Nonprofit Coalitions in Minnesota
Advocating for your audience is sometimes most effective done as a coalition. Groups serving similar audiences can bring their various perspectives, networks and talents in a unified voice and message. Below are just several of the many coalitions of nonprofits working together.
Want to add your coalition to the list? Contact Jeff Narabrook, MCN's Public Policy Associate.
AFFIRM
The Alliance for Fair Immigration Reform (AFFIRM) is an alliance of more than 25 immigrant groups, religious and labor organizations, legal services and human service organizations. They are working together to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform legislation that will address the brokenness of the current immigration system. AFFIRM affirms the rights of immigrants to experience family reunification, protection of human, civil and worker rights, and the creation of a path to citizenship.
Affirmative Options Coalition
Affirmative Options is a statewide coalition of more than 50 organizations that work together to advocate for state and federal policy changes to create opportunities for low-income Minnesotans to achieve economic security. The coalition was formed in 1997 in response to federal welfare reform but has since broadened its agenda to include a range of issues that affect economic security.
Child Care WORKS (CCW)
CCW is a statewide coalition of organizations and individuals working through public education and advocacy for quality care and education for all of Minnesota’s children and their families.
HIRE Minnesota (Health Care, Infrastructure, Renewable Energy)
HIRE Minnesota is a coalition of more than 60 community organizations that are seeking public investments that grow our economy, create living wage jobs, start to ease the climate crisis and promote healthy communities. The vision is to secure jobs in current and emerging industries that provide livable wages, and to expand vocational curriculums so that communities of color and unemployed person are educated and trained with skills for emerging green practices and technology. HIRE Minnesota not only aims to advocate for government investment in these initiatives, but also to organize members of the community to take charge of the effort.
Invest in Minnesota
The Invest in Minnesota Campaign is a nonpartisan group interested in mobilizing Minnesota’s nonprofit organizations, labor groups, religious community, and eventually Minnesota’s citizens, around the idea of creating new revenue, raising it fairly, and using this new revenue to invest in education, health care, and public infrastructure.
JOBS NOW Coalition
The JOBS NOW Coalition is committed to the idea that all Minnesota workers will have the opportunity to earn a family-supporting wage and advances its agenda through research, education, and advocacy. This broad-based, 100+ member coalition of diverse Minnesota organizations was founded in 1982 and is the largest employment policy coalition of its kind in the United States.
Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC)
Guided by basic Jewish and Christian moral vision, JRLC strives to further the cause of social justice in Minnesota by proposing and promoting responsible legislation; assisting congregations in the task of discerning and teaching God’s vision of justice; and calling communities of faith to prophetic, unified action.
Mental Health Legislative Network (MHLN)
The Mental Health Association of Minnesota, along with NAMI-MN (National Alliance of Mental Illness-Minnesota), co-chairs the coalition. The Mental Health Legislative Network is a coalition of organizations advocating for a full array of services and supports that enable people with mental illness to live, learn and work in the community. The Network is comprised of advocacy, consumer, family, and provider groups, thus representing the full spectrum of mental health concerns.
Minnesota Alliance on Crime (MAC)
Minnesota Alliance on Crime (MAC) is a coalition of general crime victim advocates who are dedicated to the rights and all crime victims in Minnesota. Our mission is to provide a statewide alliance for crime victim programs while promoting the advancement of services in Minnesota through education, resources and legislation. Our vision is the put victims’ rights at the forefront of the criminal justice system by changing Minnesota’s response to crime.
Minnesota Children’s Platform Coalition
The Minnesota Children’s Platform Coalition is a collaboration of nonprofit and community organizations, parents and other caring adults, faith communities, businesses, labor and higher education, aims to educate the public and guide decision makers in ensuring that the health and well being of all Minnesota children and youth are our state’s highest priorities. The premise for our work is that children and youth in Minnesota deserve a comprehensive approach to services with a focus on the whole child. MNCPC works to provide a unified voice on behalf of all children in the state and to strengthen the public’s will to endorse policies and investments which will meet the needs of all children and help them to reach their full potential. A comprehensive platform of services for children includes: 1) Health and Wellness; 2) Economic Security; 3) Child Safety and Well-Being; 4) Youth Development; 5) Education: Early Care and Education, K-12 and Post Secondary (E-16); and 6) Legal System and Juvenile Justice. For more information, contact Sue Fust at Teenwise Minnesota.
Minnesota Citizens for Tax Justice
Citizens for Tax justice is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, research organization dedicated to fair taxation at the federal, state, and local levels.
Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA)
MCA is a statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts.
Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW)
MCBW provides training and technical assistance to battered women's programs, youth and children's programs, and other organizations throughout the state; and organizes at the statewide level to end domestic violence through legislative and public policy advocacy, systems advocacy, media advocacy, and through special projects. MCBW also provides crisis referrals for battered women.
Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless
The Coalition, which is comprised of more than 150 agencies from throughout the state, has been fighting since 1984 to end homelessness in Minnesota. Through its community education, legislative advocacy, and technical assistance activities, the Coalition works to prevent homelessness by helping communities to design homeless response systems that meet their needs. The Coalition supports the full continuum of housing and homelessness services to ensure that everyone has a safe, decent, affordable place to call home.
Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
MN-CCD is a broad-based coalition of many provider and advocacy organizations dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities. MN-CCD focuses on public policy issues that affect people with disabilities by collaborating with others to advocate, educate, influence public policy makers to create positive changes and create awareness for understanding.
Minnesota Coalition on Government Information
The Minnesota Coalition is a network of individuals and organizations committed to open access to public information in print, electronic and digital forms. Its members include librarians, media representatives, lawyers, community activists, computer professionals, educators and others who care about openness in government, information access and the public's right to know.
Minnesota Environmental Partnership
The Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP) is a network of more than 80 non-profit environmental and conservation organizations working together to protect, restore and enjoy Minnesota's precious natural resources.
Minnesota Housing Partnership
The Housing Minnesota Campaign works to dramatically increase the preservation and creation of affordable housing in Minnesota by raising public awareness, educating policymakers and the community about housing issues, and translating our statewide housing needs into positive policy reform.
Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging
The Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging (MNLCOA) coalesces the resources and power of consumer, advocacy, social and health service organizations, to advocate boldly for and achieve positive system changes for older adults and their families in Minnesota. Sixteen leading nonprofit organizations that help older adults live independently at home formed the Council. The Council is an informal collaborative and governs itself through an initial organizing structure.
Minnesota Partners to End Hunger
Partners to End Hunger eliminates hunger through advocacy, education, and a commitment to healthy communities. It is currently co-chaired by Colleen Moriarty of Hunger Solutions Minnesota and Barbara Thell of Minnesota FoodShare.
Minnesota Second Chance Coalition (SCC)
The Minnesota Second Chance Coalition (SCC) is an unincorporated coalition of diverse community-based organizations and individuals advocating for fair and responsible laws, policies, and practices that allow those who have committed crimes to redeem themselves, fully support themselves and their families, and contribute to their communities to their full potential. Coalition members are involved in some or all of the following activities: Second Chance Day on the Hill (planning, organizing, and coordination of all event activities); policy research and public education; lobbying, advocacy, and community organizing; and ongoing communications to member agencies, policymakers, and the public via website, listserve, and social media. Coalition members are frequently called upon to speak at events, educate policymakers, and provide information and commentary to local and national media outlets. Since its inception, the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition and its member organizations have effected significant policy change while increasing awareness and visibility of second chance issues on a local and national level.
Neighborhood Health Care Network
The Neighborhood Health Care Network is a coalition of 15 non-profit community clinics with 45 sites in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Their mission is to strengthen these community clinics through integrated activities so that together improvements can be made in the health of underserved communities.
Transit Partners
Transit Partners is a diverse alliance of organizations that joined together to call for a new direction in Minnesota transportation policy: a balanced transportation system supported by a reliable source of funding for transit. Members include business, environmental, faith, labor and transportation groups. Together, the coalition has a statewide reach with tens of thousands of constituents. Changing Minnesota’s transportation patterns to include more opportunities to take transit will create jobs, stimulate our economy and help address air quality, water quality and wetland protection issues in our state. Increasing transit options will reduce car travel in the region by one million miles by 2020, helping to protect Minnesota’s great quality of life.
Youth Intervention Programs Association
YIPA is a membership association that serves youth intervention agencies and professionals by: securing state Youth Intervention Program funding for member agencies; advocating on behalf of youth intervention; providing timely, cost effective, high quality trainings, and offering youth intervention services and products. Currently, YIPA has over 100 member organizations and 90 individual members.
