Twin Cities businesses mobilized aid after riots, but ask: Where is the government?

One point of agreement in the aftermath of the destruction following the police killing of George Floyd was clear. Businesses needed help to rebuild.

Nearly an entire commercial district along Lake Street was decimated. More damage occurred in other Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods.

Money started pouring in almost as soon as the cleanup of broken glass and brick started. Some came from big corporations, some from community groups, commercial lenders and even crowd sourcing.

What businesses say is missing, however, is dedicated funding from state or federal sources, which could be the biggest source of money for rebuilding efforts.

"It's pretty shocking that a year in, almost no government disaster or any other government assistance related to recovering from civil unrest has arrived or has even been allocated," said Allison Sharkey, executive director of the Lake Street Council.

Legislators visiting Lake Street shortly after the riots damaged more than 1,500 businesses promised help. Nothing has yet materialized.

When Minnesota leaders struck a big-picture budget deal earlier this month for the next two years of state spending, they agreed to include $150 million to help businesses that were "economically devastated in 2020 through no fault of their own," Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman said.

However, the details and fate of that assistance remains uncertain as negotiations continue.

The corridor also could see some of the $270 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds that will be dispersed by Minneapolis, city officials said.

"Any other community that loses a number of buildings and has hundreds of businesses with damage would receive support," Sharkey said. "Really, the only support that has come has been grassroots, from the community and from local corporations and foundations."

Some of the private sources have disbursed funds. Others continue to raise money, accept applications and deliver grants.

Some larger businesses funded by deeper corporate resources have already rebuilt damaged branches or announced plans to. Target and Cub both rebuilt stores near Lake Street and did so with designs and products more closely aimed at the diverse neighborhoods they draw from.

The Target Foundation also contributed $1 million to neighborhood development organizations, pledged up to 10,000 hours of pro-bono consulting services and donated $125,000 in food and essential supplies to those in need.

U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo each plan to replace branches that were destroyed. Wells Fargo has proposed an ambitious redevelopment plan for its Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue site that would include 200-plus units of residential housing in collaboration with nonprofit developer Project for Pride in Living.

U.S. Bank plans to donate its Lake Street building and build a new branch farther down the street and rebuild other damaged locations. Its foundation distributed $15 million in Rebuild and Transform grants to people of color-led organizations, including $2 million in the Twin Cities to Black-led community development financial institutions.

Other funding has come from the Pohlad Family Foundation.

"We understood the intermediaries already have the relationships with the businesses; they know those business owners intimately," said Susan Bass Roberts, executive director of the Pohlad Family Foundation. "We always like to work close to the solutions, and we believe the people impacted have the solutions."

Lake Street Council's budget grew from $500,000 to $11 million as donations and support came in. It now employs 11 instead of four. Among the recent hires are Spanish and Somali speakers to reach out to business owners whose first language isn't English.

"What's allowed us to grow into this position is help from a lot of other people," Sharkey said.

The Lake Street Council has received pro bono help with accounting, auditing, public relations, legal and new donated office space in the Midtown Exchange building from Allina Health to replace its own burned-down offices.

Among the first sources of rebuilding funds came from crowdsourcing. The Du Nord Distillery was damaged in the rioting and owner Chris Montana and Tina Rexing, owner of T-Rex Cookie Co., started a GoFundMe site to help raise money for similarly damaged businesses. The fund quickly went past an initial goal of $30,000, raising nearly $1 million.

As the funds climbed, Montana and Rexing quickly realized they had to formalize things. They set up a 501(c)(3) foundation, Du Nord Foundation, and established requirements for their grant-making process.

The foundation has made 76 grants, 10 of which were for their maximum grant of $15,000, Rexing said. It has distributed the funds from the GoFundMe account and now is thinking ahead to next steps, which possibly include a food and beverage business incubator for minority business owners.

"We've really shifted from that initial disaster-relief phase. Now we are using our funds more strategically," Sharkey said.

Staff writer Jessie Van Berkel contributed to this report.

Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926