At Solid Ground, we believe poverty is solvable – but also that no one can solve it alone. That’s why we work throughout the year to grow and strengthen community partnerships with individuals and organizations who share our vision for a community beyond poverty and oppression where all people have equitable opportunity to thrive.

Our community contains abundant resources that can help to put safety, stability, and self-determination within reach for people living in poverty. However, many people encounter significant systemic barriers that prevent them from accessing the tools, skills, and supports they need. Through our partnerships, we can break down these barriers, maximize our impact, and ensure that the resources available are deployed strategically to meet people where they are and help them get where they want to go.  

This past quarter, we were thrilled to renew our partnership with U.S. Bank – and to see it grow. This partnership stretches back more than 20 years and has included invaluable support for programs like Tenant Services, the Statewide Poverty Action Network, and our Sand Point Housing campus.  

This year, U.S. Bank is not only continuing their support for Solid Ground’s work but expanding our partnership through new avenues for engagement that help all of us build pathways toward stronger, safer, and more equitable communities. Here’s how:

• Ending homelessness through partnership: For the past seven years, U.S. Bank has focused their partnership on Solid Ground’s Sand Point Housing, home to nearly 400 individuals and family members restabilizing after homelessness in our service-enriched permanent housing. Year-over-year partnerships like these are especially impactful as they allow us to establish long-term program strategies and ensure the consistency of services like case management, youth programming, and free onsite behavioral health care. Through U.S. Bank’s continued grant support, we can ensure that our residents have stable and continued access to safe housing, onsite supportive services, and connections to key resources in the year to come. 

• Fostering long-term stability: For most residents, Sand Point Housing is not their final destination, and many households’ ultimate goal is to move on to permanent housing of their own. Last fall, we began to explore additional opportunities for engagement with U.S. Bank employees, specifically with their Mortgage team, who bring specialized knowledge and expertise around the home-buying process. Through this new aspect of our partnership, we’re working with U.S. Bank to develop homeownership education that will be offered to adult residents at Sand Point in 2025, focusing on topics such as budgeting, repairing credit, and steps they can take now to start preparing for homeownership as a long-term goal.  

• Celebrating community: In addition to our programs and services, Solid Ground works to facilitate community connections, conversations, and celebrations through annual events. In 2025, we’re proud to partner with U.S. Bank and other sponsors to bring our community together at our Annual Gala this spring, our Day of Service over the summer, and a Social Justice Salon later this fall. 

All of us have unique strengths and assets we can bring to the work to solve poverty. From the volunteers who provide hands-on support for our day-to-day work to the funders who invest in our strategies, it truly takes a village to achieve our vision for thriving communities.  

We’re always looking to build new connections and would love to connect with you! Please reach out to giving@solid-ground.org if you’d like to get involved.

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We’d also like to thank our new and returning grant partners who’ve provided support for Solid Ground in the last quarter: 

Image at top: One of the seven residential buildings at Solid Ground’s Sand Point Housing campus (photo by Michael B. Maine)