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Message East Phillips Neighborhood Institute 2024 Year End ReportView from the Future Series - Art by Chanci
In 2024, the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) continued to steward thelong-held community vision to convert the vacant Roof Depot warehouse into acommunity-owned urban farm and resiliency center. We gathered insight at dozens of community events, tended to new partnershipswith local organizations, doubled the size of our staff, hosted six educationalfarming workshops, and shared free produce and air filters with our neighbors.We helped shut down two polluting facilities in the neighborhood, Smith Foundryand Bituminous Roadways, leading to immediate improvements in air quality. We also weathered major storms, including the loss of state and federal funding,which delayed the purchase of the Roof Depot site by one year. In 2025, EPNI will purchase the former Roof Depot warehouse. As we renovate thebuilding, we will begin farming on the parking lot using raised beds, communitycomposting, and eco-restoration. We will design integrated sustainability systems,and welcome more people into our community ownership structure. We will continueto dream beyond the status quo and build a better future in East Phillips and beyond. Climate resilient, locally-rooted solutions matter now more than ever.GROWTH AND HOPE IN EAST PHILLIPS
The culturally diverse working classneighborhood of East Phillips has anannual median household income of$17,850 and over 80% of the 5,000residents identify as BIPOC. For generations, those living here havesuffered from alarmingly high rates ofdisease directly tied to pollution,including asthma, cancer and heartdisease. EPNI was founded to fosterenvironmental justice,community wellness, andsustainable economicdevelopment in East Phillips.Solutions are growing fromcommunities on the frontlinesof the climate crisis.View from the Future Series - Art by Thomas Powell Hardy
The Vision- Renovate the historic RoofDepot warehouse- Empower the people throughcommunity ownership and profitredistribution- Create hundreds of good jobsfor neighbors, supported bycareer training programs- Grow enough fish andvegetables with aquaponics tofeed 1,500 people 3 meals a day,year round- Build renewable energysystems, including acooperatively-owned solar array - Restore native ecosystemswith rainwater recycling, edibleforests, and pollinator habitat- Compost on a neighborhood-wide scale- Foster deeper relationshipswith the land and each other
Our solar array will offset the building’s energy usage by 58%while also powering 200+ local homes with renewable energy.Over 25 years, it can provide $9.4 million in cost savings anddividends to commercial tenants and residents of East Phillips.STRENGTHENING CONNECTIONSEPNI entered a partnership with Cooperative Energy Futures, a local member-ownedcooperative that has developed 13.5 MW of community-owned solar energy and provided $5.6million in cost savings and dividend payouts to 1,000+ households over 15 years.We signed our first tenants!
SOWING SEEDS OF PEOPLE POWEREPNI drafted a novel community ownership modelwith input from over 200 neighbors.EPNI continues to develop the novel ownership model with national leadersin business law, cooperative ownership, and community investing: NexusCommunity Partners, Fredrikson & Byron, Faegre Drinker, Dorsey & Whitney,Pathlight Law, and Fundamenta Community CapitalCommunity controlledCenter Indigenous &multicultural ways of knowingEnsure Environmental JusticeEducationalInclusive & AccessibleAffordable, fresh food Affordable commercial andresidential rentDecide how the farm’s profitsbenefit the East Phillipscommunity Community PrioritiesGuiding PrinciplesA Community Advisory Council wascreated to guide EPNI through designand implementation.EPNI hosted 17 public meetings andcreated two surveys to gather input andgenerate ideas.Reach out to daniel@epnifarm.org if you are interested in learning more aboutthe novel community ownership model, and how you can get involved!
ENGAGING THOUSANDS OF NEIGHBORS AT COMMUNITY MEETINGSIn September, at the Harvest Moon Block Party we partnered with dozens ofcommunity organizations to share joy, art, resources,and wholesome food withmore than 400 friends and neighbors!Guiding principles for our movement,drafted by the community, were inscribedon a buffalo hide.Go to epnifarm.org/calendar to sign up for our volunteercommittees, follow our events, and join the movement.EPNI hosted an average of four virtualcommunity meetings a week, and four in-person community meetings a month,engaging thousands of communityresidents in co-designing, and collectivelyimplementing the long-held vision forenvironmental justice and sustainableeconomic development in the East Phillipsneighborhood.
In May 2024, an unexpected loss of pledged funding from our State Legislatureendangered EPNI’s Purchase Agreement with the city of Minneapolis. However, with great perseverance, support and partnerships, EPNInegotiated a one-year extension to the agreement with Minneapolis.Minneapolis eventually agreed to a one–year extension of EPNI’s PurchaseAgreement, allowing time to recoup funding lost during the 2024 Legislativesession. The sale is now set to occur by September of 2025.WEATHERING STORMSView from the Future Series - Art by Nipinet Landsem
Free public workshopsengaged over 150neighbors in learningabout Indigenous &multicultural farmingpractices, including:HerbalismThree SistersMedicine WheelComposting/Wood Waste RecyclingMushroom CultivationStormwaterManagementGROWTHView from the Future Series - Art by Dio Cramer
The Farm Team prioritizes natural designsthat allow plantings to flow together:Rain gardens collect runoff fromimpermeable surfaces.Rainwater recycling will create droughtresilience and healthy habitat for fish.Gathering spaces foster communityconnectionSpaces between beds planted withpollinator-friendly mixes, and droughtresistant native plantsStorm water management increasedrought resilience and protect theMississippi River from arseniccontamination. Hügelkultur is a European farming techniquethat utilizes wood waste in mounds whichdecompose over time.SHARING ABUNDANCELearn about EPNI’s innovative buildingmethods here:We are engaging experts,institutions, and neighbors tohelp design an ecologically-restorative system of climateresiliency technology.EPNI is designing an integratedsystem of sustainable practices.In 2025, EPNI will convertone half of the existingparking lot into an urban farmwith the capacity to grow4,000 lbs in vegetables, 500cubic yards of compost, and125 trees annually.EPNI gave away 200+ bags of fresh, EastPhillips-grown vegetables to neighborsthrough partnerships with the Little EarthUrban Farm, the East Phillips CommunityGarden, and Tamales y Bicicletas.In 2025, EPNI will increase its grow-space byworking collaboratively with the Little EarthUrban Farm.
*Students fromMacalester Collegemapped East Phillips’ foodaccess, incomeand more See their work here:The Minnesota HumanitiesCenter, the University ofMinnesota, and the East Phillips ImprovementCoalition collaborated todistribute 180+ HEPA airfilters to neighborsEast Phillips residentsare 23% more likely tohave asthma and 44%more likely to reportpoor mental health thanMinneapolis residents as a whole*Shut Down Smith CoalitionEPNI helped shut down theiron foundry across the streetfrom the Roof Depot site,which spewed dangerouspollutants into theneighborhood and violatedthe Clean Air Act for years.
Nothing is lost as long as it is remembered An empty building is a nursery for dreamsAnd dead and dying things are fuel for new life Spirits sacrificing their forms and functions, into Life that burns and spreads Like embers in the furnace, or sweat in the lodge Pounding drums, rhythms from across the sea anddeep within the land Bleeding out of all of us, green and unapologetic,up through the concrete The warriors pacing at our backs, the mothers withhands on our shoulders Filling the hollow spaces and drowning the poison RememberingFounding Board Member Carlos Parra-Oliveragrew up in East Phillips where he was deeply rootedand cherished in community. For years, he workedat Tamales y Bicicletas, connecting neighbors tothe life affirming nature of urban farming. Carlosjoined the EPNI board in high school, where hefostered the community’s vision with care. Hiscontributions will forever be woven into the fabric ofthis project, and the neighborhood of East Phillips. Founding Board Member Carol Pass advocated forenvironmental justice in the Phillips neighborhoodfor decades. She is sorely missed by her family andfriends, but her work lives on in the unprecedentedpolitical power and economic opportunities thatthe East Phillips community now wields againstoppressive forces.Poem by Kieran Morris, EPNI Farm Coordinator
ASSETS Cash Pledges (accrued in ‘25) Total Assets$379,270$220,064$599,334$0$0$434,270$165,064$599,334Balance Sheet 12/31/2024LIABILITIES Accounts PayableTotal LiabilityNET ASSETS Unrestricted Temporarily Restricted (Program)Total Net AssetsINCOME Individual Contributions Government Grants Local Foundation Grants Interest EarnedTotal Income$150,767$380,000$173,377$505$704,649$280,650$132,824$117,806$49,620$580,900$123,749Financial Activity 2024EXPENSE Program Administrative Legal FundraisingTotal ExpenseChange in Net Assets2024 FINANCIAL STATEMENTSThank you, GrantorsThanks to over 1,200 people who donated an average of $84!Thanks to those who donated more than $1,000US Department of Energy, Minnesota Humanities Center, Minneapolis Foundation, MortensonFamily Foundation, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, Seward Cooperative,Broadview Collaborative, Nexus Community Partners, Fredrikson & Byron, Faegre Drinker,Dorsey & Whitney, Shared Capital Cooperative, United Phillips, and Lake Street Council.Diane & Paul Jacobson, Ms. Jennifer Lynn Eukel, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, CynthiaLauner & William Thomas, Charles & Jill Koosmann, Anya Kaplan-Seem, Anne Gandrud,Lyndale United Church of Christ, Alida Messinger, Judy Herr, Oak Grover Presbyterian Church,Stu Bennett, Lois Hamilton, Bemnet Kika, Byron Richard, Mel Lorentz, Emily Lyman, MiriamMoore, Katie Blanchard, John Tasch, Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church, Alex Weck, NicoleAcevedo, Jeff & Lucy Heegaard, Dwight & Christina Porter, Michael Mohrbacher, Lucy Rogers,Lyn & John Pegg, Joyce Prudden, Mary Gonsior, Leah Robshaw RobinsonWith support from the MN Legislature and generous donors EPNI willachieve our 2 year, $16m site acquisition goal, and purchase the formerRoof Depot in 2025.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES WITH LIMITED FUNDING Between 2018-2022, EPNI’s average annual expenses were $56,000, and yet EPNI successfullyprevented the city of Minneapolis from executing its plan to demolish the former Roof Depotwarehouse. Their plan would have worsened traffic, pollution, health disparities, and economicopportunities in East Phillips.In 2023, with $231,000 in expenses, EPNI forced the city to sell the site against steep odds,and leveraged $10.2 million in state funding and philanthropic support. EPNI hired five parttime staff to guide the community’s mandate to develop a community-owned climate resiliencycenter. In 2024, with $589,600 in expenses, EPNI helped shut down two more major polluters in EastPhillips, protecting an additional 2.8-acres of urban land from further pollution. The communityis breathing cleaner air than it has in over 100 years due to these closures. EPNI hired fivemore part time staff, and engaged and educated neighbors in project design.Imagine what will this community will achieve when the EPNIUrban Farm is fully resourced.Attorneys of the Year - MinnesotaLawyersSocial Justice Award - National LawyersGuild Unsung Heroes Award - NationalCommunity Based Organization Networkand American Public Health AssociationCommunity Energy Innovation Prize -2nd Place - US Department of Energy Resolution delivered by the MinneapolisMayor and City Council recognizing EPNI’s“outstanding contribution in seekingenvironmental justice for the EastPhillips neighborhood, and the whole ofMinneapolis”AWARDS
Come to our weeklymeetingsVolunteerSpread the wordDonate & Follow alongGET INVOLVED!Find out more atepnifarm.orgTo repair historical harms of pollution and oppression,we need a radically new paradigm of community developmentThe East Phillips Urban Farm will be a transformative and democratically governed communityasset for the East Phillips neighborhood. It will provide healthy food, renewable and cost-reduced energy, hundreds of new jobs, multiple job training programs, strengthenedconnections to the land, beautiful gathering spaces, and a sense of belonging.Now is the time tobuild an equitable and sustainablefuture in East PhillipsEast Phillips’ dedication toenvironmental justice, self-determination, mutual aid, kinshipbetween species and multi-culturalways of knowing, are powerfulingredients for change, in EastPhillips and beyond.