Solid Ground Receives $1.25 Million Bezos Day 1 Families Fund Grant to End Homelessness

Day 1 Families Fund grants $105.9 million to 42 nonprofits helping families gain housing support and stability

WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. – (December 9, 2020): Solid Ground, a local nonprofit working to end homelessness for families with children, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $1.25 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund. Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families.

“Solid Ground is excited and so grateful to the Day 1 Families Fund for their generous support. With this grant, we will be able to prevent and end homelessness for even more families in our community through housing and resources. It is a rare opportunity to receive such a transformational grant, and Solid Ground is ready to make the most of it!” said Trisha Kauffman, Executive Director of Solid Ground.

This one-time grant, awarded to organizations doing meaningful work to connect families with shelter and support, will allow Solid Ground to expand its successful Homework Starts with Home program into Washington County to help keep more kids in their homes and focused on school success instead of worrying where they will sleep at night. These funds will also help more families avoid shelters or sleeping outside, and provide the much-needed mental and chemical health supports for parents and children in Solid Ground’s supportive housing programs.

Solid Ground is one of 42 nonprofits across the U.S. to receive the third annual Day 1 Families Fund grants, as part of a continuing commitment by the Day 1 Families Fund to help end homelessness for families. The Day 1 Families Fund issued a total of $105.9 million in grants this year. To select these organizations, the fund worked with an advisory board of homelessness advocates and leaders whose expertise spans housing justice, racial equity, direct services, homelessness policy, equity for Native American communities and anti-poverty work. This year, the grant recipients from around the country include: Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness; The Cathedral Center, Inc.; Catholic Charities of Acadiana; Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention; Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida; Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Inc.; Congreso de Latinos Unidos; Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio; Denver Indian Family Resource Center; East Los Angeles Women’s Center; East Oakland Community Project; Facing Forward to End Homelessness; Families Together; Family Life Center; Friendship Place; HELP of Southern Nevada; The Homeless Families Foundation; Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System; HOPE Atlanta; House of Ruth; Housing Matters; Housing Up; Kahumana; MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, Inc.; Metro Denver Homeless Initiative; MUST Ministries; The National Center for Children and Families; Native American Youth and Family Center; North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness; One80 Place; Poverello House; Rainbow Services; Refugee Women’s Alliance; Safe Haven Family Shelter; Samaritan House; Solid Ground; St. Vincent de Paul CARES; Su Casa – Ending Domestic Violence; The Salvation Army Austin Area Command; Time for Change Foundation; United American Indian Involvement, Inc.; and WestCare California.

“It is an honor and a privilege to receive a grant like this. Solid Ground’s work of providing housing and services to families experiencing homelessness in our community has always been vital, and this is true now more than ever. This incredibly generous grant means more help for so many more families; it has the power to help transform our community. We are excited and grateful for the difference we can make, together,” said Erika Perrault, President of the Solid Ground Board of Directors.

The Bezos Day One Fund was launched in 2018 with a commitment of $2 billion and a focus on two areas: funding existing nonprofits that help homeless families, and creating a network of new, nonprofit tier-one preschools in low-income communities. The Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families. The vision statement comes from the inspiring Mary’s Place in Seattle: no child sleeps outside. For more information, visit www.BezosDayOneFund.org/Day1FamiliesFund.

 About Solid Ground

Solid Ground is an award-winning nonprofit organization whose proven, holistic approach helps families build the strong foundations they need to emerge from homelessness into a brighter future. Through safe, affordable housing and innovative supportive programming, Solid Ground helps families transition to a higher-level of self-sufficiency and break the cycle of homelessness and poverty for the next generation. Solid Ground operates multiple housing programs in Ramsey and Washington Counties serving nearly 500 women, men and children annually.