Realtors group grants $100,000 to three local nonprofits for housing, plantings

By GABRIELLELOMBARD | glombard@pioneerpress.com |

PUBLISHED: September 28, 2022 at 6:56 p.m. | UPDATED: September 28, 2022 at 6:56 p.m.

The Charitable Foundation of the Saint Paul Area Association of Realtors presented checks totaling $100,000 on Tuesday to three nonprofit organizations.

The Foundation has been issuing SPAAR grants since 2018. This year they received more than 20 applications.

The Sanneh Foundation, a St. Paul-based provider of youth services and packaged meals, received $50,000 to support housing initiatives in the SPAAR service area. Founder Tony Sanneh said his organization has bought five homes in the Conway neighborhood and along University Avenue in St. Paul to rent to the nonprofit’s employees and AmeriCorps members at stable rates, with utilities included, with the goal of both providing housing and helping them build up rental history.

Project for Pride in Living, a Minneapolis-based provider of nonprofit housing, and Great River Greening, a St. Paul-based land stewardship organization, also received $25,000 each, according to a written statement from SPAAR. Great River Greening will use its funding to support pollinator planting and the restoration of oak woodlands at Frogtown Park.

”We’re really proud of the grant program in general to make a positive impact in the community,” said Mark Mason, the president of SPAAR.

This article was published and first shared in Pioneer Press.