Annual Report 2020

Letter from EMERGE’s President & CEO

This past year has brought unprecedented challenges to the communities we serve due to the double devastation of COVID-19 and the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd. We as an organization deeply felt the tension of wanting to be present and engaged with the community in this trying time while needing to limit our ability to physically engage and connect. In March we ceased all indoor services to protect the public but upheld the financial security of all participants employed by EMERGE and our enterprises as we continued to provide essential services.

Nevertheless, our team worked diligently to find ways to show up for our community in this new environment: our program staff pivoted to virtual services to support participants with work-readiness training, financial coaching and an online Job Club. EMERGE also increased its commitment to bridging the technological divide by providing laptops, hotspots, and digital literacy trainings to our participants. Our staff provided some outdoor services during the summer and our interns spent the year becoming involved in food distribution, spreading awareness about COVID-19, and participating in the Get Out the Vote campaign.

Despite the barriers the organization faced, EMERGE was able to improve on its infrastructure by building and launching four new websites for the organization and all our enterprises. One of the enterprises, Second Chance Recycling, remodeled much of their building and increased the number of amenities accessible to the essential staff members they employ. Additionally, their

new solar panels went live in November, bringing sustainable and renewable energy to the

business and many others in the area. With these investments we can now respond to community needs faster and more efficiently than ever before.

We are immensely grateful to everyone that supported us and helped us adapt and grow to fit into our new position in the community. I also want to say thank you to the EMERGE team: none of these changes and successes would have been possible without the talent and the dedication of the staff at every level. I look forward to seeing all the ways we continue to respond to the challenges that face our community as EMERGE continues to build an inclusive economy that provides access to opportunities for all.

With gratitude,

Mike Wynne, President & CEO

About EMERGE

EMERGE is a community and workforce development organization serving North Minneapolis and Cedar-Riverside with the goal of addressing unemployment and poverty by driving jobs, investment in community, and providing pathways to brighter futures.

EMERGE was established as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 1995 as a division of Pillsbury United Communities before becoming an independent entity in 2007. EMERGE has specialized expertise serving individuals overcoming a criminal background, new Americans, families seeking to end reliance on public assistance, and any job seekers overcoming significant barriers to employment through job coaching, training opportunities, and skill-building workshops.

EMERGE’s social enterprises Second Chance Recycling, Nielsen Metal Manufacturing, and Furnish Office & Home -- provide additional opportunities for advanced training and work experience in under-staffed industries in Minneapolis while also financially supporting the agency’s broader mission.

Recent awards include the City of Minneapolis Provider of the year (2020), Bush Prize for Community Innovation (2016), Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Award (2015), the Accenture US Corporate Citizenship Community Change Award (2015), the City of Minneapolis Youth Services Provider of the Year (2014); and Nonprofit of the Year from the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce (2014).

Mission employment, and economic opportunity.

Our mission is to reveal the potential in people and communities through skill-building,

Vision

We envision a world where all people have the opportunity to emerge and thrive.

Values

Our values are equity, innovation, collaboration, responsiveness, and community-centric.

Board of Directors

Mercedes McFarland Jackson – Chair Shareholder – Fredrikson & Byron PA

Xander Hector – Vice Chair – Finance & Operations

Managing Director – Houlihan Lokey

Tesha Alston Dampier – Vice Chair –Fundraising & Brand Development Senior Quality Engineer – 3M Company

Jeff Fix – Vice Chair – Social Enterprise Development

Chief HR & Talent Officer – The Imagine Group

Tricia Brown – Immediate Past Chair Director Member Attraction & Activation –Thrivent Financial

Elaine Eiland

Team Lead Manager, Fraud Detection –Target Corporation

Paul Fitzpatrick

Vice President, Global Commercial Banking – Bank of America

Jay Gast President – Perrill

Jason Lundrigan

Owner & Appraiser – JPL Appraisal Services

Connie McCuskey

Senior Vice President & Marketing Director – US Bank

Abdifatah Mohamed, Esq.

Mike Wynne – Ex Officio

President & CEO – EMERGE

Sheila Dowling

Treasury Management Team Leader –Western Bank

President – The Somali American Bar Association

Steven Thompson

Principal – NorthStar Healthcare Advisor

Key Staff

Mohamed Ali

Senior Director of Workforce Programs

Kevin Engdahl

Senior Vice President of Enterprises & Operations

Deqa Essa

Vice President of Finance & Administration

Thomas Gibson

Director of Training & Education

Sherry Glanton

Director of MFIP

Terra Mayfield

Vice President of Workforce Programs

Jill Pearson-Wood

Vice President of Advancement

Mike Wynne

President & CEO

EMERGE’s work is composed of six overarching programs to address employment disparities: Economic advancement is a central source of many other intersectional barriers facing our community, so we focus our effort around economic opportunity, advancement, and stability which delivers a noticeable impact to our broader community.

Adult Workforce

We exist to connect our community to jobs in an effort to decrease disproportionate rates of unemployment, families relying on low-wage jobs, and significant barriers to employment in our communities of color.

Enterprise

Our social enterprises provide transitional jobs to those that have significant barriers to employment and serve as a bridge to another job. They provide an income source for the organization while providing a valuable service to the community.

MFIP & DWP

An under-served population of job seekers in our communities are families relying on public assistance and struggling to find family-sustaining work. MFIP addresses this by providing families with basic needs while assisting parents in becoming financially stable and selfsufficient through work.

Re-Entry

Second Chance Recycling provides over 100 transitional employment opportunities annually to people with barriers to employment, primarily those returning from incarceration.

Training

EMERGE offers free Career Training programs that start individuals on career pathways by connecting them to industry-specific credentialed trainings. EMERGE offers specific industry trainings in response to the needs of participants, employers, and the community.

Youth Workforce

EMERGE addresses a broad range of needs we see in our disadvantaged youth such as: career planning, escaping cycles of violence, financial education to interrupt generational poverty, and engagement with the community as a whole.

Participants Served

In 2020, EMERGE provided services to 1,805 participants. Out of all participants with a program enrollment, 1,128 participants had a new program enrollment. Of those served during 2020, 93% identified as people of color, with the largest groups served being African American (59%)and African (22%). Across all of our participants, 97% were low income, with 86% being under the poverty line.

67% of participants were receiving public assistance

26% of participants were overcoming a criminal background

18% of participants had a primary language other than English

11% of participants were either an immigrant or a refugee

9% of participants reported chemical health concerns

7% of participants reported a disabling condition

32% of participants had no high school diploma or GED

23% of participants were in temporary, transitional, or homeless living situations

737 participants received 3,999 hours of direct service

63 participants accessed 515 hours of financial education or coaching

EMERGE hosted 102 community events reaching 2,132 community members

$341,752 in support services were dispersed to 681 participants

Participants were placed in 723 jobs for an average hourly wage of $15.51

183 participants spent 4,757 hours in the classroom for training or workshops

Assets/Liabilities

• Assets: $11,214,055

• Liabilities: $2,180,685

• Net Assets: $9,033,370

Expenses

• Workforce Services: $3,882,838 (43%)

• Social Enterprises: $2,718,369 (30%)

• Management & General: $1,761,888 (20%)

• Fundraising: $437,333 (5%)

Social Enterprises

Second Chance Recycling

Second Chance Recycling is a social enterprise business renewing our communities by annually employing more than 100 people overcoming barriers to employment, turning mattress waste into new products, and supporting a cleaner planet. To date, we have recycled over 500,000 mattresses and kept 20 million pounds of recyclable material out of landfills.

Nielsen Metal Manufacturing

Nielsen Metal Manufacturing is our newest social enterprise business that seeks to combat the lack of tradespeople in Minnesota, specifically welders. Nielsen is a custom metal fabricator in both commercial and residential fields, with a vision to host training cohorts for the next generation of metal workers.

Furnish Office & Home

Furnish Office & Home is our nonprofit resale store where community members can find deals on an ever-changing selection of gently used office and home furniture. Furnish Office & Home provides retail and customer service experience for qualifying participants to build and diversify resumes of people overcoming barriers to employment.

Adapting to Challenges

This past year brought unprecedented challenges to the communities we serve due to the double devastation of COVID-19 and the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd. Our team has responded in a number of ways.

To adapt to the needs of the local communities, EMERGE's staff and interns have hosted weekly food distribution events in North Minneapolis, serving over 1,800 families in the second half of the year. Finally, EMERGE created an Emergency Support Fund to support participants' immediate needs, such as rent, transportation, and winter clothing.

This work could not have been done without the dedication and support of staff, volunteers, neighboring organizations, and the communities we serve.

EMERGE in the Media

In the December 2020, the Southwest Journal published an article on EMERGE in the Green Digest, the environment and climate section of their newspaper. This article described and promoted our social enterprise, Second Chance Recycling, installing a community solar garden atop their building. This project was part of the collaboration between EMERGE, Renewable Energy Partners, and Minneapolis Climate Action to “allow renters and property owners without capital or suitable properties for panels to reap the benefits of solar energy.”

Thank You, Community Partners

Al Maa’uun (Masjid AnNur Mpls)

Alliance Health & Wellness

Amazon

Brian Coyle

Neighborhood Center

Bridging

Butter Bakery Cafe

Calvary Church

Church of the Ascension

Church of St. Bridget

City of Minneapolis

Cub Foods (NE Mpls)

Dunwoody College

EcoLab

FireCAAT

General Mills

Hennepin County

Hennepin County Adult

Corrections Facility

HThan Youennepin

County Library

Hennepin County Solid Waste

Hospitality House

HyVee (North Mpls)

Jerry’s Food

Kowalski’s

Metro Hope – Healing Center

Michael’s Apparel

Minneapolis Broadway

Pop-Up Food Distribution

Minneapolis Climate Action

Minneapolis College

Minneapolis Park Board

Minnesota Recovery Connections

Minnesota STEM Partnership

Nonviolent Peaceforce

Oxendale’s Market (South Mpls)

Queen Slay

Sabathani Community Center

School Readiness Learning Academy

Stairstep Foundation

Tawfiq Islamic Center

The Food Group – Fare for All

Trader Joe’s (Washington Ave)

Twin Cities Recovery

Urban League Twin Cities

U.S. Aviation

U.S. Bank

University of MN – Somali Students Group

West Bank Business Coalition

Wildflyer Coffee

Thank You, Corporate & Foundation Funders

3M Company Greater Twin Cities Target Corporation

Albrecht Family United Way

Foundation

Houlihan Lokey

Target Foundation

The Carlson Family

Amazon Smile Itasca Consulting Group, Foundation

Amazon.com Services LLC Inc.

The Donaldson

AmazonSmile KM Foundation Foundation

American National Bank Kowalski's Uptown Market

Bank of America

Charitable Foundation

Best Buy Foundation

Church of St. Bridget

Kutak Rock LLP

Mary and Jeffrey

Werbalowsky

Philanthropic Fund

Edward R. Bazinet McKnight Foundation

Charitable Foundation

MN Employment Services

Flannery Construction Consortium

Fredrikson & Byron P.A. National Charity

Fridley Education Foundation

Association Network for Good

GEN Financial Otto Bremer Trust

Management, Inc.

The JAMF National Global

Foundation

The Jaye F. and Betty F.

Dyer Foundation

The Minneapolis

Foundation

Thomson Reuters

Trader Joe's on

Washington

U.S. Bank

Walter C. Rasmussen-

Northeast Bank

Rose Francis Foundation Foundation

Graco Foundation Sisters of St. Joseph

Thank You, Individual Donors

Abbe Penziner-Bokde Bill & Leslie Defs

Alan Braun

Alex Sokolow

Amanda Smith

Amy Adelmann

Ana Lorvick

Ana Voss

Andriana K. Abariotes

Angela Bohmann

Angela Wachira

Angie Nelson

Ann Mavis

Anna Heitland

Annah Walters

Annalise Dobbelstein

Anne Marsik

April Spas

Barbara Kane

Barbara Keffer

Barbara Maeder

Beth Hannan

Braden Trippel

Brandon Bjerke

Brian Bushay

Bryce Christopherson

Cam Hoang

Camille Rogers

Carol Gariano

Carol Parry

Catherine O’Connell

Cheri Moseman

Cheryl Brinkley

Chris Hall

Christine & Christian

Fisher

Claudia Holt

Claudia Waring

Connie McCuskey

Craig Opitz

Cynthia Wagner Moone

Cyrus Kalbrener

Dale Korogi

Danci Greene

Daniel Russotto

Daniel Washam

Danielle Siver

Darla Kashian

Darren Roslansky

David & Sharon Cline

Dawn Gregory

Deborah Allan

Deborah Kemp

Deqa Essa

Diane Wiley

Ed Donoghue

Edith Lotterman

Elizabeth Jensen

Emily Chad

Emily Okeefe

Eric Cooperstein

Eric Praml

Eugene Scheffler

Fred Goldberg

Jenny Schmid

Gannet Tseggai Jill Pearson-Wood

Gary L. Melom

Joel Foster

Grace Doherty John Dahlof

Harry Bury

John Satorius

Heidi Rich Joseph Dolan

Heidi Voss Joseph Fedors

Holley Horrell Josh Quick

Ian Stade

Jacob Stolz

James Staib

Kaitlin Farrell

Kara Stave

Karly Schoeman

Jamey Flannery Kat Nogosek

Jan Stroup

Janet Shockley

Janet Zahn

Jason Jacobs

Jason Lundrigan

Jeanne E. Torma

Jeanne Francis

Jeff Fix

Jeff Shinall

Jennifer Houle

Kate Corcoran

Katherine Helander

Katherine R Shane

Kathleen Hart Graham

Kathleen Martin

Kathleen Robison

Kathleen Schuler

Kathryn Alberts

Kathryn Fitzpatrick

Kathy Bjerke

Kathy Engesser

Kathy Packard

Kelly Olson

Kenya Hester

Kevin B Cannon

Kevin Engdahl

Kira E Wagner

Kris Honse

Kristina Gronquist

Kristine Solz

Lana Truong

Leah Colvin-Roy

Leandro Bernabe

Leon Lillie

Leslie Berkshire

Lillie Mobley

Linda Bryant

Linda Shane

Linnea Yeazel

Lisa Hoene

Lisa Sinclair

Liz Knaeble

Lois Gernbacher

Luke Weisberg

Lynda Small

Maggie Taubenberger

Marc Conklin

Margaret McRaith

Marilyn Wooley

Marit Aaseng

Mary Mullen

Mary Watson

Marynel Van Zee

Matt Osterhaus

Matthew Thompson

Meg Reid

Megan Boehlke

Melissa L Mercedes

Mercedes Jackson

Michael Breazile

Michelle Miles

Mike Woodhouse

Mike Wynne

Mohamed Ali

Myesha Johnson

Mykel Pennington

Nancy Higgins

Nancy Hylden

Nancy McLaughlin

Nicholas Velikonja

Nikki Mancino

Orrin Shane

Oscar D Tangelson

Pamela Parker

Patricia H. Brown

Patrick Connoy

Paul Fitzpatrick

Paul Gates

Paul O. Walker

Paul Schulz

Phillip Hall

Quinn and Kari Gaalswyk

Rebecca Blumenshine

Rebecca Halvorson

Rebecca Patton

Reed Johnson

Richard Kohler

Rita Franchett

Rob Spence

Robert Frawley

Robert Shanholtz

Robin Weeks-Wynne

Rose Lundrigan

Rosemary Parece

Ross Rifkin

Ryan OHoro

Ryan Powers

Sadie Gannett

Samantha Collins

Sandra Vargas

Sandy Nankivell

Sara Sauer

Sara Stowe

Scott Keefer

Scott Louder

Scott Nelson

Shannon L Buchda

Sharon Parker

Sheila Dowling

Sherman Eagles

Sherry S Glanton

Steph Opitz

Stephanie Johnson

Stephanie Wilkes

Stephen Caskey

Stephen Taylor

Steve Cramer

Steven Stovitz

Susan Breedlove

Susan Woodhouse

Susan Wootten

Suzanne Moseman

Sydney A Velez

Tesha Dampier

Thomas Gibson

Thomas Scott

Tiffany Alston

Timothy Woessner

Todd Pierson

Tom Maple

Tracy Call

Victor Stegemiller

Virge Trotter

Warren Gallagher

Will Strinz

William Cooper

William Delfs

William Wallace

William Woodhouse

Xander Hector

Zachary Michiels

We also want to say Thank You to all of our Anonymous Donors!

Thank You

EMERGE could not have achieved all the wonderful progress that we did this year without the support of people like you. At EMERGE, our commitment to our participants will never waver; we will continue to offer services, tools, and training to connect to employment and reveal the potential in people. But without the time, dedication, and expertise volunteered by the community, we would not have been able to reach as high and go as far as we have. We envision a world where all people have the opportunity to emerge and thrive, and thanks to the staff, volunteers, donors, participants, and community members, we can turn that vision into a reality.

Sincerely,

-The EMERGE Family