The pandemic disproportionately impacted Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), causing higher mortality rates and illuminating how racial inequities have life-and-death consequences in these communities. Black people are 50 percent more likely to work in healthcare and social assistance industries and 40 percent more likely to work in hospitals. The Latinx community has been similarly affected.

In partnership with epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation launched the Frontline Families Fund in 2020 to provide direct financial support to families and scholarships for post-secondary education to the children of healthcare workers who have lost their lives to COVID-19.

More than 3,600 donors across all 50 states and beyond raised nearly $2 million in funds that are now being distributed as grants and scholarships via the Brave of Heart Fund and Scholarship America.