What "Side by Side" Really Means
Why the name matters, and what it says about how Urban Ventures shows up.
"Side by Side" is not just a tagline. It's a description of how we work. It always has been. And if you are new to Urban Ventures, it is probably the most important thing to understand about us.
Alongside, not "instead of"
Many organizations position themselves as the hero. They swoop in. They rescue. They fix.
We don't do that.
The families we serve are not waiting to be saved. They are raising kids, navigating complex systems, building lives. What they lack is not capability. It is access: to capital, to opportunity, to the kind of sustained support most people take for granted.
So Urban Ventures does not show up with a script or a prescription. We show up with a commitment to stay. We come alongside families and build from what is already strong.
What it looks like
One of our mentors was meeting with a high school student who was ready to drop out. Her grades were slipping. She felt overwhelmed. She did not think she had what it took to finish.
The mentor did not deliver a pep talk or checklist. She listened. She gave the student space to process what she was feeling. And she told her the truth: you do have what it takes. It is worth continuing. And, you don't have to do it alone.
A few months later, that student showed up and had something different to share, it was an invitation to her graduation party.
That is what Side by Side looks like. Not carrying someone. Walking with them until they can see for themselves what was already true.
In our Early Learning Center, coming alongside a family means investing in parents, not just their kids. A child's readiness for kindergarten is connected to the stability of their home. The family is the unit of change.
Our workforce development program, Lake Street Works, trains high school seniors in construction trades. But it is not just technical skills. It is someone walking with a young person as they figure out what comes next, helping them see a future they can build toward.
The pattern across all of it is the same. Show up. Stay. Listen. Build from there.
A Different Kind of Story
The nonprofit world has a long history of telling stories about what a community lacks. Those stories raise money. They also reduce people to just their problems.
We tell a different kind of story. We start with what is already true. The families we serve are resilient and capable and deeply invested in their kids. The parents in our programs are partners, not passive recipients. The teenagers in our mentoring programs are young people with talent and ambition who deserve the same access to opportunity that kids in other zip codes get without thinking about it.
Our job is not to fix people. It is to close the gap between what families have and what they need to thrive.
What This Means for You
The Side by Side campaign exists because our community is recovering from one of the hardest seasons it has faced. Right now, a generous donor is matching every gift dollar for dollar, up to $100,000. Your gift goes twice as far.
But the name is bigger than the moment. It is about what kind of organization we are. And what kind of relationship we are inviting you into.
When you give to Side by Side, you are not rescuing anyone. You are joining people who have chosen to walk with families in South Minneapolis for the long haul. You are funding the mentors who show up on ordinary Tuesdays. The teachers who know every kid by name. The staff who will are still here when the headlines move on.
Side by Side is how we do the work. Side by Side is how we fix what's been broken. And Side by Side is is an invitation to do it with us.
Your gift is matched dollar for dollar right now.
Learn more and give at urbanventures.org/side-by-side.
