#GiveAtHomeMN - A Letter From the Mortenson Family Foundation
Now more than ever, we’re seeing how the strength of our community and the health of our environment are intertwined. As we retreat to natural spaces, we find much-needed solace, gratitude, and joy. The public trails and parks around us are being used as never before by individuals and families seeking mental and physical relief during this challenging time.
Environmental groups and public agencies keep us healthy in many unseen ways, as well. From protecting the water we drink and food that we eat to understanding and addressing climate change, they look out for our best interests. With so much benefit to our community coming from those who are diligently working to maintain our healthy environment, it’s surprising that environmental causes are not garnering the attention they deserve.
We live in a state full of incredibly generous people. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Minnesotans gave an estimated $3.4 billion to charitable causes in 2017. Yet only three percent of donations were directed toward environmental and animal-related organizations.
We are inspired again and again by the generosity of Minnesotans and the care they express for their neighbors—before, during and, without a doubt, after COVID-19. We have certainly learned in the past weeks that our natural environments are our neighbors as well and need extra care during this time of increased stress.
We are fortunate to have five national parks in our state—Voyageurs National Park, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, Pipestone National Monument, and Grand Portage National Monument. And, we are equally fortunate to have nonprofit partners that support national parks and other public lands. These nonprofit “friends” of national parks—such as Mississippi Park Connection—serve as the caring neighbor and the economic engine behind water quality improvement, wildlife habitat improvement, and youth education. Mortenson Family Foundation financially supports these nonprofits for the range of their work, including their efforts to ensure that all, including communities that are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, have access to and feel a sense of stewardship for public lands.
Will you join us in expressing care for our environmental neighbors by supporting these nonprofit “friends”, national parks, and other environmental organizations, especially for work that supports communities who experience the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation? Will you join us in expressing care by planting native grasses or flowers, organizing a socially-distanced neighborhood trash pickup, and advocating for the environmental spaces that are important to you and your health? Thank you for contributing to a strong and generous community that expresses its care for all its neighbors including the environment around us.
— Mortenson Family Foundation —
“We are fortunate to have nonprofit partners that support national parks and other public lands. These nonprofit “friends” of national parks – such as Mississippi Park Connection – serve as the caring neighbor and the economic engine behind water quality improvement, wildlife habitat improvement, and youth education. During #GiveAtHomeMN, and for the rest of the year, will you join us in expressing care for our environmental neighbors by supporting friends of national parks, especially for work that supports communities who experience the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation? Thank you for contributing to a strong and generous community that expresses its care for all its neighbors including the environment around us.”