Lake Street Council

We Love Lake Street (WLLA) Recovery Fund: In late May 2020, civil unrest erupted in the Lake Street corridor. 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 of funds, 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 making decisions about funding priorities and guidelines. The oversight committee's subcommittees decided who received funding and in what amount. In 2024 this fund continued to invest in grants and forgivable loans to displaced businesses that were seeking to reopen, to 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.

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. We provided funding for 20 murals, four sculptures and standalone installations, and two vinyl art installations.

Corridor Promotion: Attracted customers to the area through promotion of the Lake Street corridor.

Fiscal Sponsorship: If a nonprofit organization has not yet received its 501(c)(3) status, it could operate under Lake Street Council as their fiscal sponsor who accepted donations and managed funds on its behalf allowing the program to begin work while awaiting tax-exempt approval.

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 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. Our core programs include community engagement through small business advising, visitor attraction, placemaking initiatives, and financial relief for small businesses and nonprofits.