# 35W disaster fund *A mayoral-requested fund listed in the Minnesota record among the Minneapolis Foundation's city-level roles.* The **35W disaster fund** is described in the validated master account *How Minnesota Got Here* as "the mayoral-requested 35W disaster fund."[^1] The account lists it as the city-level element of what it calls a "trifecta" of city, state and federal roles held by the [[Minneapolis Foundation]], which it describes as an allocator through which public money is routed.[^1] The record does not establish when the fund was created, which mayor requested it, how much it raised or disbursed, who received its money, or what the "35W" in its name refers to.[^1] It also does not state the Foundation's formal role in the fund beyond listing the fund among the Foundation's city-level roles.[^1] The same account documents the Foundation's other two roles. At the state level, it co-administers the [[Main Street Economic Revitalization appropriation]] with LISC, Meda and [[Propel Nonprofits]], and it uses a documented grantmaking strategy that credits about $238 million in appropriations to it.[^1] At the federal level, the Environmental Protection Agency named it an [[Environmental justice]] grantmaker for Region 5 in December 2023. The EPA terminated those funds in early 2025, and the Foundation sued in April 2025 with two co-grantmakers. On June 17, 2025, a federal judge in Maryland found the termination arbitrary and capricious and ordered $180 million restored.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### What - The fund is described as "the mayoral-requested 35W disaster fund" and listed as the Minneapolis Foundation's city-level role.[^1] - The record contains no figures for the fund's size, receipts or disbursements.[^1] ### Who - The account lists the fund among the roles of the Minneapolis Foundation.[^1] - According to the account, the Foundation's chief executives include Hennepin County Administrator Vargas, who became CEO in 2007, and former [[Minneapolis mayor]] Rybak, who became CEO in 2016 and was "still serving June 2026."[^1] - The account states that a sitting state representative, [[Peggy Flanagan]], is listed as a trustee on the Foundation's FY2017 Form 990, a listing it confirmed against the filed form. Flanagan was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2018.[^1] ### When - The record gives no date for the fund itself. The dates it does give concern the Foundation: - December 2023: the EPA Environmental Justice grantmaker award was announced.[^1] - Early 2025: the EPA terminated the funds.[^1] - April 2025: the Foundation and two co-grantmakers sued.[^1] - June 17, 2025: the court ruling ordered $180 million restored.[^1] - The account gives three figures for the Foundation's own federal award: $50 million announced in December 2023, $52 million on the Foundation's program page, and $60 million at litigation. The account reconciles the last figure as $180 million divided among the three recipients.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota wiki records project, *How Minnesota Got Here* (merged master, footnoted), validated passage, undated in the pack. Establishes the "mayoral-requested 35W disaster fund" as the Minneapolis Foundation's city-level role; the Foundation's Main Street co-administration and the ~$238M figure; the 2023 EPA grantmaker role, the 2025 termination, lawsuit and June 17, 2025 ruling ordering $180 million restored; the Vargas, Rybak and Flanagan entries. No URL for this passage is in the pack's allowed list.