Minneapolis Nonprofit Rejects Nearly $500,000 Federal Grant Because Of Trump

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — In a statement titled "Fear and Uncertainty," Ka Joog, a Minneapolis nonprofit providing community programs and services to Somali youth, announced Wednesday it has turned down a nearly $500,000 federal grant as a result of recent actions by Trump administration.

The grant was awarded by the Department of Homeland Security after Congress voted in 2016 to extend grants to support local efforts to counter violent extremism.

"As an organization trying to bring change, we feel like this process has been hindered by The Trump administration to instill fear, uncertainty and anti-Muslim sentiments," the group said in a statement. "Due to today’s political climate, The Board of Directors of Ka Joog has made a decision to decline the awarded amount of $499,998 CVE funding."

A total of 31 proposals from various organizations across the country had been accepted to receive some part of the $10 million appropriated by Congress last year. Two Minneapolis-based groups, Ka Joog and the Heartland Democracy Center, were chosen as recipients.

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."

Minnesota has the nation's largest Somali-American community, according to the University of Minnesota. The community became the subject of intense national scrutiny after the FBI charged 11 Somali men from the Twin Cities for attempting to aid the so-called Islamic State.

As a result, Minneapolis became known as "ground zero for ISIS" by federal agents and politicians.

At his only rally in Minnesota during the presidential campaign, Donald Trump said, "Here in Minnesota you have seen firsthand the problems caused with faulty refugee vetting, with large numbers of Somali refugees coming into your state, without your knowledge, without your support or approval."

Ka Joog said Tuesday that "as Minnesotans, we are deeply troubled by our nation's new administration and their policies which promote hate, fear, uncertainty and even worse; an unofficial war on Muslim-Americans and Immigrants."

"The recent executive orders on immigration and the policies targeting Muslim-Americans and refugees; counter the values of our Nation."

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In 2012, Ka Joog was honored by the FBI for its community leadership.

Mohamed Farah, Ka Joog’s Executive Director, said in a statement that in order for Ka Joog to continue building community, "it requires vigilant awareness of the work we must continually do to undermine all the socialization and injustice that leads us to behave in way that perpetuates more divisions."

Image via Knight Foundation, Flickr, used under Creative Commons