AURORA-ST ANTHONY NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
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Mission Statement
Our mission is to foster positive relationships within and between the neighborhoods we serve and to support our members in effecting the quality of life in their communities.
About This Cause
Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation (ASANDC) is a Black-led nonprofit community development agency located in the historic Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul, MN. ASANDC started out as a neighborhood watch-group in Rondo. In the 1950s about 85 percent of Saint Paul’s Black population lived in the Rondo neighborhood; between 1956 and 1962 the Rondo community was infamously torn apart and decimated when the Interstate I-94 was constructed. The destruction of over 600 homes/300 Black businesses equated to an equity loss of $90 million dollars (Yorth 2020). Our focus to restore the economic well-being of the Rondo neighborhood. The Rondo neighborhood is a racially concentrated area of poverty (RCAP), over 50% of its residents are people of color and over 40% have incomes below 185% of the federal poverty level. As with most RCAPs, Rondo residents have also historically been excluded from decision-making, with construction of I-94 through Rondo as an example. Based on our mission, we have been able to expand the Rondo's neighborhood collective voice and empowerment by developing an actionable agenda to advance community priorities and outcomes, with a focus on economic opportunity and security. COVID-19 and the tragic death of George Floyd in the Twin Cities has created a heightened obligation for ASANDC to address social, economic, structural and institutional issues that impact our agencies ability to carry out our mission to assist Black families, business owners and entrepreneurs to increase their wealth and businesses overall effectiveness. Since 1994 ASANDC has helped Black business owners and entrepreneurs through micro-entrepreneur training and loan programs. Additionally, we provide financial education to the Saint Paul's Promise Neighborhood and to Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) communities through out Saint Paul. Our goal is to provide financial education that leads to rental readiness and/or homeownership. In partnerships with Sands Company we provide affordable housing and commercial retail sites. We continue to work in the Rondo neighborhood to provide planning for a Rondo Arts Cultural District. ASANDC has been recognized for its work in community. In 2006, our University-Dale Apartments project won Minneapolis-Saint Paul Business Journal’s award for Best Mixed-Use Development. Additionally, in 2013, our collaborative with Frogtown Square/Kings Crossing project was a finalist for NDC Academy’s national Community Development award. We provided technical assistance to 350 businesses before, during and after a major Light Rail construction in Saint Paul, which saved all but two businesses from going out of business. We created the Frogtown/Rondo Action Network (FRAN) in 2010 to increase the capacity of residents in Frogtown/Rondo, Eastside Saint Paul, and other surrounding low-income areas of Saint Paul to address challenges facing their communities and to improve the wellbeing and self-determination of their neighborhood. ASANDC is a small non-profit, yet, ASANDC has diverse funding resources, including individual donors, community foundation support and funds from community development. ASANDC strives to increase the percentage of funds that comes from private sources, with unrestricted dollars being our top priority.