$5M Pledge to GroundBreak Coalition

A community problem needs a community-centered solution. 

The Pohlad Family Foundation’s vision is for the Twin Cities’ nationally recognized quality of life to be shared by all. We are proud to stand with our partners in the GroundBreak Coalition, a group of over 40 corporate, civic, and philanthropic leaders, to work toward realizing that vision by boldly addressing racial inequities.  

The Foundation has made a $5M pledge to GroundBreak as part of our 2020 commitment of $25M to advance racial justice. We believe it is possible to have racial equity in the Twin Cities. And to make this a reality, it is imperative to include the perspectives of everyone in the community to tackle the problem – this approach is why the GroundBreak Coalition will be successful, and why the Pohlad Family Foundation became an early partner. 

“Together, we can make an exponentially bigger difference than any of us could do on our own,” said Susan Bass Roberts, Vice President and Executive Director of the Pohlad Family Foundation. “As a philanthropic institution, we can help bridge financial costs to make homeownership possible for more Black homebuyers. This concept is not new, but the regional effort, scale and intentionality are. We are changing the system from the inside out.” 

GroundBreak has utilized a human-centered design process to identify barriers and solutions to build Black wealth in four key areas: homeownership, entrepreneurship, commercial development, and affordable housing. The financial platform and racially explicit programs that GroundBreak has developed will be key to reaching our shared goal of 11,000 new Black homeowners while drastically reducing the racial wealth gap.  

Together we will create a dramatically more inclusive, just, and racially equitable future for residents of the Twin Cities. 

Read the Star Tribune’s article on the GroundBreak Community Briefing.