of an initiative to build enduring infrastructure for Minnesota’s leaders and communities of color. This culminated in developing a framework intended to: We understand that accessing information such as this is difficult for communities of color. Our purpose is…
  • Taking Root: Panel Discussion
  • Podcast episode 2
  • Podcast episode 1