MillerCoors bumps FMR grant from $15,000 to $20,000!

Thanks to our friends and members, FMR won second place in the River Network-MillerCoors grant competition. Funds will help support our work in three diverse, urban riverside communities near Mounds Park and Crosby Park in St. Paul and Riverside Park in Minneapolis.

Photo: Carolyn Carr

By email, phone, Facebook, and Twitter, friends and members of FMR helped generate a flurry of communications in an effort to win first place — and the $25,000 grant that went with it — in the recent River Network-MillerCoors grant competition. Every online vote mattered, as second place dropped to $15,000, third to $10,000 and fourth through sixth place $2,000.

When we got the call that we'd come in second, we were delighted. However, when we found out we'd missed first place by 5 — yes, five — votes we were, frankly, very bummed out. Missing out on $10,000 by five emails was just hard to handle.

Then, we got another phone call: since the vote was so close, MillerCoors added an extra $5,000 to our second-place prize, bringing the total up to $20,000! Please join us in a round of applause for everyone who voted for FMR and for MillerCoors generosity! (Read more about the contest at RiverNetwork.org.)

The generously donated funds will go towards FMRs work to engage area residents in three urban riverside communities, including three native planting events at Mounds Park (May 19th), Crosby Park (June 2nd) and Riverside Park (this fall).

We are excited to be engaging new community members as stewards and restoring vital habitat in our local parks with the support of the River Network and MillerCoors, not to mention all of our members, volunteers and partners who showed their support by voting for us!