Lake Street Council

Community Engagement: Lake Street Council ("LSC") supports the Lake Street community in Minneapolis to ensure the vitality and prosperity of the commercial corridor and its 16 surrounding neighborhoods. We engage entrepreneurs, employees, residents, and institutional stakeholders in programs that promote equitable and accessible economic development. As the main business association for Lake Street, we regularly hear from business and property owners throughout the corridor about the concerns that matter to them, and our priorities shift to reflect the needs of the moment. We also work to ensure that the full diversity of voices on Lake Street are heard by decision makers. We seek out and nurture leaders in our business community, especially those who are immigrants and/or people of color, who can share their individual perspective and reflect parts of the community that may not otherwise be heard. Our core programs include community engagement through small business advising, visitor attraction, placemaking initiatives, and financial relief for small businesses and nonprofits impacted by social unrest.

We Love Lake Street (WLLA) Recovery Fund: In late May 2020, civil unrest erupted in the Lake Street corridor as the community reacted to the murder of George Floyd. More than 400 businesses were looted, damaged, or destroyed by fire in the aftermath. The events that unfolded during those weeks have had a deep and lasting impact on Lake Street. The broader community came together to support these impacted businesses, and the WLLS recovery fund raised more than $12 million dollars in a matter of weeks. The purpose of the WLLS recovery fund is to support the recovery of businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Lake Street corridor. To facilitate the distribution offunds, we created the WLLS recovery fund oversight committee (the "oversight committee"), which includes local leaders with a history of supporting Lake Street's diverse business community. The oversight committee was charged with determining funding allocations, making decisions about funding priorities and guidelines, and handling the application and review processes for business grants. The oversight committee and its subcommittees decided who received funding and in what amount.In 2023 this fund continued to invest in grants and forgivable loans to displaced businesses that were seeking to reopen, to immigrant entrepreneurs who owned demolished properties who were seeking predevelopment support to start the process of rebuilding, and to community nonprofits that sought to redevelop demolished property to provide affordable commercial space for local small businesses.

Technical assistance and small business support: The Lake Street Council provides small business advising in English, Spanish, and Somali. In 2023, our focus has moved from immediate recovery to sustaining and growing community wealth and providing vital support to small businesses and entrepreneurs still struggling to succeed under challenging circumstances. We launched a workshop series focused on maintaining financial documentation, building credit, and planning for business expansion. We provided grants to businesses to improvements their properties. We supported businesses through road construction and working with partners started to increase the adaptation of energy efficiency practices at businesses.

Visitor attraction and placemaking initiative: Through community activation events and millions of impressions online in the past year, we have uplifted individual businesses, highlighted our successes, and supported our partners. Our Lake Street Reimagined program continues to bring people out to discover and support Lake Street while creating opportunities for local artists and culture bearers. We provided funding for 20 murals, four sculptures and standalone installations, and two vinyl art installations.