Homeland Security Grants Minneapolis Groups Money to Fight Terrorism

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — In 2016, Congress voted to extend grants to support local efforts to counter violent extremism. On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security announced the first round of awards of these grants, and two Minneapolis-based groups are among the recipients:

• Ka Joog – $499,998 (Minneapolis)
  • According to the nonprofit's website, Ka Joog’s mission is "to create a better world by providing community-based, culturally specific programs and services to Somali youth and their family."
• Heartland Democracy Center – $165,435 (Minneapolis)
  • Heartland Democracy describes itself as a "civic engagement, educational, and research group operating in the public interest," working "with people of all ages, and focus our work on boosting informed participation in democracy."

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Several of the awardees across the country are organizations devoted specifically to countering ISIS’s recruitment efforts, as well as the rehabilitation of former neo-Nazis and "other domestic extremists in this country."

A total of 31 proposals from various organizations in multiple communities have been accepted to receive some part of the $10 million appropriated by Congress last year, according to a news release.

The funding will go for activities that include intervention, developing resilience, challenging the narrative, and building capacity. In addition to the two Minneapolis nonprofits, the organizations approved for grants include local governments, universities, and non-profit organizations, in locations across the country such as Boston, Los Angeles, Detroit, Nebraska, Houston, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas and New York City.

"In this age of self-radicalization and terrorist-inspired acts of violence, domestic-based efforts to counter violent extremism have become a homeland security imperative," said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in a statement.

"And, I know from visiting numerous communities across this country that very often the best efforts to counter violent extremism are local, tailored to a particular community. My hope is that Congress will continue to fund this type of grant activity in the future. Again, this is a homeland security imperative."

Image via Donald Lee Pardue, Flickr, used under Creative Commons