Minnesota Promise grants gave millions to small businesses. Here’s what happened when we vetted the recipients.
By Ryan Raiche
Published on March 3, 2026.
The Minnesota Promise Act grant program, which provides up to $50,000 to small businesses affected by racial discrimination, civil unrest, or barriers to funding, is under scrutiny after 5 INVESTIGATES found several questionable recipients and a lack of publicly available information about the winners. The program's funding, which includes over 650 winners in the Twin Cities metro, has been named so far. However, the state has identified more than 300 recipients listed as individuals who the state says qualify as sole proprietors, many of whom work in transportation. One business, B&M Vital Homecare, received nearly $47,000, despite having its license revoked two years ago due to a serious issue affecting client health and safety. The Department of Human Services (DHS) denied allegations of fraud and said it does not access data related to fraud to prevent payments from being led by other agencies.
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