Congresswoman Angie Craig: “We Will Get Through This Together”

Yesterday, Rep. Angie Craig convened a virtual roundtable with the MN Council of Nonprofits, local United Ways, food pantries, community care clinics and the Federal Reserve to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 and how communities can help.

"One thing is certain: we will get through this together, but we all have a role to play," said Rep. Angie Craig. "Even in good times, most non-profits run tight budgets. In a crisis, demand goes up and supply goes down – both in dollars and volunteers. Many of our most at-risk Minnesotans are the best volunteers who help these non-profits. So, call your local community food bank or other non-profits and find out what they need right now and how you can best help if you are able."

Nonprofits are small businesses and they employ 13% of Minnesota's workforce. Of the nonprofits across Minnesota, 72% of them have less than six months cash on hand and many don't have any operating reserve. This leaves them with concerns like not being able to pay unemployment insurance payments for their employees, not having enough protective gear for health care professionals and how they will continue to serve their most vulnerable populations. In addition, many rely upon additional volunteers and are now scrambling to ensure services like Meals on Wheels deliveries can continue to function during these difficult times.

Rep. Craig is immensely focused on the public health of Minnesotans, and she continues to push on the Vice President to release testing supplies to Minnesota and to increase protective gear for health care professionals. At the same time, while the third federal package is being put together, she is fighting hard to ensure we prioritize the needs of families and communities and ensure our non-profits are recognized as critical small businesses. That means she is considering any ideas and working with all of her colleagues to help the middle class that includes helping small businesses and nonprofits so our communities continue to thrive past this pandemic.

Here are some ideas for folks in the Second Congressional District to stay involved:

WHAT MINNESOTANS CAN DO TO HELP

• Contact your local food shelf by phone or email, they are likely seeing an increase in demand. They can share safe ways for you to help your neighbors.
• Check in with community resources by email to see if they are doing any sort of virtual visits with folks to help minimize social distancing turning into isolation.
• Use technology to connect with one another. Right now a phone call or video call can change the course of the day for many people.